Frann Wageneck from the Santa Barbara Unified School District with Michael Gottfried at the "Chronic Absenteeism" Thinkers Workshop
Michael Gottfried, associate professor in the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, co-hosted a Thinkers Meeting themed “Chronic Absenteeism,” sponsored by Education Commission of the States, on June 3 and 4 in Denver, Colorado. The event convened over 30 researchers, practitioners, and policy partners committed to sharing insights around the issue of attendance; the state’s role in addressing absenteeism; and the various policy components of program design, measurement and implementation.
The Education Commission of the States (ECS) tracks policy, translates research, provides advice and "”creates opportunities for state policymakers to learn from one another.” ECS was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an interstate compact approved by Congress.
Michael Gottfried’s research focuses on absenteeism, schooling context, and STEM with an interest in disabilities running through all of these areas. He has served as PI on grants focusing on schooling context and outcomes specifically for elementary school students (NSF, AERA/NSF, NIH/NICHD R03, Foundation for Child Development, Stuart Foundation, Spencer Foundation). He has published work in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Teachers College Record, Education Finance and Policy, American Journal of Education, Elementary School Journal, among others. In 2016, he released a co-edited book on educational policy with Harvard Education Press. Michael is on the Editorial Board of American Educational Research Journal and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. He holds a PhD and MA in Applied Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Economics from Stanford University.