Research associates join the SEG team

During the past few months, we have on-boarded three exceptionally talented educational researchers as research associates for the Shaffer Evaluation Group.

Megan Britt, Ph.D., joins the Shaffer Evaluation Group after 20 years’ service as an educator and administrator in public and private K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Old Dominion University, where she also has taught graduate courses in educational assessment design.

Noel Williams, a doctoral candidate in the Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership program at the College of William & Mary, brings five years experience as an elementary teachers and research experience on two large scale federal grants. Noel first worked for SEG in 2018 as a consulting research associate, conducting classroom observations and analyzing qualitative data.

Yuanyuan Yue, a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology and Program Evaluation at Old Dominion University, brings expertise in research methods and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. She has worked on several large-scale research projects, including a grant funded by the National Institutes of Health.

For more information about our team, please visit our website.

SPARK Evaluation featured in Daily Press

SEG completed its comprehensive evaluation study of the Newport News Public Schools' SPARK program. SPARK, the Summer Program for Arts, Recreation and Knowledge, is an initiative of the Newport News Public Schools (Virginia) in partnership with local businesses, museums, non-profit organizations and city agencies that provides an engaging menu of offerings for students four days a week during the summer. The school district commissioned SEG to assess whether the program improved student achievement and helped prevent or eliminate "summer slide," or students' summer learning loss. The study recently concluded with a committee presentation to the Newport News School Board.

The Daily Press, the daily newspaper serving Newport News, Hampton, and the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, provided coverage of the SPARK evaluation study presentation to the School Board. The newspaper article provided highlights of the study and the school district's commitment to follow through with program adjustments in response to the findings.

SEG awarded contract by College of William & Mary

The College of William and Mary awarded a contract to Shaffer Evaluation Group to provide consulting and technical services to the university. SEG will provide data collection services, including on the ground data collection services (e.g., household surveys and stakeholder interviews) to carry out university-led randomized control trials (RCTs) and qualitative policy research. SEG also will provide subject matter expertise to contribute substantive analysis to flagship reports.

SEG has worked with William & Mary since 2007. William & Mary is the nation’s second oldest College and the first college to become a College. Established in 1693 by British royal charter, William & Mary is a public, coeducational institution based on a strong liberal arts tradition that offers the full range of degree programs from the baccalaureate to the doctor of philosophy and doctor of law. The College enrolls approximately 6,300 undergraduate students and 2,000 graduate students.