The evidence on Black teachers is among the strongest in ed research. Assignment to a Black teacher produces large, lasting gains in test scores, attendance, and self-efficacy — for students of all races. So why does the profession remain largely white? My new piece for @theconversation.com digs in.

Grateful to Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity for this conversation about our Nature Communications research on the childhood investment gap. Where government shows up, disparities shrink. Where it doesn't, gaps are large, especially before age five. 🔗 spotlightonpoverty.org/spotlight-ex...

How much does it cost to raise a child in the U.S.? On average, $502,152 from birth to age 18. But the more important question is who's investing, in what, and when. My coauthor Jennifer King Rice breaks down our findings in this NEPC (@nepc.bsky.social) newsletter.

According to a new analysis, the average combined public and private cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 is $502,152. bit.ly/4nfz9z5

Grateful to Clear Sky Science for this summary of our recent Nature Communications paper. The piece does a great job breaking down what we found — including why the early years matter most, and the powerful equalizing role public investment plays.

New: There are large gaps in educational outcomes by race and family income. The natural assumption is that schools are vastly unequal. But in fact the largest resources inequalities emerge when kids are out of school, per a new study from @davidblazar.bsky.social. www.chalkbeat.org/2026/04/21/p...

Grateful to @mattbarnum.bsky.social and @chalkbeat.org for covering our research. Low-income kids have ~$80K less invested in their development than wealthier peers — and the gap isn't in schools. It's in housing, health care, and nutrition. Kids don't live in silos. Neither should our solutions.

Continuing to catch up on work I missed sharing while I was off social media. Out in Educational Researcher: Black teachers have large effects on the self-efficacy and engagement of their Black students — and improve test scores and attendance for all students. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...

My first post here and I'm excited to share some recent work. A team of UMD researchers and I track investments in children to understand who gets left out and when. 1️⃣ Gaps exceed 50% before kindergarten 2️⃣ Public schooling narrows them at age 5 3️⃣ But disparities persist in type of services received