The Center on Education Policy—a go-to source for research on K-12 policy—has found a new home, and a new leader. CEP, which had operated as an independent non-profit in Washington since its founding in 1995, will become part of the George Washington University’s Graduate School on Education and Human Development.
And it will be lead by Maria Voles Ferguson, who now serves as vice-president for policy at the Alliance for Excellent Education, a non-profit organization in Washington that works on high-school overhaul. Ferguson is taking the place of Jack Jennings, who created CEP after spending more than three decades working for Democrats on the House education committee. A frequent source for Education Week, Jennings is also something of a legend on Capitol Hill.
Since its founding, CEP has put out some blockbuster research—including this report questioning the administrations dire prediction that 82 percent of schools would fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP.
Ferguson is excited about her new gig—including the partnership with GWU.
“The Center on Education Policy and [GWU’s education graduate school] are coming together at a watershed moment in public education,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to working together so we can all engage more deeply in the important conversations that are driving education research and policy.”