Leah Clark
@leahclark.bsky.social
Economist @ U.S. Census Bureau. Views are my own.
Reposted by Leah Clark
Every mention of SNAP being frozen should include this simple fact:
TRUMP is CHOOSING TO CANCEL FOOD ASSISTANCE. There are literally emergency dollars available to keep SNAP funded.
TRUMP is CHOOSING TO CANCEL FOOD ASSISTANCE. There are literally emergency dollars available to keep SNAP funded.
October 27, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Every mention of SNAP being frozen should include this simple fact:
TRUMP is CHOOSING TO CANCEL FOOD ASSISTANCE. There are literally emergency dollars available to keep SNAP funded.
TRUMP is CHOOSING TO CANCEL FOOD ASSISTANCE. There are literally emergency dollars available to keep SNAP funded.
Reposted by Leah Clark
ICYMI...
On Oct 23, the #FriendsofBLS hosted a webinar featuring @ericagroshen.bsky.social, @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social and Bill Beach giving an update on BLS and #FriendsofBLS activities as well as issuing a call to action.
www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...
www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...
VIDEO: Friends of BLS Member Webinar - Oct 2025 — The Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the Friends of BLS hosted a webinar featuring three former BLS Commissioners: Erika McEntarfer, Bill Beach, and Erica Groshen. The webinar gives an update o...
www.friendsofbls.org
October 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
ICYMI...
Reposted by Leah Clark
New research from PSC researcher @pgonalon.bsky.social with @imarinescu.bsky.social shows that the high cost of U.S. childcare breeds family income inequality.
Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT
Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY
Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT
Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY
October 14, 2025 at 1:18 PM
New research from PSC researcher @pgonalon.bsky.social with @imarinescu.bsky.social shows that the high cost of U.S. childcare breeds family income inequality.
Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT
Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY
Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT
Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY
Reposted by Leah Clark
A loud reminder that this administration wants to bring back SEGREGATION as @victorerikray.bsky.social has pointed out and they're starting within the administration.
A literal page out of Woodrow Wilson's playbook. #blacksky #news
A literal page out of Woodrow Wilson's playbook. #blacksky #news
Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration
www.nytimes.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:43 AM
A loud reminder that this administration wants to bring back SEGREGATION as @victorerikray.bsky.social has pointed out and they're starting within the administration.
A literal page out of Woodrow Wilson's playbook. #blacksky #news
A literal page out of Woodrow Wilson's playbook. #blacksky #news
Reposted by Leah Clark
NEW: The Census Bureau says parts of its website are not being updated because of the federal government shutdown and questions from data users will not be answered "until appropriations are enacted"
October 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
NEW: The Census Bureau says parts of its website are not being updated because of the federal government shutdown and questions from data users will not be answered "until appropriations are enacted"
Reposted by Leah Clark
Yeah, honestly: “parental rights” are starting to sound more like “property rights.”
September 2, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Yeah, honestly: “parental rights” are starting to sound more like “property rights.”
Reposted by Leah Clark
Want to know how the pandemic has reshaped school enrollment patterns in Massachusetts and nationwide?
Here's Education Next's quick and accessible version of our recent working paper:
www.educationnext.org/school-enrol...
@abbyfrancis.bsky.social @educationnext.bsky.social
Here's Education Next's quick and accessible version of our recent working paper:
www.educationnext.org/school-enrol...
@abbyfrancis.bsky.social @educationnext.bsky.social
July 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Want to know how the pandemic has reshaped school enrollment patterns in Massachusetts and nationwide?
Here's Education Next's quick and accessible version of our recent working paper:
www.educationnext.org/school-enrol...
@abbyfrancis.bsky.social @educationnext.bsky.social
Here's Education Next's quick and accessible version of our recent working paper:
www.educationnext.org/school-enrol...
@abbyfrancis.bsky.social @educationnext.bsky.social
Reposted by Leah Clark
Carnegie Mellon University leaders silenced @cmu.edu students who called Trump a rapist claiming they violated civil discourse. I wrote about the disgrace of reprimanding students for rejecting the idea that our campus is a place to engage in civil discourse with rapists. medium.com/@ujuanya/who...
Who is disgracing whom?
There is a Fence located on the central green space of our Carnegie Mellon University campus on which, for more than 100 years, CMU…
medium.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Carnegie Mellon University leaders silenced @cmu.edu students who called Trump a rapist claiming they violated civil discourse. I wrote about the disgrace of reprimanding students for rejecting the idea that our campus is a place to engage in civil discourse with rapists. medium.com/@ujuanya/who...
It's great to see this officially in print! I will continue to bang the drum that if you're using FRPL to measure economic disadvantage since 2014-15 (or earlier in some states), you don't know what you're actually capturing... journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Measuring School Economic Disadvantage - Michelle Spiegel, Leah R. Clark, Thurston Domina, Vitaly Radsky, Paul Y. Yoo, Andrew Penner, 2025
Many educational policies hinge on the valid measurement of student economic disadvantage at the school level. Measures based on free and reduced-price lunch en...
journals.sagepub.com
June 19, 2025 at 12:06 PM
It's great to see this officially in print! I will continue to bang the drum that if you're using FRPL to measure economic disadvantage since 2014-15 (or earlier in some states), you don't know what you're actually capturing... journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Reposted by Leah Clark
The White House wants to axe funding programs for:
-English learners
-Homeless students
-Migrant students
-Teacher PD
-Civics ed.
-Literacy
-Arts ed.
-Preschoolers with disabilities
-Adult learners
-Rural schools
-School desegregation
-Alaska/Hawaii Native students
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
-English learners
-Homeless students
-Migrant students
-Teacher PD
-Civics ed.
-Literacy
-Arts ed.
-Preschoolers with disabilities
-Adult learners
-Rural schools
-School desegregation
-Alaska/Hawaii Native students
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
Trump Wants to Cut More Than 40 Federal K-12 Programs. See Which Ones
The president's detailed budget, released Friday, proposes eliminating dozens of programs as part of a nearly $13 billion cut.
www.edweek.org
June 5, 2025 at 5:40 PM
The White House wants to axe funding programs for:
-English learners
-Homeless students
-Migrant students
-Teacher PD
-Civics ed.
-Literacy
-Arts ed.
-Preschoolers with disabilities
-Adult learners
-Rural schools
-School desegregation
-Alaska/Hawaii Native students
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
-English learners
-Homeless students
-Migrant students
-Teacher PD
-Civics ed.
-Literacy
-Arts ed.
-Preschoolers with disabilities
-Adult learners
-Rural schools
-School desegregation
-Alaska/Hawaii Native students
www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
Reposted by Leah Clark
My latest @npr.org story with Marisa Peñaloza, Kyna Uwaeme and Brent Jones:
For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration’s workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air
For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration’s workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air
Federal work shaped a Black middle class. Now it's destabilized by Trump's job cuts
For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration's workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air.
www.npr.org
April 27, 2025 at 10:08 AM
My latest @npr.org story with Marisa Peñaloza, Kyna Uwaeme and Brent Jones:
For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration’s workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air
For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration’s workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air
Looking for one more paper for the APPAM panel Josh describes here. Please reach out if you have a paper that might fit!
A couple of us are putting together an APPAM panel on post-pandemic school enrollment/access patterns, broadly conceived.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
April 15, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Looking for one more paper for the APPAM panel Josh describes here. Please reach out if you have a paper that might fit!
Reposted by Leah Clark
A couple of us are putting together an APPAM panel on post-pandemic school enrollment/access patterns, broadly conceived.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
April 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM
A couple of us are putting together an APPAM panel on post-pandemic school enrollment/access patterns, broadly conceived.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
Let me know if you or someone you know has a paper that might fit this theme.
Reposted by Leah Clark
Submit papers for two CSWEP sponsored sessions at APPAM next fall. Looking especially for papers on health policy and poverty and income policy, broadly interpreted. Deadline extended to April 15. Pls share!
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/co...
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/co...
CSWEP DC
www.aeaweb.org
April 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Submit papers for two CSWEP sponsored sessions at APPAM next fall. Looking especially for papers on health policy and poverty and income policy, broadly interpreted. Deadline extended to April 15. Pls share!
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/co...
www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/co...
Reposted by Leah Clark
So, um, some professional news:
JUST IN: The Census Bureau is ending its telework and remote-work agreements for unionized federal workers and requiring a full return to office for telework employees by April 21 and a return for remote employees within 60 days, according to emails shared with @npr.org
March 25, 2025 at 2:54 AM
So, um, some professional news:
Allow me to nerd out a bit about the stats in our recent PNAS paper...
To make this graph, we calculated a 100-by-100 grid of the average proportion of peers in each income percentile for students in each percentile (i.e., average peer income distributions for each student percentile). [1/n]
To make this graph, we calculated a 100-by-100 grid of the average proportion of peers in each income percentile for students in each percentile (i.e., average peer income distributions for each student percentile). [1/n]
Students in the top 1% of the income distribution are highly isolated in affluent school enclaves.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
March 23, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Allow me to nerd out a bit about the stats in our recent PNAS paper...
To make this graph, we calculated a 100-by-100 grid of the average proportion of peers in each income percentile for students in each percentile (i.e., average peer income distributions for each student percentile). [1/n]
To make this graph, we calculated a 100-by-100 grid of the average proportion of peers in each income percentile for students in each percentile (i.e., average peer income distributions for each student percentile). [1/n]
Reposted by Leah Clark
Economic integration within schools is limited, @ucirvine.bsky.social-led study finds | Research, published in PNAS, highlights disproportionate isolation of students from families in highest income brackets
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
Economic integration within schools is limited, UC Irvine-led study finds
www.socsci.uci.edu
February 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Economic integration within schools is limited, @ucirvine.bsky.social-led study finds | Research, published in PNAS, highlights disproportionate isolation of students from families in highest income brackets
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
Reposted by Leah Clark
How fitting for this new work on economic inequality in schools to come out @pnas.org on the day I learned about Sandy Jencks' death.
His work documenting widening income inequality, segregation in schools, and equality of opportunity is a cornerstone of this study.
His work documenting widening income inequality, segregation in schools, and equality of opportunity is a cornerstone of this study.
We're living through a highly polarized time, both economically and politically. Schools have the potential to bring us together, but are contributing to our separation.
In a new @pnas.org article, my colleagues and I document students' exposure to economically diverse school and classroom peers.
📄:
In a new @pnas.org article, my colleagues and I document students' exposure to economically diverse school and classroom peers.
📄:
February 14, 2025 at 5:16 AM
How fitting for this new work on economic inequality in schools to come out @pnas.org on the day I learned about Sandy Jencks' death.
His work documenting widening income inequality, segregation in schools, and equality of opportunity is a cornerstone of this study.
His work documenting widening income inequality, segregation in schools, and equality of opportunity is a cornerstone of this study.
Reposted by Leah Clark
Students in the top 1% of the income distribution are highly isolated in affluent school enclaves.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
February 14, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Students in the top 1% of the income distribution are highly isolated in affluent school enclaves.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.
💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.
💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.
So excited that our new paper, "Peer income exposure across the income distribution," is now out in PNAS!
Great overview (including link to ungated version) from the great @michspieg.bsky.social below.
Great overview (including link to ungated version) from the great @michspieg.bsky.social below.
We're living through a highly polarized time, both economically and politically. Schools have the potential to bring us together, but are contributing to our separation.
In a new @pnas.org article, my colleagues and I document students' exposure to economically diverse school and classroom peers.
📄:
In a new @pnas.org article, my colleagues and I document students' exposure to economically diverse school and classroom peers.
📄:
February 14, 2025 at 12:46 AM
So excited that our new paper, "Peer income exposure across the income distribution," is now out in PNAS!
Great overview (including link to ungated version) from the great @michspieg.bsky.social below.
Great overview (including link to ungated version) from the great @michspieg.bsky.social below.
Got so distracted these last few weeks I forgot to look out for this coverage of my new working paper in Ed Week!
New Sunday read from me: Lawmakers in at least a dozen states are seriously considering new or expanded programs that give out millions of public dollars for families to spend on private education.
Private School Choice Will Keep Expanding in 2025. Here's Where and How
The conditions are ripe in at least a dozen states for proposals to invest public dollars in private educational options for families.
www.edweek.org
January 30, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Got so distracted these last few weeks I forgot to look out for this coverage of my new working paper in Ed Week!
Reposted by Leah Clark
Correlation is not causation, but there's a lot of correlation here. PEPFAR began in 2003 near the peak of world AIDs deaths. Today 20M people receive HIV treatment through PEPFAR funding. That's almost 2/3 of people treated in the world. Call your Congress people and get PEPFAR back.
January 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Correlation is not causation, but there's a lot of correlation here. PEPFAR began in 2003 near the peak of world AIDs deaths. Today 20M people receive HIV treatment through PEPFAR funding. That's almost 2/3 of people treated in the world. Call your Congress people and get PEPFAR back.
Reposted by Leah Clark
Are you an early career education researcher? Have you earned your PhD since April 1, 2017?
IES has a grant for up to $600K for developing your research, including working closely with a mentor
You need to be tenure track at an R1 or R2
Due March 1
ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/...
IES has a grant for up to $600K for developing your research, including working closely with a mentor
You need to be tenure track at an R1 or R2
Due March 1
ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/...
January 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Are you an early career education researcher? Have you earned your PhD since April 1, 2017?
IES has a grant for up to $600K for developing your research, including working closely with a mentor
You need to be tenure track at an R1 or R2
Due March 1
ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/...
IES has a grant for up to $600K for developing your research, including working closely with a mentor
You need to be tenure track at an R1 or R2
Due March 1
ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/...
Reposted by Leah Clark
📈📉New Census Working Paper: "Potential Bias When Using Administrative Data to Measure the Family Income of School-Aged Children" by Leah R. Clark (@leahclark.bsky.social) and Renuka Bhaskar www.census.gov/library/work...
January 14, 2025 at 2:14 PM
📈📉New Census Working Paper: "Potential Bias When Using Administrative Data to Measure the Family Income of School-Aged Children" by Leah R. Clark (@leahclark.bsky.social) and Renuka Bhaskar www.census.gov/library/work...
Reposted by Leah Clark
This is really interesting. It seems to fit the 'only the parents who pay attention benefit from charter schools' narrative.
🚨 🚨 🚨 New working paper alert! 🚨 🚨 🚨
I find evidence that a specific subgroup of disadvantaged students--those previously reported to child welfare--are considerably less likely to opt out of traditional public school and into charter, magnet, and private schools.
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1111
I find evidence that a specific subgroup of disadvantaged students--those previously reported to child welfare--are considerably less likely to opt out of traditional public school and into charter, magnet, and private schools.
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1111
December 21, 2024 at 3:05 AM
This is really interesting. It seems to fit the 'only the parents who pay attention benefit from charter schools' narrative.