Matthew A Kraft
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matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft
@matthewakraft.com
3.8K followers 500 following 47 posts

Professor of Education and Economics. Former high school humanities teacher. Proud papa & volunteer soccer coach. Reading as much as I can about climate change. www.matthewakraft.com

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Matthew A. Kraft is an American economist of education, educator, and researcher. He is currently a Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Research Fellow with IZA – Institute of Labor Economics. His primary work focuses on efforts to improve educator and organizational effectiveness in U.S. public schools. Kraft also is also the Founder and Faculty Director of SustainableED, an initiative at Brown University focused on advancing research at the intersection of education systems and climate change. From July 2024 to July 2025, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. .. more

Education 82%
Business 6%
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matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 10h
Happening Today! Our 2nd #SustainableED virtual seminar - free and open to the public. @edsustainable.bsky.social

Register here:
brown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Reposted by Dan Goldhaber

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 6d
Join us for another great #SustainableED virtual public seminar this Monday!
annenberginstitute.bsky.social Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 7d
How do we make school gardens last? 🌻 Beyond the health data, Dr. Jaimie Davis will discuss strategies for sustainability based on data from 500+ teachers across the US.

Join us for this #SustainableED deep dive! @annenberginstitute.bsky.social

Register here: buff.ly/fT2A94F

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 7d
😂

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 7d
😂

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 7d
People often ask if I'm wearing a Boston hat. Nope, I'm supporting team OLS.

Some amazing students from my undergrad stats class got me it several years ago. 📊📈📉

Really coming in handy this winter!

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

annenberginstitute.bsky.social
Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 7d
How do we make school gardens last? 🌻 Beyond the health data, Dr. Jaimie Davis will discuss strategies for sustainability based on data from 500+ teachers across the US.

Join us for this #SustainableED deep dive! @annenberginstitute.bsky.social

Register here: buff.ly/fT2A94F

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 10d
One of the greatest strengths of our nation is the public education system, which by law is open to every student who walks in the door.

ICE is directly harming our schools and the students and families they serve.

So I'm joining students to speak up.

open.substack.com/pub/matthewa...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

annenberginstitute.bsky.social
Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 11d
Can school gardens do more than grow veggies?

In our next #SustainableED Seminar, Dr. Jaimie Davis will review the rigorous evidence on how school gardens impact student health and learning. @annenberginstitute.bsky.social

Register here: brown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SustainableED Speaker Series: Jaimie Davis. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Jaimie N. Davis, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Davis is a nutrition scientist with expertise in establishing links between dietary...
brown.zoom.us

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 11d
Yesterday I had the chance to talk with KGW News 8 Portland about how efforts to increase instructional time AND decrease chronic absenteeism should go hand in hand to maximize learning.

www.kgw.com/article/news...
Oregon lawmakers asked to prioritize attendance data as state ranks near bottom for classroom time
Education advocates are pushing for House Bill 4154 to address chronic absenteeism as the state's short legislative session begins.
www.kgw.com

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 11d
This article provides a nice overview of the evidence I shared with the Oregon House Education Committee on the importance of instructional time and how it is starkly unequal across states and districts.

www.oregonlive.com/education/20...
Oregon’s classroom hours among lowest in nation, experts tell lawmakers
Research shows a straight line between time in class and student academic outcomes.
www.oregonlive.com

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
Our descriptive findings suggest that monitoring air, water, & soil quality at schools, updating school facilities, regulating environmental contaminants and industrial siting, and addressing inequitable potential exposure could create safer and more productive learning environments.

END

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
It’s important to flag that these estimates are conservative approximations of potential exposure. We limit our analysis to sites monitored by publicly available EPA programs, meaning we exclude other major pollution sources such as highways, contaminants in school facilities, and wildfires.

6/

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
There are also meaningful differences in school proximity to hazardous sites by state. Even among states with similar site and population densities, the share of sites located near schools varies, suggesting the influence of local policy and land-use decisions.

5/

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
School proximity to hazardous sites is highly inequitable, with students of color and those participating in FRPL, English learning programming, and students with disabilities facing far greater potential risks than their white peers and those not enrolled in these programs.

4/

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
We find that 8% of schools — serving 3 million students — are within .25 miles (one lap of a high school track) of hazardous sites. Within 1 mile, this reaches 44% and 22 million students.

Higher-risk sites are a meaningful share of these potential toxin exposure sources.

3/

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
We combine data on the universe of preK-12 public & private schools in the U.S. w/ three types of hazardous sites tracked by the EPA: Superfund sites, Brownfields, & Toxic Release Inventory facilities — all w/ well documented negative effects on childhood health & academic success.

2/

Reposted by Dan Goldhaber, Aaron Sojourner, C. Kirabo Jackson

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 14d
🚨New from @edsustainable.bsky.social #SustainableED

"U.S. Schools’ Proximity to Environmental Hazard Sites: A National Analysis"

We document how students' potential exposure to environmental toxins while at school is both widespread and highly inequitable.

edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1384

🧵

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

brownedudept.bsky.social
Brown University Department of Education @brownedudept.bsky.social · 18d
Professors @matthewakraft.com, John Papay, and Lindsay Page were named to the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings! ✨🎓

www-edweek-org.revproxy.brown.edu/policy-polit...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

michaelpetrilli.bsky.social
Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 19d
Catch up here: schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/how-hard-i...
How hard is tutoring to get right?
SCHOOLED | Wednesday, 1/21/26
schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

mpolikoff.bsky.social
Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 27d
Very good advice! Instructional time matters and is an important contributor to educational inequality (as Matt's review has shown us journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...)

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 27d
Today, I had the opportunity to testify before the Oregon House Education Committee on the importance of instructional time as they reassess their current state policies on minimum instructional time.

I encourage other states to consider raising instructional time minimums as well.

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 27d
Join us!
edsustainable.bsky.social SustainableED @edsustainable.bsky.social · 27d
Reminder: One more week to apply to present at the inaugural SustainableED Conference!

Submit your abstract: forms.gle/yy1Gfv4nU9Th...

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 27d
But also count me on team — lets make targeted investments in teacher compensation and provide educators with great support and instructional materials. 3/3

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 27d
I think we got the order wrong in our understandable attempt to help as many kids as we could as fast as possible. We went for scale and are now trying to get to quality. We need to focus on quality & then scale horizontally (lots of small programs) instead of vertically (expanding program size) 2/3

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 27d
Mike - I think you are asking the right questions. My take is while the post-pandemic tutoring evidence has been less positive than hoped, that is in part because our expectations were inflated and our evaluations were premature. These programs take time get right at scale. 1/3

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

edsustainable.bsky.social
SustainableED @edsustainable.bsky.social · 27d
Reminder: One more week to apply to present at the inaugural SustainableED Conference!

Submit your abstract: forms.gle/yy1Gfv4nU9Th...

Reposted by Bruce D. Baker, Matthew A. Kraft

annenberginstitute.bsky.social
Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · Jan 9
A new @edweek.org article highlights the nation’s top education scholars. Congratulations to those recognized, including Professors John Diamond, Lindsay Page, John Papay, and affiliates Emily Oster, @matthewakraft.com, and Prudence Carter.
Who Are the Nation's Top Education Scholars? (Opinion)
The RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings recognize researchers who shape practice and policy.
www.edweek.org

matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · Jan 8
If you are a scholar working on topics related to sustainability, climate change, or the environment and your work has implications for education systems/policy (or vice versa) please consider applying to the #SustainableED Conference. Let's build a community together.

Friends - thanks for sharing!
edsustainable.bsky.social SustainableED @edsustainable.bsky.social · Jan 8
This spring, we’re hosting the inaugural SustainableED Conference!

This event will convene researchers across a range of disciplines along with practitioners, non-profit organizers, and policymakers to generate policy-relevant insights from research.

🧵

Reposted by Joshua Goodman, Roddy Theobald, Matthew A. Kraft , and 1 more

bethschueler.bsky.social
Beth Schueler @bethschueler.bsky.social · Jan 8
To ring in the new year, I'm excited to announce the launch of the Politics of Education Lab (PEdL) at the Stanford GSE. The goal is to advance understanding of the political dimensions of education policymaking to help policymakers and practitioners strengthen school systems.

pedl.stanford.edu
The Politics of Education Lab
pedl.stanford.edu