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News & Events
Spotlight on Faculty
Frances Contreras Appointed to Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee
Governor Christine Gregoire has appointed Frances Contreras to serve on the WA Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee. Created in 2009, the Committee aims to address the achievement gap in Washington state.
Contreras is an associate professor at the UW College of Education in the area of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2003, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Contreras has published numerous articles on education policy. In 2009 she co-authored The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies, and her book The Brown Paradox: Latinos and Education Policy in the United States is currently in press with Teachers College Press .
Of her involvement on the Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee, Contreras states, “Providing a voice for underrepresented communities is a unique privilege. I plan be an active member and to provide concrete feedback on recommendations for raising achievement for all students in Washington. I want to ensure that the needs of low-income, ELL and underrepresented students are addressed.
From Left to Right:
Irene Sanchez, EDLPS doctoral student, Luis Ortega, Zesbaugh Scholar, Dr. Frances Contreras, Barbara Guzman, community liaison, Monica Esqueda, (MeD in Higher Ed, 2009), Kathryn Torres, EDLPS doctoral student, Karen O-Reilly Diaz, C and I doctoral student, and Arthur Sepulveda, Zesbaugh Scholar.
Contreras’ research focuses on issues of equity and access for underrepresented students in the education pipeline. She is faculty lead on Proyecto Acceso, a research project that studies Latino high school students in Washington schools. The project examines how Latino students navigate their school context by hearing from the key stakeholders, including, students, parents, and teachers. Six of Contreras’ student participants in Proyecto Acceso, including masters and doctoral students, contributed to the blueprint for this oversight committee.
As Contreras explains, “This oversight committee emerged from the work of all achievement gap commissions, including the committee that I served on and the committee that Shirley Hune served on. The governor acted upon our recommendations and found that she needed an ongoing committee to provide her with ongoing feedback. It’s a testament to how research can directly influence policy.”
Contreras, who considers herself an “activist scholar” currently serves on the Boards of LEAP and the ACLU of Washington.
“My strong commitment to low income, immigrant, and minority students compels me to actively participate on boards and commissions like the Achievement Gap Oversight committee. This is a unique opportunity to bridge my research into real-life practice. It is a space to ask real life questions that are sometimes missing from the academic arena.”
Read an interview with Frances Contreras»
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