EQUITY: OUR LANDSCAPE, OUR DIVIDED NATION, AND THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MAGNET SCHOOLS

Janel George is a Senior Policy Advisor who co-leads the Equitable Resources and Access team and is the lead author of the report, The Federal Role and School Integration: Brown’s Promise and Present Challenges. Her work focuses on community schools, racial equity, education as a civil right, school choice, and other issues that shape equity and access in public schools. She has over a decade of experience working on legislative and policy advocacy and analysis, including as a legal fellow, Counsel, and Director with several nonprofits. She also served as Legislative Counsel in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during which her legislative portfolio included child welfare and education issues. As an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., George worked with several campaigns and coalitions to use legislative and policy advocacy to advance equal educational opportunity, and she co-authored the report Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Educational Equity, as well as law review articles on race and gender and the school-to-prison pipeline. She also helped to advance the federal policy work of the Dignity in Schools Campaign, including securing provisions promoting positive and inclusive school climates in the Every Student Succeeds Act. Her previous work also includes serving as an adjunct professor with Georgetown University Law Center and the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

George received a B.A. in English from Spelman College and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Tanji Reed Marshall, Ph.D., is the director of p-12 practice, leading Ed Trust’s Equity in Motion assignment analysis work.

Prior to joining Ed Trust, Tanji worked in the Office of Academic Programs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to prepare the school of education’s accreditation with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. Before that, she supported prospective secondary English teachers who were working to obtain licensure through the school of education.

Before joining Virginia Tech, Tanji worked for as a district-level literacy specialist in Charlotte–Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, where she supported middle schools across the district to refine their literacy practices. She also worked to prepare the district as they transitioned to Common Core standards. Additionally, as a Title I literacy coach, Tanji worked with targeted schools to improve literacy instruction for traditionally underserved students. Her career also includes elementary and middle school classroom teaching in North Carolina and New Jersey, which has allowed her opportunities to consult with school districts across the country to refine and focus teacher practice on literacy and to strengthen student achievement — with an emphasis on traditionally underserved students.

Tanji holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis on teacher practice with high-achieving African American students, from Virginia Tech; a master’s degree in English education, with a focus on critical literacy, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College.

Scott Thomas serves as the director of student services for the Northeast Metro Intermediate School District and is the former principal of two nationally recognized magnet schools; Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering and Technology, and Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts & Science in the Rosemount, Apple Valley Eagan School District 196. Scott Thomas is a former Executive Director for Magnet Schools of America. During his tenure, Mr. Thomas developed national standards for magnet schools that defined essential characteristics of magnet schools which included leveraging student diversity, equity, family and community engagement, academic excellence, and theme fidelity of magnet schools. His work also included consultation projects with districts including Louisville, KY, Baltimore County, MD, Houston ISD, and Boston Public Schools among others.

In addition to promoting national policies and programs related to public school choice and school diversity, Mr. Thomas served as the Educational Equity Coordinator for 7 years in District 196. During his time as Coordinator, he worked collaboratively with his colleagues to cultivate a climate and culture focused on systemic racial equity by addressing policies, procedures, programs, and professional development aimed at increasing access to opportunity for students and eliminating racial disparities in achievement.

Mr. Thomas has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations in the arts, university advisory boards and groups including the Advisory Board for Teaching Tolerance, a national publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He advises on school integration efforts around the country and is advising the development of regional magnet schools. Mr. Thomas also serves as a principal coach through Mankato State University’s Courageous Leadership Principal Institute where he is also completing his doctorate in educational leadership.