About Dr. Donnelly

Before teaching Social Science at School of the Future, I worked full-time as a social science researcher in the Sociology department at Princeton University. I also taught part-time at Rutgers University, School of Social Work. As a researcher, I spent most of my time analyzing data and using statistics to understand how different school and neighborhood environments affect children's learning and development. I loved doing social science research, but I love teaching more. More than anything else, I wanted to serve my community by teaching adolescents and young adults in the city where I live - Philadelphia. I could not be happier to have found my way to teaching learners at School of the Future.

I'm extremely curious about how the world works, I'm passionate about teaching, and I care deeply about all of my students. I believe in the importance of caring working relationships between teachers, students, and parents. Every day, I work to make sure that all my students trust me to be consistently fair and supportive. In the classroom, I create a structured and predictable learning environment with lots of opportunities for unstructured and unpredictable discovery. I prepare and guide students with their work, but I also encourage students to struggle with the complexities of the real world outside the classroom. Intellectual challenge is normalized in my classroom: if you are not struggling at all, I remind my students, you're probably not thinking deeply enough. Through this process, I work to instill confidence and curiosity in learners so that all my students see themselves as smart, capable, and eager to understand more.

Associate Research Scholar, Princeton University (2015-2019)

• Collaborated with faculty and graduate students on quantitative sociological research using longitudinal survey data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS)
• Led working group of interdisciplinary researchers studying topics related to poverty, inequality, and child well-being
• Advised and mentored Princeton undergraduate students completing senior theses
• Principal Investigator on research grant to append educational records to FFCWS

Adjunct Professor – Rutgers University, School of Social Work (2014-2019)

• Policy Analysis (Instructor, Ph.D. course)
• Social Welfare Policy and Services (Instructor, M.S.W. course)
• Methods of Social Work Research I (Instructor, M.S.W. course)
• Methods of Social Work Research II: Program Evaluation (Instructor, M.S.W. course)
• Advanced Statistics: Regression Analysis (Lab Instructor, Ph.D. course)
• Statistics and Data Analysis for Social Workers (Certificate program)

M.Ed. Secondary Education – Temple University (2019)

• Concentration: Social Studies
• Social Studies and Mathematics (7-12) PA Instructional I Certification

Ph.D. Social Work – Rutgers University (2015)

• Concentration: Policy Analysis
• Dissertation: “Neighborhood Disadvantage and School Dropout: A Multilevel Analysis of Mediating Contexts”

M.S.W. Social Work – Rutgers University (2011)

• Concentration: Nonprofit and Public Management

B.A. – Brandeis University (2016)

• Concentration: Political Science and Legal Studies

Lundberg, Ian and Louis Donnelly. 2018. “The Prevalence of Housing Eviction among Children Born in American Cities.” Demography, 56(1): 391-404.

James, Sarah, Louis Donnelly, Sara McLanahan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 2018. “Links between Childhood Exposure to Violent Contexts and Risky Adolescent Health Behaviors.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(1): 94-101.

Donnelly, Louis, Sara McLanahan, Irwin Garfinkel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Brandon Wagner and Sarah James. 2017. “Geography of Intergenerational Mobility and Child Development.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(35): 9320-9325.

Massey, Douglas S., Brandon Wagner, Louis Donnelly, Sara McLanahan, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Irwin Garfinkel, Colter Mitchell and Daniel Notterman. 2017. “Neighborhood Disadvantage and Telomere Length: Results from the Fragile Families Study.” Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(4): 28-42.

Donnelly, Louis, Sara McLanahan, Irwin Garfinkel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Wade Jacobsen, Sarah Gold, Brandon Wagner and Lauren Gaydosh. 2016. “Cohesive Neighborhoods Where Social Expectations Are Shared May Have Positive Impact on Adolescent Health.” Health Affairs, 35(11): 2083-2091.

Nepomnyaschy, Lenna and Louis Donnelly. 2015. “Father Involvement and Childhood Injuries.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3): 628-646.

Nepomnyaschy, Lenna and Louis Donnelly. 2014. “Child Support in Immigrant Families.” Population Research and Policy Review. 33(6): 817-840.

Peterson, Andrew N., Antoinette Farmer, Louis Donnelly and Brad Forenza. 2014. “Assessing the Implicit Curriculum in Social Work Education.” Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 34(5): 460-479.