The RSJC leverages the power of research-practice partnerships to address one of the grand challenges of our time: deep, persistent educational inequities in lopportunities and outcomes that disproportionately impact historically marginalized students.

RPPs are centered on equity: 

• 1) equity of the research outcomes, aimed at pushing research towards solving practical problems that our most marginalized communities face; and

• 2) equity of the research process, aimed at disrupting the traditional power dynamic between researchers (“experts”) and practitioners (passive recipients of the "experts"’ knowledge). 

The RSJC is partnering with Prince George's, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools around the pressing racial and social justice challenges they face. Through a collaborative effort that spans the UMD College of Education, Office of Community Engagement, School of Public Policy, and the Equity Directors of these school districts, the RSJC is studying how Black boys experience thriving - or the lack thereof - in schools. 

Bridging the space between communities, schools, and "the ivory tower" takes more than collaboration, it takes trust, humility, and shared purpose. 

We are grateful to be in community with educators, researchers, and district partners who aren’t just studying change, but co-creating it. 

Together, we’re reimagining what education can look like when practice and research meet in the spirit of justice, story, and collective growth!