Chief of Partnerships and Strategy
Partners in School Innovation
1060 Tennessee Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
(C) 608-213-8401
(W) cthorn@partnersinschools.org
Home:
897 Marshall Ave
St. Paul, MN 55104
(H) cathorn@gmail.com
Doctor of Sociology (with high honors), University of Bielefeld, Germany, 1994 - State Involvement in the Semiconductor Industry: The Role and Importance of Consortia
M.A., Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1990
M.A., International Relations, The Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, 1987
B.A. (with honors), Economics and German Language, Indiana University, 1985
Chief of Partnerships & Strategy – August 2023 – Present
Chief of Program & Partnerships – July 2018 – August 2023
As Chief of Program and Partnerships, I was responsible for proposing and managing a large 5-year project, developing and supporting improvement networks across multiple school districts. We supported improvements for students in 2 networks in the School District of Philadelphia, in a network across 5 districts in East San Jose and a network in Los Angeles, As Chief of Partnerships & Strategy, I also work with CEO Derek Mitchell on developing and maintaining relationships with external partners, funders, and other stakeholders.
Director of Knowledge Management & Senior Research Associate – October 2017 – July 2018
As part of our larger strategy around scaling the math pathways reform and connecting what we have been learning about implementing complex interventions at scale, we moved the Carnegie Math Pathways program from the Carnegie Foundation to WestEd. We became part of the much larger Science, Engineering, Technology & Math group. Early on, I committed to helping identify a new home and making the move successful.
Director of Knowledge Management– August 2015 to October 2017
After successfully rebuilding the technology team and automating much of our real-time analytics, I have shifted the focus of my work to leading the scaling efforts of the Foundation’s largest and oldest Networked Improvement Community, the Community College Pathways. At the heart of the challenge is gathering what we have learned about what works across the 50 participating institutions and making that knowledge available to key stakeholders – from state policymakers to institutional and departmental leaders at each potential adopting college.
Co-Director, Center for Networked Improvement - August 2013 to July 2015
The Center supports continuous improvement in the performance of educational systems by developing and promoting an infrastructure that allows us to cull and synthesize the best of what we know from scholarship and practice, rapidly develop and test prospective improvements, and deploy what we learn about what works in schools and classrooms. CarnegieHub (integrating Google Apps, Instructure Canvas, and Salesforce) was our first major product development to support networked improvement communities. This work provided a platform for expanding the Carnegie Math Pathways into a national learning community with a scalable platform for teaching and learning.
Senior Associate & Director – July 2012 to August 2013
I joined the Carnegie Foundation as the Advancing Teaching-Improving Learning (ATIL) team director. This project sought to enhance the capacity of those working in teacher assessment and evaluation. We focused on learning from emerging measurement and analytical practices to build more effective information systems to advance teacher quality.
Principal Investigator – April 2000 to July 2012
Associate Scientist – April 2009 to July 2012
Assistant Scientist – December 2004 to March 2009
Researcher – January 2003 to November 2004
Associate Researcher – January 1999 to December 2002
Assistant Researcher – August 1997 to December 1998
At UW-Madison, I researched the application of technology to research challenges in education. My first major project studied video analysis to improve teaching practices and student learning. In particular, I focused on developing open-source tools to support longitudinal analysis by teams. The result was the creation of Transana, a widely used video analysis and management platform.
In addition to my research during this period, I also served as a team member in several large research centers, including the Center for the Study of Systemic Reform in Milwaukee Public Schools and the NSF-funded System-wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE) Math and Science Partnership. I developed continuous improvement, decision support, and data use resources in Milwaukee and designed and supported SCALE's collaborative knowledge management system and processes to manage its work and deliver services to participants nationwide.
During my last six years at WCER, I worked with Robert Meyer to create and grow the Value Added Research Center. I served as the Co-Director and lead for data quality and systems integration. I also managed a team of technical assistance providers who supported districts across the U.S. that received Teacher Incentive Fund support to build differentiated compensation systems as a part of their school improvement strategies.
Director of Technical Services – August 1997 to September 2010
In addition to pursuing research at WCER, I also served as Director of Technical Services. In that role, I was part of the WCER’s leadership team. I led the unit that provided technology, policy, and evaluation research support across various research projects for the Center. As Director of that unit, I scaled the group from 5 staff and a $450k budget in 1997 to 21 staff and a $ 1.7 mil budget in 2010. As a senior School of Education representative, I also served on university-level scholarly and policy committees.
Associate Researcher – December 1995 to July 1997
Designed and co-administered a state-wide, multi-year data collection and analysis effort focused on the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program and the transition of high school students into the workforce.
Evaluated the effectiveness of several competing approaches to career and technical education and curriculum reform.
Assistant Researcher – January 1992 to July 1996
Chief analyst and project manager for the multi-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Voucher Program.
Designed and carried out a permanent data archiving process to provide other scholars access to an extensive, hierarchical education data set.
UW-Madison, School of Education, Distinguished Achievement Award – 2004
German Research Foundation Fellowship – 1993-1996
University of Wisconsin Big Ten Traveling Scholar Grant – 1991
German Academic Exchange Service Pre-Dissertation Research Grant – 1990
Fulbright Commission Collaborative Research Grant – 1989 (Bielefeld, Germany)
Phi Beta Kappa, Indiana University Chapter – 1985
Cynefin Center – Training on knowledge management and complex facilitation – 2019-2024
Billions Institute – Skid Row School for Large-Scale Change – November 2015
Institute for Healthcare Improvement – Breakthrough Series Collaborative Training – April 2014
CDW-G – ITIL Foundations – September 2008
Educause CIO Leadership Training – May 2008
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($13.6 million), Equity-focused improvement for middle-grade networks. PI - November 2019 to December 2024.
National Science Foundation ($3 million), Scaling Up through Networked Improvement (SUNI): Testing a practical theory about improving math outcomes for developmental students at scale. PI - August 2017 to July 2022.
U.S. Department of Education ($3 million), Technical Assistance for Teacher Incentive Grants Funded under the ARRA. PI – September 2010 to August 2015.
Institute for Education Science ($1.2 million), National Research and Development Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools. Co-PI with Robert H. Meyer – July 2010 to June 2015.
Archibald Bush Foundation – Teacher Effectiveness Initiative ($3.7 million), Developing Teacher Effectiveness Measures for Teacher Preparation Warranties. PI with Robert H. Meyer – December 2009 to November 2014.
U.S. Dept. of Education – subcontract from Westat, Inc. ($2.4 million), Center for Educator Compensation Reform. Co-PI with Robert H. Meyer – November 2007 to October 2012.
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Dept. of Education Subcontract ($300,000), Longitudinal Data Systems to Support Data-Driven Decision-Making. Co-PI with Robert H. Meyer – February 2006 to January 2009.
Chicago Community Trust ($427,000), A Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Chicago Community Trust’s Education Initiative. PI – June 2005 to September 2008.
UCSD/SDSC, NSF Subcontract ($304,000), Digital Insight: A Prototype Digital Media Research System – Transana. PI – October 1999 to December 2004.
Carnegie Mellon University, NSF Subcontract ($131,000), TalkBank: Multimedia Database of Communicative Interactions: Developing an Open Source Model for Video and Audio Annotation Research Tools. PI – December 2000 to August 2002.
Spencer Foundation Research Grant ($50,000), Design of an Upgraded System of Testing, Accountability, and Data Analysis Supporting Systemic School Reform in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Co-PI with William Clune – April 1999 to April 2000.
Partners in School Innovation, Board Member – 2012-2018
I served on the board and executive committee. As a part of my board service, I led the program improvement board subcommittee charged with overseeing the development of the next major update to the Partners approach - the use of networks to accelerate the development of results-oriented change agents (ROCAs).
Memorial Library Committee, UW-Madison – 2009-2012
Academic Staff Scientist representative to the campus library system governance committee
IP Allocation Committee, UW-Madison, Chair – 2008-2012
Led the governance group charged with developing and implementing policies to address the acute and worsening shortage of internet addresses
Advised the campus-level Network Advisory Group and the campus CIO on appropriate mitigation and intervention strategies across campus
UW-Madison, School of Education, IT Policy Advisory Committee – 1997-2010
Served with the Director of MERIT (Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology) as the co-leader of technology services for the School of Education
Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC), Steering Committee – 2002-2010
Negotiated a membership for the Wisconsin Center for Education Research in 2002
In 2008, negotiated a membership for the School of Education
Developed both a scholarly argument and a financial model to show that the membership would be mutually beneficial to all parties
WOOHA! (Wisconsin Open Organization for Help Associates) – 2008-2010
Co-instigator with the central campus user services director
Created collaborative learning and problem-solving groups to connect helpdesks across campus for collaboration and learning
Introduced and co-sponsored ITIL training on campus for support professionals
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Program Committee – 2006-2008
Represented the science of infrastructure perspective as a member of the governance group charged with developing the guiding principles and faculty leadership selection criteria for a new $200 million Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, and Information Technology research institute. All other committee members were senior faculty and/or associate deans
Automated Travel Reimbursement System Committee – 2005-2009
Co-developed the initial charge for this project and led the original team that gained university-wide endorsement for the first major, user-centered design project for an administrative system at the UW-Madison
Conference Organizer
Hosted and organized Teaching Qualitative Methods conferences – 2003, 2005, & 2007
External Committee Service
International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP): IT in Educational Management Working Group (Secretary) – 2004-2013
American Education Research Association (AERA): Standing Committee on Technology (Chair 2002-2004, 2005-2006) – 2001-2006
Service as a reviewer
Serve on National Science Foundation EHR proposal review panels
Serve as a scholarly reviewer for AERA, CSCL, and ITFP TC 3.7
Consulting
Eagle County Public Schools – Data Systems for Performance Compensation – 2010
Brown University – District Data Use Support Network – 2010
Wyoming Department of Education – Data Systems and Decision Support – 2008-2009
Spencer Foundation – Information Systems & Strategy Consultant – 2003-2008
MacArthur Research Network on Teaching and Learning – 2002-2004
School- and Campus-level Search Committee Service
Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Director
Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Assistant Director
UW-Madision - Secretary of the Academic Staff
Thorn, Christopher. 2020. Decision support systems and knowledge management in education. In A. Tatnall (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies (pp. 514–518). Springer International Publishing.
Burdman, Pam, Kathy Booth, Christopher Thorn, Peter Riley Bahr, Jon McNaughtan, and Grant Jackson. 2018. “Multiple Paths Forward: Diversifying Mathematics as a Strategy for College Success.” WestEd, Just Equations, and the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education.
Mitchell, Derek; Thorn, Christopher; and Edwards, Brian. 2018. Clarifying misconceptions about improvement science. Leadership. Association of California School Administrators: Sacramento, CA. Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 24-27.
Yamada, Hiroyuki; Bohannon, Angel; Grunow, Alicia; and Thorn, Christopher. 2018. "Assessing the effectiveness of Quantway®: A multilevel model with propensity score matching." Community College Review.
Manai, Oajdi.; Yamada, Hiroyuki.; and Thorn, Christopher. 2016. Real-time indicators and targeted supports: using online platform data to accelerate student learning. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK '16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 183-187.
Krumm, Andrew E.; Cynthia D'Angelo; Timothy E. Podkul; Mingyu Feng; Hiroyuki Yamada; Rachel Beattie; Heather Hough, and Chris Thorn. 2015. “Practical Measures of Learning Behaviors.” Proceedings of the Second (2015) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S '15). New York, NY: ACM, pp. 327-330.
Thorn, Christopher and Douglas Harris. 2013. “The Accidental Revolution: Teacher Accountability, Value-Added, and the Shifting Balance of Power in the American School System.” In Dorothea Anagnostopoulos, Rebecca Jacobsen, and Stacey Rutledge (Eds.), The Infrastructure of Accountability: Data Use and the Transformation of American Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Thorn, Christopher. 2013. “Socio-Technical Gaps Exposed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Incentive Fund Grant Program.” In Don Passey, Andreas Breiter, Adrie Visscher (Ed.), IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. New York, NY: Springer. Volume 400, pp. 86-93.
Kraemer, Sara; Christopher Thorn, and Jeffery Watson. 2008. “Macroergonomics of Education Reform: A Framework for Transforming Merit-Based Educator Compensation Systems.” Conference Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting, September 22-26, 2008, New York, NY.
Thorn, Christopher; Robert Meyer, and Adam Gamoran. 2007. “Evidence and Decision-Making in Education Systems.” In Pamela Moss (Ed.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education 106(1): 340-361.
Thorn, Christopher. 2005. “Systemic Reform Efforts in the U.S.: Role of Information Technology in Fostering Collaboration within New Partnerships.” In Adrie Visscher, Javier Osorio, and Arthur Tatnall (Ed.), Information Technology in Educational Management. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Thorn, Christopher. 2004. “Building New Systems for Decision Support: Was There a Baby in that Bathwater?” In Arthur Tatnall (Ed.), Web Portals: The New Gateways to Internet Information and Services. Melbourne, Australia: Idea Group Inc.
Thorn, Christopher. 2003. “Making Decision Support Systems Useful in the Classroom: Designing a Needs Assessment Process.” In Ian Selwood, Alex Fung, and Tuulikki Paturi (Ed.), Information Technology in Educational Management. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Thorn, Christopher. 2001. “Knowledge Management for Educational Information Systems: What Is the State of the Field?” Education Policy Analysis Archives 9(47).
Witte, John and Christopher Thorn. May 1996. “Who Chooses? Voucher and Interdistrict Choice Programs in Milwaukee.” American Journal of Education 104(May): 186-217.
Willke, Helmut; Carsten Krueck, and Christopher Thorn. 1995. Benevolent Conspiracies: The Role of Enabling Technologies in the Welfare of Nations: The Cases of SDI, SEMATECH, and EUREKA. New York: W. de Gruyter.
Sherer, J.; Russel, J.; Duff, M.; Chalmers, M.; Thorn, C.; & Senson, M. 2024. Putting Networks in Context: How NSI Navigate Complex Environments, Carnegie Summit, San Diego, CA.
Kinlaw, A.; Randall, J.; Thorn, C.; Winchester, A. 2024. Lead by Learning: Rewire Systems for Participatory Change. SXSWedu, Austin, TX.
Clay, A.; Kinlaw, A.; Chu, L.; Synder, M.; Caillier, S.; Montes, E.; Thorn, C.; & May, S. 2022. Systemic Improvement to Systems Change: The Leading Through Learning Playbook, Carnegie Summit, San Diego, CA.
Iriti, Jen and Christopher Thorn. 2021. Networking by Problem of Practice: Knowledge Management in Networks. Carnegie Summit.
Burdman, P., Booth, K., Thorn, C., Riley Bahr, P., McNaughtan, J. and Jackson, G. 2018. Multiple paths forward: Diversifying mathematics as a strategy for college success. San Francisco, CA: WestEd & Just Equations.
Manai, O.; Yamada, H. and Thorn, C. 2016. Real-time indicators and targeted supports: using online platform data to accelerate student learning. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK '16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 183-187.
Huang, M., Hoang, H., Yesilyurt, S., & Thorn, C. 2016. Community College Pathways: 2014-2015 Impact Report. Stanford, CA: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Thorn, Christopher. 2015. Statway 2013-2014 Propensity Score Matching Results. Presentation at the RP Group Student Success Conference, April 2015, Sacramento, CA.
Klipple, Karon and Christopher Thorn. 2015. Not Satisfied with Success: Unlocking Math as a Gatekeeper. Spotlight Presentation at Achieving the Dream Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, February 2015.
Provost, Lloyd and Christopher Thorn. 2014. Scanning the Field: Comparing Various Methodologies for Improvement. Presentation at the Carnegie Improvement Summit, Burlingame, California, March 2014.
Watson, Jeffery and Christopher Thorn. 2012. Student Teacher Linkage Data Quality: Discrepancy Rates and Team Teaching. Paper presented at the Association for Education Finance Policy 37th Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, March 2012.
Thorn, Christopher; Sara Kraemer, and Jeffery Watson. 2010. When Worlds Collide—Data Quality and Program Evaluation PK-20. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Management Information Systems Conference, Phoenix, Arizona.
Kraemer, Sara and Christopher Thorn. 2010. Cyberinfrastructure and Scientific Collaboration: Application of a Virtual Team Performance Framework with Potential Relevance to Education. WCER Working Paper No. 2010-12. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Prince, Cynthia; Patrick Schuermann; James Guthrie; Peter Witham; Anthony Milanowski, and Christopher Thorn. 2008. The Other 69 Percent: Fairly Rewarding the Performance of Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects. Center for Educator Compensation Reform White Paper. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Thorn, Christopher and Steven Kimball. 2008. Creating an Evaluation Framework for the Chicago Community Trust Education Program (2008-2013): Building on Lessons from 3-year Evaluation. Report. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Thorn, Christopher; Sara Kraemer, and Allison Henderson. 2008. Lessons learned from Teacher Incentive Fund Proposals: The Social and Technical Demands of Pay for Performance Systems. Paper presented at the National Center for Education Statistics Winter Forum and 21st Annual Management Information Systems Conference, San Francisco, California.
Thorn, Christopher and Robert H. Meyer. 2006. Longitudinal Data Systems to Support Data-Informed Decision Making: A Tri-State Partnership between Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. WCER Working Paper No. 2006-1. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Thorn, Christopher. 2002. Data Use in the Classroom: The Challenges of Implementing Data-based Decision-making at the School Level. Paper presented at the American Education Research Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2002.
Thorn, Christopher. 2002. Making Decision Support Systems Useful in the Classroom: Designing a Needs Assessment Process. Paper presented at the National Center for Education Statistics 15th Annual MIS Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 2002.
Thorn, Christopher. 1999. Systemic Reform and the MPS Information System. In Technical Reports on Milwaukee Public Schools Policy, Information Systems, and Instructional Alignment. Technical Report 99-1(July). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Thorn, Christopher. 1998. Information System Design in Support of Reform Efforts. In Technical Reports on Milwaukee Public Schools Policy, Information Systems, and Instructional Alignment. Technical Report 98-1 (December). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Mason, Sarah and Christopher Thorn. October 1996. Wisconsin School-to-Work: A Study of Local Implementation 1995-1996. Report on the results of the first year of the study. Madison, WI: Center on Education and Work.
Thorn, Christopher A. September 1996. Images of Cooperation: The importance of strategic alliances as a cooperative model. Post-doctoral research report funded by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Thorn, Christopher A. 1996. Building Expertise In High Technology: New Dynamics Of R&D Funding at U.S. Research Universities. Paper presented at the IEEE Social Implications of Technology Conference at Princeton University, Princeton, NY. June 20-22.
Thorn, Christopher. September 2013. Understanding the National Value-Added Landscape from a Policy and Research Standpoint. Keynote at the Ohio Education Research Center meeting on Examining Ohio's Approach to Measuring Student Success, in Columbus, Ohio, on September 16, 2013.
Thorn, Christopher. April 2012. Collaboration, Complexity, and Socio-Technical Systems. Presented at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, California, on April 18, 2012.
Thorn, Christopher and Douglas Harris. February 2012. The Accidental Revolution: Teacher Accountability, Value-Added, and the Restructuring of the American School System. Presented at the Infrastructure, Data Systems, and Accountability Conference at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, on February 22, 2012.
Kraemer, Sara and Christopher Thorn. April 2010. Cyberinfrastructure and Scientific Collaboration in GLOW II: A Virtual Team Performance Framework. Presented at Condor Week Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, on April 14, 2010.
Thorn, Christopher. May 2008. Linking State Data Systems to Local Reforms. Invited presentation to the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest Board of Directors Meeting in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Thorn, Christopher. September 2006. Video Analysis Software: A Review of the Field and Are We There Yet? - Growing Maturity in Qualitative Tools and Methods. Invited presentations at the École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Lyon, France.
Thorn, Christopher. September 2006. Are we there yet? - Growing Maturity in Qualitative Tools and Methods. Plenary talk at the 7th Annual Conference on Strategies in Qualitative Research, University of Durham, UK.
Thorn, Christopher. July 2006. Reinventing High School: How Would You Know if You'd Done It? 12th Annual Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Thorn, Christopher. February 2006. Building Partnerships: Data-Informed Collaboration Between Districts and Their Partners. Ninth Annual WCER Conference for Wisconsin CESAs, Madison, Wisconsin.
Thorn, Christopher. January 2004. Knowledge Management and Collaborative Tools in Complex Partnerships. NSF Math and Science Partnership Learning Network Conference, Washington, D.C.
Thorn, Christopher. November 2003. Decision Support in District Reform Efforts. Consortium for School Improvement, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Thorn, Christopher. January 2003. Organic School Information Systems: Building a Spirit of Inquiry Versus Terraforming by Data Warehouse. Keynote address and workshop for the Ministry of Education, Ontario Province, Canada.
Thorn, Christopher. December 2002. Superintendents as IT Sensemakers: Information Systems in Support of Instructional Decision Making. Keynote address at the University of Pittsburgh Superintendents’ Forum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Thorn, Christopher. November 2002. Characteristics of Successful Decision Support Systems. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin.
Thorn, Christopher. March 2002. Digital Insight and Transana: Enabling New Histories of Learning for Math and Science Instruction. National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure, All Hands Meeting, San Diego Supercomputer Center, San Diego, California.
Thorn, Christopher. January 2001. Issues in Building District-Level Knowledge Management Systems. Wisconsin School Boards Association Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
I am an avid canal boater. I discovered canal boating in 2010 and have spent over seven months on UK canals since then. I’m also a singer and enjoy remodeling and finish carpentry.