UC Berkeley’s research partnerships with SFUSD extend over twenty years, spanning diverse topics such as science assessment, high school trajectories, nutrition services, and school transportation. In early 2017, leaders at SFUSD sought to formalize these relationships through an institutional-level partnership between the district and UC Berkeley across multiple schools and disciplines. These efforts are now being supported by a William T. Grant Foundation Institutional Challenge Grant, which is also jointly funded by the Spencer Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, from 2020 to 2023. The joint research agenda builds on existing partnerships with San Francisco Peer Resources and SFUSD’s School Health Programs in service of SFUSD’s equity and social justice goals, converging on interventions to support wellness, reduce absenteeism, address homelessness, and mitigate racial bias. The work includes a strong emphasis on promoting recognition and value of community-engaged research(link is external)(link is external) at each respective institution. The partnership seeks to establish a robust foundation for supporting the wide range of research projects conducted in partnership between UC Berkeley and SFUSD.
Overview
One key illustration of our community-partnered approach is the SF Unified School District-UC Berkeley Research-Practice Partnership (RPP). Community-engaged partnerships in education are usually known as research-practice partnerships(link is external). This RPP builds on multiple longstanding research collaborations of Berkeley investigators with diverse SFUSD departments, bridging faculty across disciplines and units who came together in 2018 to work collectively with SFUSD to advance their equity and social justice goals.
Research Briefs
