Public Writing & Media

Commentary, reports, interviews, and talks about education politics for audiences beyond the academy.

Newsletter. I write about politics, education, public policy, and NCC Departmental updates on Substack.

Commentary

• 2026. Should Idaho’s top educator have to pick a party? Idaho Ed News.
• 2026. Education and the Consequences of Federal Fragmentation. Governing.
• 2025. Local Elections, National Tides: The Role of Partisanship in School Board Elections. With Rebecca Jacobsen. APSA Educate.
• 2019. One third of Idaho districts protect LGBTQ employees with policies. With Sarah Edge. Idaho Ed News, August 19.
• 2019. Most districts come close to complying with Idaho’s transparency laws. With Sarah Edge. Idaho Ed News, July 29.
• 2019. Legislators need to confront local funding as they consider rewriting the state funding formula. Idaho Ed News.

Reports & other writing

• 2025. The Influence of Partisanship in Rhode Island School Board Elections. With student coauthors L. Ahmed, B. Lispector, T. Sfinarolakis, and M. Melzer. Annenberg Institute at Brown University Policy Brief.
• 2025. Career Preparation in the Political Science Curriculum. With I. O. Hammerly, W. O’Brachta, C. B. O’Neill, R. G. Tan, and J. Wood. Political Science Today.
• 2023. Rethinking the Political Science Major: Recruitment, Retention, and Careers. With L. Falabella, J. Jackson, N. Foster Shoaf, and K. Victor. Political Science Today 3(3): 5–15.
• Forthcoming. Entries in An Encyclopedia of Youth Activism in America. Bloomsbury.

Interviews & appearances

• 2026. The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Is the Diploma Divide Really a Gender Gap?” On gender and voting on college campuses.
• 2026. Thinking in the Midst (podcast): school boards and democracy. [LINK]
• 2026. Brown Daily Herald: “Administrative burden disproportionately discourages less-educated individuals from voting, Brown study finds”
• Watson School of International and Public Affairs: “Turning rights into reality: Examining barriers to voting and education”
• 2023. The University Press, Florida Atlantic University: quoted on a presidential search.

Invited talks

• 2026. “The Politics of American Education.” Schools & Society Seminar, The College of Idaho.
• 2025. “The Politics of K–12 Education in America.” North Central College.
• 2025. “National Politics Comes to Town: Evidence from School Board Elections.” DePaul University.
• 2025. “The Politics of Civic Education: Lessons for Future Educators.” California State University, Chico.
• 2025. “Crucibles of Democracy: The Politicization of School Boards.” Annenberg Institute, Brown University.
• 2025. “Education for Democracy: Politics, Policy, and Schools.” Department of Political Science, Northeastern University.
• 2025. “Education for Democracy: Politics, Policy, and Schools.” Department of Political Science, Grinnell College.
• 2024. “Education for Democracy: Politics, Policy, and Schools.” School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside.
• 2024. “The Costs of Voting.” Politics & Policy Undergraduate Seminar, University of Houston.
• 2020–2025. Annual guest lectures on education politics, the federal role in education, and Common Core. Schools & Society Seminar, The College of Idaho.