E.g., 04/26/2024
E.g., 04/26/2024
Julie Sugarman
Experts & Staff
Photo of Julie Sugarman

Julie Sugarman

Associate Director for K-12 Education Research

(202) 266-1905

@julie_sugarman

Julie Sugarman is Associate Director for K-12 Education Research at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, where she focuses on multilingual learner education and helps stakeholders understand complex research and policy issues, improve program design, and evaluate program effectiveness.

Media Requests
Michelle Mittelstadt
+1 202-266-1910
[email protected]

At MPI, Dr. Sugarman has published analyses on topics such as federal policy supporting immigrant-background and English Learner (EL) students, school funding, federal and state data systems, and assessment and accountability. Additionally, she has published numerous research reports on how state and federal policies impact the educational options of newcomers who arrive in U.S. schools in high school. She has been an active contributor to policy efforts in the field, including as a member of the Public Policy Professional Council of TESOL International Association and as an advisor to the executive board of the National Association of English Language Program Administrators. She has also provided expertise to the Office of English Language Acquisition at the U.S. Department of Education; the Council of Chief State School Officers; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and numerous state and local education agencies and community-based organizations.

She came to MPI from the Center for Applied Linguistics, where she specialized in the evaluation of educational programs for language learners and in dual language/two-way immersion programs. At CAL, she directed comprehensive program evaluations of instruction for ELs in K-12, and contributed to numerous research and evaluation projects, including studies of biliteracy development in two-way immersion programs.

Dr. Sugarman earned a B.A. in anthropology and French from Bryn Mawr College, an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in second language education and culture from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Bio Page Tabs

FLICKR   RTLibrary
Video, Audio
November 2, 2017

Marking the release of an MPI report, this webinar explores some of the responses made by school districts to bring immigrant and refugee newcomer students up to speed in English and basic academic skills, all while focused on the educational system’s ultimate goal of high school completion with the skills necessary for today’s college and career demands. The discussion focuses on how schools create and expand systems around the identification of students’ immediate and ongoing academic and socioemotional needs, and how they design programs and curricular pathways to balance these needs with state policy constraints. 

mosaic36 flickr
Video, Audio
October 12, 2017

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) now make up nearly one-third of all children ages 8 and under in the United States, and on this webinar, MPI analysts outline key findings from a national demographic and policy profile and series of state fact sheets highlighting characteristics of the growing DLL population and the policy context they encounter in state early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems. Panelist discuss the implications for the ECEC programs and systems that seek to provide equitable access and quality for DLLs, and highlight California's response to the growing population of DLLs in the ECEC system. 

2016.8.25EventPHOTO CHILDREN COMPUTERS
Video, Audio
August 25, 2016

This webinar explores the key education funding mechanisms in place to support English Learner elementary and secondary students in the United States, public conversations about funding, and efforts to improve the equitable distribution of educational resources.

_BoyStudying
Video, Audio
June 23, 2016

Report authors and an ELL professional discuss the mechanics of school funding and the specialized services provided for migrant-background students in the United States, Canada, France, and Germany. Speakers also highlight the choices facing policymakers who seek to use supplementary funding to better support effective, high-quality education for children from immigrant and refugee families.

_DiverseStudents6
Video, Audio
October 22, 2015

This webinar examines the challenges facing educators and policymakers in Europe and the United States as they attempt to meet the needs of immigrant and refugee students who arrive during their middle and high school years.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
February 12, 2020

Experts share how states have approached Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation, areas where the law and state efforts to support English Learners can be improved, and findings from the compendium, The Patchy Landscape of State English Learner Policies under ESSA

Policy Briefs
June 2019

A complicated web of laws, policy guidance, and court rulings affect how English Learner (EL) and immigrant-background students are educated across the United States. This EL Insight sorts through them to highlight seven key ways the U.S. government protects the rights of these students to a K-12 education. It also highlights who can enforce these rules and how they can be seen in action.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 29, 2019

This webinar, accompanying the release of an MPI report, investigates the unintended consequences for English Learners of using the four-year high school graduation rate for federal school accountability.

Reports
April 2019

High school graduation is a landmark event for students. It also plays an important role in the state accountability systems designed to ensure that schools provide all students a high-quality education. Yet relying on a school's four-year graduation rate for federal accountability purposes can have unintended consequences for English Learners, who may need extra time to graduate.

Fact Sheets
August 2018

States are in the midst of designing new policies to hold schools accountable for the education of English Learner (EL) students, as mandated by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This series of fact sheets sketches the characteristics of immigrant and EL students in 25 states, the gaps between their educational outcomes and those of their peers, and the accountability policies each state is developing.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 27, 2018

Marking the release of an MPI brief, experts on this webinar examine the key features of English Learner (EL) instructional models and discuss state- and district-level approaches to supporting schools in implementing effective EL program models, with a particular focus on what is being done in New York and Madison Wisconsin. 

Policy Briefs
June 2018

The programs U.S. schools use to support English Learners (EL) take many shapes and forms. At a time when parents and community members are encouraged to work with educators to close achievement gaps, this guide aims to help them understand the differences between EL program models, as well as why schools make different choices about which to use.

Policy Briefs
May 2018

As states make more data about student outcomes and schools available online, it can be difficult to decide where to turn for information about English Learners (ELs). This guide breaks down common questions about finding and using student (and specifically EL) data. It also explores some common challenges data users may face.

Pages