Rachel M. Perera
Fellow - Governance Studies, Brown Center on Education Policy - The Brookings Institution
Rachel M. Perera is a Fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Her research examines how racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities develop in K-12 education and the consequences of policies designed to reduce inequality. Her current work focuses on civil rights and education, school discipline, educators' racial attitudes, and student assignment and school choice policies. She is a 2021 recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship and a 2020 joint recipient of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Fellowship in Education Research and the AERA/National Science Foundation Grants Program Dissertation Grant.
Dr. Perera earned her Ph.D. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She also holds an M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and a B.A. in history and political science from Hofstra University. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Perera spent five years with Teach For America, most recently serving as Director of Research Partnerships.
Rachel M. Perera is a Fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Her research examines how racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities develop in K-12 education and the consequences of policies designed to reduce inequality. Her current work focuses on civil rights and education, school discipline, educators’ racial attitudes, and student assignment and school choice policies. She is a 2021 recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship and a 2020 joint recipient of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Fellowship in Education Research and the AERA/National Science Foundation Grants Program Dissertation Grant.
Dr. Perera earned her Ph.D. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She also holds an M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and a B.A. in history and political science from Hofstra University. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Perera spent five years with Teach For America, most recently serving as Director of Research Partnerships.
“There’s a lot of pressure on schools right now...Schools also say they don’t have the resources to address more behavioral problems, and I worry that that will translate to schools falling back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need.”
“It’s positive that they’re making those connections for people,” said Rachel M. Perera, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on Education Policy who has studied civil rights enforcement in school discipline. “But something that seems to be missing is more practical guidance on what that means. OK, if a school district has these types of disparities, how do you go about reducing them? How do you actually address that?”
![School in Tuscaloosa City and County is back in session. The new Northport Intermediate School opened its doors for the first time to students Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.Students arriving by bus walk down a covered entryway. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]First Day Of School Northport Intermediate](https://i0.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-08-12T135126Z_1833381351_MT1USATODAY16552687_RTRMADP_3_SCHOOL-IN-TUSCALOOSA-CITY-AND-COUNTY-IS-BACK-IN-SESSION-THE.jpg?w=234&crop=0%2C11px%2C100%2C134px&ssl=1)