Stanford-Sequoia K-12 Research Collaborative

Researchers and Practitioners Collaborating to Improve Student Outcomes

Our nine partner districts—Belmont, Las Lomitas, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Ravenswood, Redwood City, San Carlos, Sequoia, Woodside—and Stanford conduct research studies on areas of shared interest that improve academic outcomes for all students, with a specific emphasis on students who are classified as English learners.

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Research That Addresses District Goals
Pursue goals such as improving multilingual-learner student outcomes and advancing policies that support math achievement.
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Support for Research Production and Use
Help research and practice teams work collaboratively to produce research that informs decisions about practices and policy.
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Structures and Routines for Collaboration
Establish data use agreements and host events that allow research and practice teams to make sense of research findings.
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Connections Between District Leaders and Researchers
Connecting interested district leaders and faculty and student researchers on shared topics of interest they aim to advance through generalizable research.

Why It Matters

Despite a plethora of research production by universities, evidence-based takeaways do not often reach practitioners and are typically not integrated into local contexts. Conducting research in partnership can provide useful evidence that informs and guides decision-making for our nine partner districts as they work toward improving academic outcomes for all students. Also, designing studies alongside district leaders provides Stanford researchers with the opportunity to produce timely, informative, and innovative research that is generalizable and meets the needs of district leaders.

What We Offer
We bring together researchers and practitioners to produce research that informs decision making. In order to facilitate these collaborations, we provide a variety of supports.
Customized Coaching
Researchers and district leaders may not be used to working together in partnership—we provide tailored support from research development, to research production and research use to support teams.
Agreements and Access
Districts and universities may not be set up to easily transfer data or co-develop research proposals—we coordinate data agreements and support the collaborative development of proposals.
Events and Networking
Researchers and district leaders can often operate in silos—we facilitate events and opportunities for networking that support the development of new research and the consideration of research findings.
Accessible Research
Researchers' and practitioners' nomenclature is different—we help document and maintain a library of research briefs and scaffold opportunities to pursue funding and publication.

Research

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Research on English Learner Classification & Reclassification

October, 2025
Research Brief
Brenda L. Valdez, Amado Padilla, Oswaldo Rosales, Ritu Khanna

This scoping review, prepared by graduate students Brenda Valdes and Oswaldo Rosales and professor Amado Padilla, synthesizes 25 years of empirical research on the classification and reclassification of English learner students, with particular attention to how EL subgroups (including newcomers, LTELs, and dually classified students) have been studied.

Improving the Reclassification Process for Long-Term English Learners in California

July, 2025
Research Brief
Sebastian Castrechini, Laurel Sipes

California now requires that school districts report outcomes for Long-Term English Learners, and new Gardner Center research identifies real-world improvements to the reclassification process as a way to support their academic success for this group of students.

Summary of Recommendations for the Home Language Survey

July, 2024
Research Brief
Edwin Amaya

The Home Language Survey has long served as a foundational tool for assessing the linguistic backgrounds of students in U.S. schools. This research summary examines the HLS’s historical adaptations post the pivotal 1974 Lau vs. Nichols Supreme Court decision, its current validation challenges, and its potential biases, proposing a detailed agenda for future research to […]

Want to learn more? Contact us.

Diana Mercado-Garcia

Diana Mercado-Garcia

Associate Director of the Research-Practice Partnership Program
California Education Partners
dmercadogarcia@caedpartners.org