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Students & Alumni

POLS students are ambitious and action-oriented. They come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, including teaching, school systems leadership, business, education technology, and government. What they share is a desire to develop the skills and knowledge they need to be effective leaders.

POLS cohorts bring together small, diverse groups of students to widen each other’s view of leadership in various domains of education. Peer learning and support form a key component of the program, modeling the connectivity and collaboration crucial to education leadership. Moreover, POLS students graduate with a network of connections that extends beyond the program year.

Our students

Nesreen Ezzeddine
Nesreen Ezzeddine
Class: 2024
Areas of interest: Civic education, higher education access, community colleges, community engagement, democracy building.
Kate Bierly
Kate Bierly
Class: 2024
Areas of interest: Special education, Post secondary education, adults with learning differences, education leadership, UDL, collegiate athletics, school reform, research methods, literacy and language, technology in education
Tim Morris
Tim Morris
Class: 2024
Areas of interest: Science education, public schools, all outdoor activities, cooking, gardening
Yesenia Aguilar
Yesenia Aguilar
Class: 2024
Areas of interest: education policy, juvenile justice, youth voice, postsecondary access for rural communities, research-practice, community-based partnerships, institutional and organizational change, diversity & equity

View profiles of all students

Field project

Redwood City Together / Stanford University Case Study

Lange Luntao

In the Redwood City and Fair Oaks neighborhoods, Redwood City Together (RWCT) works to build a collective action agenda that promotes improvement in the areas of education, childcare, and family...


Continuous Improvement in Practice: Findings from Schools and Districts in California

Lauren Hogan and Maira Martinez

Prepared for Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), this research brief reports effective strategies that enable continuous improvement capacities at the school and district levels....


Identifying Shared Teacher Mindsets to Define Best Learner-Centered Practices

Lily Rosenthal

A literature review and qualitative study were done to define learner-centered design. For the qualitative research, five teachers were interviewed to determine shared mindsets and best learner-...


Life after POLS

POLS graduates are well prepared to lead in a wide range of roles and contexts. Alumni work in school and district settings, higher education, education philanthropies, corporate and educational recruiting, and government. Below are a few examples of positions held by POLS alumni.

Higher education

Assistant Dean of Students, Oberlin College
Native American Liaison, Stanford Undergraduate Admissions Office
Instructor, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

K–12 leadership

Assistant Principal, Noble Network of Charter Schools
Literacy Coordinator, Harlem Children’s Zone
Academic Program Manager, Summit Public Schools

School networks, districts, government

Data Analyst, Boston Public Schools
Assistant Budget and Policy Analyst, State of Oregon
Legislative Assistant, United States Senate

Educational intermediaries and ed tech

Instructional Design Specialist, Coursera
Program Manager, Reading Partners
Education Analyst, Emerson Collective

The Graduate School of Education’s EdCareers office provides career education and counseling, job listings, career fairs and other resources to GSE students and alumni. 

Visit EdCareers

What you need to know

Admission requirements

To learn more about requirements for admission, please visit the Application Requirements page.

Financing your education

To learn more about the cost of the program and options for financial support, please visit Financing Your Master’s Degree on the admissions website.

Contact admissions

For admissions webinars and to connect with the admission office, see our  Connect and Visit page.

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