Credit: Learning Policy Institute

Linda Darling-Hammond speaks at the 2019 EdPrepLab conference.

Credit: Learning Policy Institute

Linda Darling-Hammond speaks at the 2019 EdPrepLab conference.

State Board of Education President Linda Darling Hammond, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, founded the Institute for Learning Policy in Palo Alto and Washington, DC. Co-winner of this year’s Idan Award.

This six-year-old award is one of the most prestigious awards in the world and arguably the most profitable award in education and research. The winner will receive her $3.9 million, half as a personal award and half to scale the work. Darling-Hammond uses her funds to expand her business Educator Preparation Lab, a new initiative of the Learning Policy Institute and Bank Street Graduate School of New York City. Its mission is Strengthening the readiness of educators in the United States through education readiness programs, inter-school research, networking, and collaboration District, state and federal policy makers.

“I am so grateful for the recognition. It was a huge surprise,” Darling Hammond said Wednesday. “It is wonderful that this award has chosen to enhance and recognize the importance of investing in teachers and a fair agenda that people need to pay attention to, something I have been working on for decades. provides an opportunity to further engage with these issues.”

The Eedan Prize Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity founded by Charles Chen Eedan, announced this year’s awards Wednesday at the conclusion of an education conference co-hosted with the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Darling-Hammond won the Educational Research Award. His Yongxin Zhu, professor of education at Suzhou University, received the Educational Development Award for his work in transforming learning outcomes in China.

Darling-Hammond is recognized as one of the most influential educators in the United States for his ability to bridge the often-segregated worlds of research and policy.

“It is truly impossible to overstate the impact Linda has had on education policy over the last few decades. We were willing to improve our lives,” said David Plank, a former Stanford University colleague and former executive director of PACE. A Stanford-based educational research and policy organization. “Her leadership on state boards (of education) and LPI continues to guide policy debates both nationally and here in California. You can see her influence everywhere you look.”

Darling Hammond is He is past president of the American Association for Educational Research and has received awards for outstanding contributions to research and lifetime achievement. Her more than 600 publications include “The Right to Learn,” “Preparing Teachers for a Changing World,” and “A Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment Determines Our Future.” There are many books worthy of attention, such as

After retiring from Stanford University, Darling Hammond Learning Policy Institute, she remains its CEO and president. The Institute advances its research through reports, conferences and blogs covering a wide range of topics. These include early childhood education, educator diversity, racial equality, school finances, teacher recruitment and retention, and social and emotional learning.

“With an unwavering desire to enable all learners to reach their full potential, regardless of social background, gender or geography, Linda creates better and more equitable educational opportunities. Having spent her life building research tools that support policy and practice for children, her impact on public policy has helped policymakers shape positive change for children at scale. ‘ said Andreas Schleicher, head of the Idan Prize Education and Research Review Board, when announcing the award.

Darling-Hammond led the education policy transition teams for President Barack Obama in 2008 and President Joe Biden in 2020. In California, she helped shape education policy as chairman of the Teacher Credentials Commission under Governor Jerry Brown, and is currently contributing to the development of education policy. State Commission under Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom included her priorities in the recent state budget — broad funding for teacher residencies, expanded after-school and summer opportunities for all low-income schools, and $4 billion in community schools. initiative.

Darling-Hammond was instrumental in launching EdPrepLab, backed by Yidan Prize funding, in June 2019. It provides guidance and model practice for state and teacher preparation programs in areas such as teacher training, the sciences of learning and development, and society. and emotional learning. High Tech High Teacher Center, Berkeley Graduate School of Education, and UCLA Center X are among the original 14 network members.

Last year’s Itami Prize winners He is also an academic at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Eric Hanusek.he spends his money on Founded the Idan African Fellows Program, a network of policy fellows working to improve education decision-making across sub-Saharan Africa.

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