2026 Research Fellows

Meet the 2026 SEF Research Fellows

The Southern Education Foundation proudly welcomes the seven members of the 2026 SEF Research Fellows cohort, a group of emerging and established scholars dedicated to advancing education justice across the South.

The SEF Research Fellows Program supports early- to mid-career researchers working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. The SEF Research Fellows Program supports the work of Fellows engaged in actionable, evidence-based research to inform policy and practice. Our first cohort of Fellows are exploring critical issues, including:

  • Educational access and opportunity
  • Desegregation
  • Educational technology
  • Curriculum
  • Student well-being

By connecting rigorous research to real-world impact, Fellows help inform policies and practices that increase opportunity and improve outcomes for students and communities across the region.

Dr. Chris Curran

Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Florida

Focus: Education leadership, policy, and equity

Bio: Dr. Curran is a professor of educational leadership whose work examines how policies and leadership practices impact student outcomes.

Research Study: Estimating the Relationship between Federal Court Desegregation Orders and School Suspension Rates: Evidence from Southern School Districts:

School discipline remains a pressing issue for schools and policymakers. This study examines how school districts transitioning out of federal desegregation orders relate to suspension rates and racial disparities in discipline. Using longitudinal data from the Civil Rights Data Collection, the study also explores whether changes in racial segregation patterns influence these outcomes. The findings can help inform discipline practices in districts under and moving out of desegregation orders.

Dr. Eldrin L. Deas

Researcher and Consultant

Focus: Education and workforce development

Bio: Dr. Deas is a researcher and consultant whose work bridges education and workforce systems.

Research Study: Faces at the Bottom of the Context Window: A Community-Centered Study of Artificial Intelligence and Educational Equity in the South

As artificial intelligence rapidly enters K–12 classrooms across the South, decisions about these tools often exclude the students, families, and educators most affected by them. This study examines AI adoption across five diverse Southern public school systems using a Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) approach. Through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and document analysis, the study explores how AI tools affect learning experiences and what factors shape adoption across districts. The project will produce an open-access AI auditing framework to help educators and community advocates evaluate AI systems in their schools.

Romeka R. Mack

Director of Accreditation and Accountability, Yazoo City Municipal School District

Focus: Dual enrollment access and graduation outcomes

Bio: Mack is an education leader whose work focuses on accountability, data-driven decision-making, and expanding access to high-quality opportunities for all students.

Research Study: Mitigating Academic Gaps Through Dual Enrollment: Identifying Barriers and Contributing Factors in the Mississippi Delta

This study examines the relationship between dual enrollment participation and high school graduation outcomes for students in the Mississippi Delta, while also exploring the institutional, financial, advising, and logistical barriers that affect access to these programs. Using student data and survey findings, the study investigates how school-level barriers shape participation and graduation outcomes. The findings aim to inform strategies to expand access to dual enrollment and improve student success in under-resourced rural communities.

Isabela Porfirio Maia

Student, Federal University of Bahia

Focus: Education research and policy (international perspective)

Bio: Maia is a researcher whose work contributes to global conversations on education access and opportunity.

Research Study: Evaluating the Impact of Restrictive Curricular Mandates on Black History Instruction in the U.S. South: A Transdiasporic Governance Analysis of Georgia and Alabama.

This study investigates the impact of restrictive laws HB 1084 (Georgia) and HB 7 (Alabama) on Black history instruction in the U.S. South, using Brazil’s Law 10.639/03 as a comparative framework for educational reparation. Through oral histories and school visual culture audits, the research explores how educators develop resistance strategies to uphold historical truth amid curricular restrictions. The project will inform the development of the Transnational Anti-Racist Toolkit, a resource designed to support educators with archival literacy, primary sources, and tools to strengthen classroom instruction.

Dr. Brianna Nargiso Newton

Education Policy Researcher

Focus: Mixed-methods research in education policy

Bio: Dr. Newton is a mixed-methods researcher focused on improving educational systems and outcomes through data-informed policy.

Research Study: From Policy to Practice: How Asset-Based Instructional Interventions Shape Psychological Safety, Belonging, and Educational Equity for Black and Brown Students in Title I Schools Across the South

This study examines how culturally affirming journaling practices shape psychological safety and belonging for Black and Brown students in Title I elementary classrooms in Clayton County Public Schools. Using surveys, teacher interviews, classroom artifacts, and policy analysis, the research explores how instructional practices operate within broader school and district systems. The findings aim to support sustainable, student-centered reforms in Southern education systems.

 

Dr. Daniel Sparks

Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas

Focus: Higher education access and policy

Bio: Dr. Sparks is an assistant professor whose research explores college access, affordability, and student success.

Research Study: Evaluating the Promise of Free Community College: Evidence from Arkansas and the ARFuture Grant Program

College costs remain a major barrier to equitable college access. This study examines the impact of Arkansas’s ARFuture Grant, a statewide scholarship program launched in 2017 to reduce college costs and support enrollment in workforce programs at community and technical colleges. Using causal inference methods, the research estimates the program’s effects on college access and student success.

Dr. Rachel E. Williams

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Focus: Education policy, politics, place/space, and political economy

Bio: Williams is an Assistant Professor whose work examines education policy and politics at the intersection of race, place, and political economy.

Research Study: Complicating the “County Advantage”: Black Geographies of County Secession in the U.S. South

This study explores the history and politics of St. George’s secession from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a focus on the adjacent Black neighborhoods most affected by the proposed school district separation. Using interviews, archival research, and document analysis, the study examines how education, space, and politics intersect in shaping modern forms of segregation. Centering the experiences and histories of Black communities, the research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the structural forces and local impacts surrounding school district secession.

Learn more about the SEF Research Fellows Program and how we are advancing education opportunity across the South.