Associate Director for Policy and Communications

The UCLA Center for Community Schooling advances democracy, justice, and public education by helping schools become vibrant, community-centered places where young people learn and thrive. Bringing research, policy, and practice into close conversation, the Center partners with students, families, educators, and public agencies to support meaningful and lasting school transformation. This work is grounded in long-term research–practice partnerships with the two UCLA Community Schools in LAUSD, where democratic values and community voice shape everyday learning.

At the state level, the Center co‑leads California’s $4billion Community School Partnership Program, supporting more than 2,000 public schools and reaching over one million students and families. Through applied research and implementation support, the Center demonstrates how universities can be powerful partners in advancing equitable, community‑driven change.

UCLA has established and maintained an active program of engaged scholarship and research at the UCLA Community School since 2009, when the school opened. Given the success of the UCLA Community School and the establishment of the Mann UCLA Community School in 2016, the UCLA Center for Community Schooling was established to study and share research and practice at both sites—supported by a Regional Training Center grant from the University of Pennsylvania to expand university‑assisted community schools on the West Coast.

Since that time, the UCLA Center for Community Schooling has become a nationally recognized leader in community school transformation. Its work synthesizes emerging research, rigorous documentation of practice, and strategies for continuous improvement to generate insights and tools that support educators and communities.

The Associate Director for Policy and Communications will work closely with the Co‑Directors for the UCLA Center for Community Schooling to provide advanced academic program leadership that strengthens the Center’s capacity to connect educational research, policy, and practice. Through independent coordination of complex academic initiatives, scholarly publications, research translation, and institutional partnerships, the position will contribute to the Center's statewide and national impact while advancing UCLA's mission of research, public service, and community engagement.

The Associate Director will play a critical role in translating the Center's research and evaluation findings into actionable policy recommendations, scholarly publications, and resources that inform educational practice and systems change. Working collaboratively with faculty directors, principal investigators, researchers, policymakers, and community partners, the incumbent will lead academic initiatives that strengthen the Center's influence on community school policy, implementation, and institutional development.

The position requires substantial expertise in educational policy, research translation, community school systems, and research–practice partnerships. The incumbent will exercise a high degree of independent academic judgment in developing and coordinating complex initiatives, representing the Center in academic and policy settings, and advancing the dissemination and application of research findings.

The Associate Director will also provide intellectual and programmatic leadership for the Center's scholarly communications, including serving as Associate Editor of the Center's journal, developing policy briefs and research publications, and coordinating the dissemination of findings to diverse audiences.

Provide advanced…