Welcome to the S-Bye Lab
We are a hub for cutting-edge research on American school boards, youth engagement, and democratic innovation.
Vision
The School Board and Youth Engagement (S-BYE) Lab at Teachers College develops research-based ideas and new technology tools for strengthening youth engagement and redesigning school boards to be more democratic.
Mission
Our mission is to provide rigorous, multi-methodological, community-based research and new technologies that contribute towards the larger goal of developing a functioning multiracial democracy around communities, particular school systems, in the United States and around the world.
Featured Work
Meet the team
Jonathan E. Collins, Ph.D. (he/him/his) is the associate director of the Center for Educational Equity. Collins is an assistant professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University and an assistant professor of political science (by courtesy) at Columbia University. His research focuses on race and ethnic politics, urban politics, state and local politics, education politics and policy, and democratic innovations. As a researcher, Collins has been at the forefront of the study of public participation at school board meetings. His book in progress, Democracy Speaks: School Board Governance through Deliberative Culture, demonstrates how democratic school board governance facilitates urban education policy reform. He has also written on civics education, African American voting behavior, local election reform, and school finance policy. His scholarship has been published in the American Political Science Review, Political Behavior, the Peabody Journal of Education, American Politics Research, the Urban Affairs Review, the Journal of Urban Affairs, and Local Government Studies. His public writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Education Week, the 74, and the Brookings Institute. Collins is also a regular columnist for Phi Delta Kappan.
He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, the American Political Science Association's Susan Clarke Young Scholar Award, and the Brown University Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. His research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
He holds a Ph.D. in political science and an M.A. in African American Studies from the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) as well as a B.A. in English from Morehouse College.
Jonathan E. Collins, Ph.D. (he/him/his) is the associate director of the Center for Educational Equity. Collins is an assistant professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University and an assistant professor of political science (by courtesy) at Columbia University. His research focuses on race and ethnic politics, urban politics, state and local politics, education politics and policy, and democratic innovations. As a researcher, Collins has been at the forefront of the study of public participation at school board meetings. His book in progress, Democracy Speaks: School Board Governance through Deliberative Culture, demonstrates how democratic school board governance facilitates urban education policy reform. He has also written on civics education, African American voting behavior, local election reform, and school finance policy. His scholarship has been published in the American Political Science Review, Political Behavior, the Peabody Journal of Education, American Politics Research, the Urban Affairs Review, the Journal of Urban Affairs, and Local Government Studies. His public writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Education Week, the 74, and the Brookings Institute. Collins is also a regular columnist for Phi Delta Kappan.
He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, the American Political Science Association's Susan Clarke Young Scholar Award, and the Brown University Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. His research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
He holds a Ph.D. in political science and an M.A. in African American Studies from the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) as well as a B.A. in English from Morehouse College.
Kiki Leis, Ph.D (she/her) is a Senior Research Assistant at the Center for Educational Equity. Driven by a passion for equity in education and its impact on families and social structures, Kiki brings a wealth of research experience to the Center for Educational Equity. She has previously worked as a research coordinator and project manager at Brown University and as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) researcher at the Center for Creative Leadership. She has also been part of research projects at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG), the University of Virginia and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Kiki holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from UNCG and a B.A. from Hampshire College.
Kiki Leis, Ph.D (she/her) is a Senior Research Assistant at the Center for Educational Equity. Driven by a passion for equity in education and its impact on families and social structures, Kiki brings a wealth of research experience to the Center for Educational Equity. She has previously worked as a research coordinator and project manager at Brown University and as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) researcher at the Center for Creative Leadership. She has also been part of research projects at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG), the University of Virginia and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Kiki holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from UNCG and a B.A. from Hampshire College.