From Overwhelm to Opportunity: Gustavo J. Bobonis Champions Data-Driven Policy
Together with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE), FOS Co-Director Bobonis and his team are working to address the unique concerns of Puerto Rico’s students and educators by promoting a culture of data-driven experimentation, identifying what works locally, and setting the stage for evidence-based policymaking.
“The content of the training and the fact that it was shaped in partnership with researchers at the University of Toronto was above and beyond anything offered to principals before,” expressed Damarys Varela Vélez, Operations Manager at PRDE Institute for Professional Development and University Relations, and a government champion with whom Bobonis has now developed several evaluations. Among the several projects established to date, Bobonis and his team have helped PRDE understand how to improve student outcomes even as schools close and consolidate in Puerto Rico, supported student socioemotional health studies, and co-developed a teachers’ training on the use of computer-assisted tools to boost student math scores.