Doctoral Student Dale Hammer Selected to Join 17th Cohort of the Alliance for Catholic Education’s Reform Leaders’ Summit

Dale Hammer, a doctoral student in the NC State College of Education’s Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development educational evaluation and policy analysis concentration, has been invited to join the 17th cohort of the Alliance for Catholic Education’s Reform Leaders’ Summit.

The Reform Leaders’ Summit aims to equip leaders with the skills and abilities needed to support family rights and equal opportunity in education. Hammer is one of 40 participants across the nation to be selected to join this year’s cohort. 

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to join the 17th cohort of the Reform Leaders’ Summit to further understand the contexts in which specific school choice policies benefit and harm students and communities. School choice is an issue that I had not studied extensively prior to starting the educational evaluation and policy analysis concentration. Earning acceptance in a competitive candidate pool demonstrates the amount of growth I have made over the past six months, as I have delved deeply into the challenges facing public education both within North Carolina and nationally,” Hammer said. “I appreciate Dr. Anna Egalite for recognizing my interest in the issue of school choice and taking the initiative to nominate and support me through the application and interview process.”

As a first-year doctoral student in the College of Education, Hammer’s research has focused on North Carolina Restart Schools and school leader data use. He aims to identify practices and policies that will improve the public education system and is interested in studying school choice programs to understand the impacts of North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program as it expands. 

As part of the Reform Leaders’ Summit, Hammer will attend three immersion weekends over the course of the next year, facilitated by policy makers, school leaders, researchers and other stakeholders. He said he is most looking forward to working with other researchers who may share different viewpoints and have different policy goals from him “in ways that keep students first.” 

He is also excited to continue his work in the College of Education, working alongside Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Timothy Drake and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Lam Pham on various research projects. 

“I chose the NC State College of Education for my doctoral studies because the response and support I received from the faculty members during my selection process was remarkable,” Hammer said. “Several faculty members took a genuine interest in me as a person, student and academic professional. I also found that my research interests were aligned with the research of multiple faculty members, and I have been so fortunate to jump right into working with [them].”

This post was originally published in College of Education News.