Benjamin W. Cottingham

Benjamin Cottingham Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)
Benjamin W. Cottingham
District Improvement Specialist,
California Education Partners

Benjamin W. Cottingham is a district improvement specialist at Education Partners. His work involves collaborating with district teams to design and implement systems that strengthen preK–3rd grade mathematics and to build coherence between the 8th and 9th grades. He previously was associate director of strategic partnerships at PACE; worked on state policy with the Oklahoma Department of Education; served in nonprofit leadership while providing high-dosage tutoring in Boston; and taught with Teach for America. His work has focused on improving educational systems to better support high-quality teaching and learning. Cottingham received his MA in education policy from Stanford University.

updated 2025

    Contributing topics
    Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education
    College access & postsecondary success
    Continuous school improvement & support
    Education finance
    Educational governance & policy
    Educator workforce & effectiveness
    Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
    Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
    Contributing initiatives
    Continuous Improvement and Support Systems in California
    CORE-PACE Research Partnership
    COVID-19 Recovery
    Organizing Schools to Serve Students with Disabilities
    Commentary by Benjamin W. Cottingham
    : The Urgent Need to Update District Policies on Student Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education
    Benjamin W. Cottingham in the Media
    Demand for Virtual Education Is Changing. Here’s What That Means for Education Companies
     | EdWeek Market Brief
    Promising Practices for Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten
     | California Education Partners
    Beyond Crayons and Circle Time: What California Transitional Kindergarten Needs to Succeed
     | CalMatters
    How School Districts Are Responding to AI
     | The Hechinger Report
    Virtual Instruction Is Here to Stay. Here Are 7 Tips for Doing It Well
     | Education Week
    Publications by Benjamin W. Cottingham
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    Scalable Systems for Adult Capacity Building
    Translating Sierra House Elementary School’s Pilot Practices Across Lake Tahoe Unified School District
    This case study explores how Lake Tahoe Unified School District worked to improve math instruction, starting a pilot at Sierra House Elementary School. Partnering with California Education Partners, LTUSD addressed stagnant test scores by developing…
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    Building Momentum One Step at a Time
    Grass Valley School District’s Progress Towards P–3 Coherence in Literacy
    Grass Valley School District (GVSD) partnered with California Education Partners through an initiative to improve literacy instruction. Over three years, GVSD implemented new literacy assessments and phonics practices, emphasizing teacher leadership…
    Promising Practices for Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten
    Promising Practices for Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten
    How California Districts Create Access and Coherent Systems
    California’s ambitious investment in Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) reflects a commitment to providing access to UTK for all 4-year-olds in public schools by the 2025–26 academic year. However, the implementation of transitional…
    What Does It Take to Accelerate the Learning of Every Child?
    What Does It Take to Accelerate the Learning of Every Child?
    Early Insights from a CCEE School-Improvement Pilot
    Student achievement in California has not rebounded after the precipitous declines of the COVID-19 pandemic, with English language arts (ELA) and math scores remaining well below prepandemic levels. Student attendance has declined dramatically, and…