David S. Woo

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David S. Woo
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy,
University of Utah

David S. Woo is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah and a faculty research associate at the Utah Education Policy Center. His research focuses on school leadership and education policy, particularly the preparation and early careers of school leaders and the influence of leadership on educational outcomes for students of color. Before entering higher education, Woo taught high school English on Chicago’s South Side for six years and served as a grade-level lead. He has been recognized as an emerging scholar by the American Educational Research Association’s Education Law Special Interest Group and is an alumnus of the Jackson Scholars and Clark Seminar programs. Woo earned a PhD in leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University.

updated 2026

    Contributing topics
    Continuous school improvement & support
    Educator workforce & effectiveness
    Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
    Contributing initiatives
    Continuous Improvement and Support Systems in California
    CORE-PACE Research Partnership
    Publications by David S. Woo
    Cover
    Developing Effective School Leaders
    A Cross-District Study of Principal Pipelines
    This report examines how five California CORE member districts built principal pipelines to develop effective school leaders. The study, a collaborative effort between CORE-PACE and university researchers, aims to describe the policies, procedures,…