H. Alix Gallagher

agallagher
H. Alix Gallagher
Managing Director and Director of Strategic Partnerships,
Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford University

H. Alix Gallagher is the managing director and director of strategic partnerships at Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE). In research partnerships with California Education Partners and CORE Districts, the partners co-develop a research plan that provides ongoing feedback to support those organizations’ work and broader learning for California about how to support district and school improvement. Gallagher also leads PACE’s partnership with TeachAI, engaging with how artificial intelligence (AI) affects education and what state and district-policy makers could do in emerging arena. In response to COVID-19, Gallagher leveraged her knowledge of instruction and teacher learning to support partners rethinking instructional models to include distance and blended learning. Before joining PACE, Gallagher was an associate director at the Center for Education Policy at SRI International, where she led large-scale randomized controlled trials and policy studies. She received her PhD in education from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

updated 2024

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
Commentary by H. Alix Gallagher
: Modest Gains and Persistent Gaps in Student Performance in 2023–24
: Strategies for Successful Scaling in Districts: Breaking the Cycle of the "Next New Thing"
: Unlocking the Potential of Transitional Kindergarten Requires Better Data on Early Education
: From Reactive to Proactive: Putting Districts in the AI Driver’s Seat
: The Urgent Need to Update District Policies on Student Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education
H. Alix Gallagher in the Media
: Schools, Unions Leave Parents in Dark
: School Is About to Start, But Bay Area Teachers’ Unions and Districts Still Can’t Agree on Key Details for Online Learning
: Schools Scramble to Teach Teachers How to Educate Virtually
: Schools Mobilize to Teach Teachers How to Educate Virtually
Publications by H. Alix Gallagher
A Student-Centered Culture of Improvement
The Case of Garden Grove Unified School District
This case study explores the Garden Grove Unified School District's culture of improvement through four key structures and processes, including consistent goals, data-driven reform, vertical and horizontal structures, and prioritization of people.…
Leadership that Supports Continuous Improvement
The Case of Ayer Elementary
A case study of Ayer Elementary School in Fresno, California, reveals leadership practices that foster continuous improvement in education. The report identifies three lessons for supporting improvement in other schools: access to district resources…
Learning and Practicing Continuous Improvement
Lessons from the CORE Districts
This report examines how California's education sector is embracing continuous improvement over standards-based reform. The study presents six lessons learned from PACE and CORE Districts' collaboration on the topic, including the complexity of…
Engaging District, School, and Teacher Leaders in Improvement
California’s shift towards continuous improvement in education makes understanding how districts and schools can learn to improve a more pressing question than ever. The CORE Improvement Community (CIC), a network of California school…