Jorge Ruiz de Velasco

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Jorge Ruiz de Velasco
Deputy Director and Research Associate, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities,
Stanford University

Jorge Ruiz de Velasco is deputy director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, where he is also a research associate. Ruiz de Velasco came to Stanford from Berkeley Law School where he directed the Warren Institute's Program on Education Law and Policy. His work focuses on the study and promotion of change in public schools; the implications of education reform for disadvantaged students; education law and policy; and the effect of immigration on schools and communities. He has served as director of the Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice at Stanford. He was also a program officer for educational opportunity and scholarship at the Ford Foundation; a senior program officer at both the James Irvine and William & Flora Hewlett foundations; a senior research associate at The Urban Institute; and a lawyer and policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Ruiz de Velasco received his JD from Boalt Hall School of Law (now Berkeley Law) and his PhD in political science from Stanford University.

updated 2025

Contributing topics
Continuous school improvement & support
Educational governance & policy
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Jorge Ruiz de Velasco in the Media
: State Board Rethinking How to Measure Performance of Alternative Schools
: Policy Brief: Accountability for Alternative Schools in California
: Study Calls for Major Overhaul of California Schools
Publications by Jorge Ruiz de Velasco
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Accountability for Alternative Schools in California
California is implementing four new policy initiatives for education, including the Common Core State Standards and a new accountability system. PACE provides research-based information to help drive continuous improvement in schools. Alternative…
PACEsetters at 25: Research Center Celebrates a Quarter Century as Leader in Legislative Policy Analysis
PACEsetters at 25
Research Center Celebrates a Quarter Century as Leader in Legislative Policy Analysis
The call for improved education persists annually within PACE, emphasizing the perpetual need for progress. Even with strides made, the organization does not consider its mission accomplished. Guided by three core principles—allocating resources to…