The National Board for Education Sciences (NBES) is the advisory board for the Institute of Education Sciences. Late last year, President Biden appointed 14 new members.
The Board convened on Monday, September 11 in a virtual setting. IES director and ex-officio board member, Dr. Mark Schneider, provided brief opening remarks. Members were ceremonially sworn in, and Andrea Miralia, Designated Federal Officer for NBES, went over the roles and responsibilities of serving on the board. Past leadership of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), who is a FABBS member, was well represented on the board.
The first order of business was to nominate a board chair. The board unanimously elected Dr. Carol Lee, Edwina S. Tarry Professor Emerita at Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy (Learning Sciences Program). Her research focuses on cultural supports for literacy and ecological supports for youth holistic learning and development.
With a “loose agenda and no power points”, the Board heard from Center Commissioners and several other key staff. Dr. Elizabeth Albro, commissioner of the National Center for Education Research, (NCER) shared that IES is collaborating with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on two AI institutes.
The board also heard from several other commissioners and key staff including: Anne Ricciuti, Deputy Director for Science (Office of Science), Craig Stanton, Deputy for Administration and Policy, Dr. Matthew Soldner, National Center for Education Evalution (NCEE) and Dr. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Cetner for Education Statistics (NCES).
At the end of the meeting, individual board members shared their goals and priorities during their time on the board. Some of the themes mentioned include Data on attrition rates AI, data privacy, creating accessible documents, smooth transition for the new IES Director, increasing IES budget, and diversity.
The Board made plans to meet in person next time.
