Mary Peters Editor & Author

Kate Kennedy develops and leads professional development workshops for educators on how to use value-added analysis, formative assessment, and other research-based strategies and tools for school improvement. A Director at Battelle for Kids in Columbus, Ohio, she also develops online learning resources to support educators’ efforts to apply these strategies to accelerate student progress. Kate has traveled from Ohio to Hong Kong, and many interesting places in between, to help educators help kids. Before joining the staff at Battelle for Kids, Kate studied education leadership at Teachers College in New York City and was an ESL, English Language Arts, and Social Studies teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Mary Peters has conducted extensive research in the area of value-added analysis. In her role as Battelle for Kids’ Senior Director of Value-Added Research Services, Mary was responsible for managing a $6M grant with the Ohio Department of Education pertaining to the delivery and training of value-added analysis to school personnel across Ohio. Prior to joining Battelle for Kids, Mary served as Director of Assessment and Planning for the Westerville City School District (OH). Additionally, she served as Westerville’s Value-Added Specialist to help district educators understand and use value-added information to accelerate student progress and achievement. Mary also has experience at the state-policy level, working at the Ohio Department of Education to revise standards for Ohio schools, draft legislative language for accountability, and recommend the design of state and regional technical support systems. An accomplished speaker, Mary has presented nationally on the topics of value-added analysis, formative assessment, and teacher effectiveness on behalf of the American Educational Research Association and the Alliance for Excellent Education. She has authored or co-authored numerous publications in the areas of school improvement and special education. Mary is a former special education teacher and adjunct college professor. With more than 30 years of education experience, Dr. Mike Thomas is one of the foremost experts on the implementation of value-added analysis for school improvement in the United States. Most recently, Mike has provided value-added training to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Houston Independent School District (TX), the Fort Worth Independent School District (TX), and numerous districts throughout New York and Ohio. Mike led the development of Understanding & Using Value-Added Analysis: A Toolkit for School Leaders and Ohio•Learn, an online system that provides educators access to personalized professional development and instructional leadership planning tools. He also partnered with the Ohio department of Education and played an integral role in Ohio’s statewide rollout of value-added analysis, including the implementation of a professional development program to build the skills of educators from Ohio’s 12 regions. Prior to joining Battelle for Kids as Senior Director of Innovation, Mike served as a co-coordinator of the pre-service elementary and middle school teacher education program at The Ohio State University. In this role, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award from The Ohio State University. Mike has served as a presenter on the topic of value-added analysis at The Education Trust’s National Conference and the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education. He recently co-authored a chapter in Dr. Theodore Hershberg’s book, A Grand Bargain for Education Reform, published by Harvard Education Press in 2009. Mike is a former middle school science and mathematics teacher.