I’m Derek Gottlieb, and I’m thrilled to be joining School Perceptions as the Senior Research Director.
I’m a proud product of the Madison, Wisc., public schools. I was a high school English teacher for most of a decade before going back to graduate school and earning a Ph.D. in education from the University of Iowa in 2013. (I also earned a Ph.D. in Modern English Literature in 2014, but that’s been… less relevant to my professional life, I think.)
From the beginning, my research has centered on the way state and federal policies shape local educational decisions—how schools manage implementation processes, how they communicate with parents and teachers, and how they maintain focus on student success all the while.
I’ve been fortunate enough to continue this work as a professor of education at the University of Northern Colorado, offering classes to pre-service teachers and school leaders at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I was also fortunate to remain there for a number of years after my wife and I moved back to Wisconsin during the first summer of the pandemic.
I discovered School Perceptions when the company surveyed my own community about an upcoming referendum. Intrigued by the idea of working more closely and directly with schools and putting my research chops to good use, I reached out about joining the team.
In my new role here, I take a great deal of pride in helping schools figure out what their constituents need from them, in helping them chart (literally!) progress, and in sharing out the successes that we find.
Outside of the office, I spend my time cycling, cooking, and—mostly—playing with my four-year-old.