Background:
Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether, a national nonprofit that exists to transform education to ensure systemically marginalized young people achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities. Rotherham leads external relations at Bellwether also works in the organization’s Policy and Evaluation practice area. He serves on the Virginia Board of Education.
Rotherham occupies a unique place in the U.S. education sector working across silos. He has been appointed to senior policymaking roles by Democrats and Republicans; works at the intersection of research and policy, media, and practice; and is a longtime champion of heterodoxy, empiricism, and pragmatism in education policy.
Rotherham writes the widely-read blog and newsletter Eduwonk.com. In addition to Bellwether, he founded or co-founded two other education organizations and served on the boards of several successful startups in the sector, and is frequently sought out as a board member and adviser. Rotherham served at the White House as special assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Clinton administration, as a member of the Virginia Board of Education appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner and more recently by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and as an education columnist for TIME magazine and contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report. He also taught in traditional and experiential settings at the K-12 and college levels.
Rotherham is the author or co-author of more than 450 published articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics, and is the author or editor of four books on education policy. The recipient of multiple awards for his professional work, he serves on the board of directors for The 74, a national education media organization, and on the international board of directors for Classroom Champions, a Canada-based nonprofit that pairs Olympic and Paralympic athletes with high-poverty classrooms as mentors. He is a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and a senior advisor at Whiteboard Advisors. Rotherham is also involved in school security work and advises a variety of companies and organizations including Upbeat, a data analytics company focused on teacher engagement and retention; The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University; RAND; and the National Association of State Boards of Education’s EdTech Advisory Group focusing on AI.
Outside of his professional work, Rotherham raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is an EMT, and along with his wife (a public high school English teacher) hosts a concert series featuring regional and national musical acts in a former one-room schoolhouse. A father of two daughters, he lives in Virginia.
Why I do this work:
Individuals and society thrive when people have choice and self-determination in their lives. A more equitable and effective education system than we have today is integral to that opportunity and to a more inclusive America.
Experience at Bellwether:
Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis; Survey Research; Data Collection and Analysis; Analysis; Teacher Evaluation and Development Systems; Grant Development and Implementation; Policy Research and Analysis; Writing; Research; Market Assessment; CMO/Charter School Operators; District Schools; Foundations; Think Tanks; Advocacy Organizations
Client segments served:
K-12 Schools; Postsecondary/Higher Education; School Districts; CMO/Charter Schools; State Education Agencies; Government; Foundations and Grantees; Nonprofit Organizations; Policy Organizations; Advocacy Groups; Product and Service Providers
Sample clients:
SEAs, LEAs, CMOs, Amplify, Google, “60 Minutes,” New Classrooms, Walton Family Foundation, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Indian Education Association
Contact Information
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Federal Education Policy
Innovation and Personalized Learning
Rural Education
School Districts
