Dr Sarah Birkeland is the founder of Helix Learning Partners, a research firm specializing in practical, practice-oriented research to drive the continuous improvement of educational initiatives. A former classroom teacher and school-change coach, she brings to her work a deep knowledge of schools and schooling as well as of program evaluation theory and research methods. Since earning her Ed.D. at HGSE in 2005, Sarah has also worked as a senior research associate at Education Matters, Inc, and as co-director of the Teacher Learning Project at Brandeis University.