Dan Laitsch is an associate professor with the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, where he teaches in the Educational Leadership programs and co-edits the International Journal for Education Policy and Leadership (www.ijepl.org). He recently finished a three-year term as Chair of the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group on Research Use, and continues to serve as the current Program Chair. Dr. Laitsch is associated with the Joint Consortium for School Health (JCSH) and works closely with JCSH and the Association for Curriculum Development (ASCD) on school health issues in BC and across Canada.

Dr. Laitsch joined SFU after serving as Senior Policy Analyst for the U.S.-based Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, where he focused on federal and state legislative issues, and developed an on-line research to practice Web site, ResearchBrief. Prior to joining ASCD, he spent five years working on state policy issues related to teacher quality at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He taught high school English at the Enterprise School and other alternative and mainstream schools in Fairfax County Virginia. Through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program he taught English to middle school students in rural Japan.

Dr. Laitsch’s research interests include the use and misuse of research in policymaking and issue advocacy, policy issues related to market-based education reform efforts, the impact of high stakes accountability and assessment programs on educational systems, and school health approaches to systemic education reform. He earned his doctorate from American University, in Washington, DC. To access his full vita, click here.