When she was in 2nd grade, Dr. Kara Stern decided she wanted to be a teacher. Her commitment to education never waivered. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Stern began her career as a high school English teacher, later becoming a middle school principal, Executive Director of Math for America, and education content strategist for EdTech marketing teams. A writer and contributor to many publications, Dr. Stern is an education thought leader, creating K-12 resources for teachers and principals. She was a Klingenstein Fellow and earned a Ph.D. in Teaching & Learning from NYU. Dr. Stern brings her knowledge and advocacy for consistent, data-driven school communications to SchoolStatus. Outside academia, Dr. Stern indulges her love for reading, devouring two novels weekly, with a particular fondness for heists and spy stories.

Dr. Joy Smithson is a Data Scientist at SchoolStatus, where she works with districts all over the country to help educators use data to inform decisions and support student success. Dr. Smithson sees her role as a dual mission: understanding educators’ pressing research questions, and translating vast datasets into actionable insights to address those queries. Dr. Smithson leverages her expertise in analyzing, interpreting, summarizing, visualizing, and wrangling data to support educators and create better outcomes for students.

Grace Spencer is a passionate attendance expert who helped build School Innovations & Achievement (SI&A) over 25 years, including the Attention2Attendance (A2A) product. As VP of Product Management for SchoolStatus Attend, Grace leverages her depth of experience and belief in the value of education for all children to inform product development and expansion. Grace has worked in partnership with districts and has seen the crucial link between student achievement and attendance. As a parent, she values the role of education and advocates for increased family involvement and equitable communications for all.