Deborah Jonas

REL Appalachia director
Deborah Jonas, PhD, leads REL Appalachia with experience assessing needs and partnering with states, districts, and schools in the four-state REL Appalachia region to strengthen policy and teaching practice to ultimately improve student learning and well-being. She has successfully communicated research results and implications with teachers, school and district leaders, state chiefs and boards of education, legislators, governors, and other policymakers, supporting accurate interpretation and application. Jonas has spent more than 15 years leading research studies and supporting state and local educators in integrating data from multiple sources to inform decisions about educational policy and practice. Her research interests are focused on strengthening transitions across the education pipeline—from early childhood to elementary and from high school to college. Her research has helped change high school graduation rate policy, create definitions of college and career readiness, and expand preschool programs; it has also helped policymakers identify and implement changes to policy and practice that reduce inequities and can improve educational outcomes for all students. Jonas and her family live in central Virginia.