Interests

I’m interested in understanding how structural adversities impact the educational achievement and wellbeing of marginalized children. I also focus on how school policies, practices, and programs can support the wellbeing of vulnerable youth populations, including children in the foster care system and those facing schooling-related challenges like chronic absenteeism and bullying.

My current strands of work focus on the structural determinants of chronic absenteeism as well as the bullying and victimization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth.

Poverty and Inequality Research

My work helps to uncover how poverty-related adversities at the structural level, like food insecurity, can influence children’s educational wellbeing and exacerbate educational inequities.

I also situate my research on student groups like foster youth and kids with disabilities who are disproportionately impacted by challenges, like chronic absenteeism and bullying, and unfortunately tend to get overlooked in the broader educational policy landscape.

Recent Work

We have a recent study in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence that tackles two questions: What did nationwide hate speech incidents at school against Asian American teens look like pre-pandemic? What can schools do to mitigate hate speech against Asian American teens? 

Key takeaways: 

1. On average, about 7% of Asian American teens were targets of hate speech from 2015-2019 at school, a rate that remained stable over time.
2. Authoritative school climate (i.e., climates with supportive adults and firm enforcement of school rules) relates to decreases in hate-speech incidents against Asian American teens.

Current Projects

I’m currently working on several studies on the causes and consequences of chronic absenteeism. My newest study—supported with funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation—focuses on the role of family engagement practices in reducing school absences across California, especially among families with kindergarteners and multilingual learners.

In my ongoing anti-AAPI bullying work, I’m delving into the lived experiences of AAPI students and documenting, through focus groups, the strategies they’re using to cope with bullying in the aftermath of the surge in anti-AAPI hate we witnessed during the pandemic.

Other Initiatives

I’m part of a team of nationwide experts who study chronic absenteeism. We’ve had two convenings in DC with the Special Assistant to the President for Education at the White House Domestic Policy Council to strategize ways to tackle chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absence—when kids miss 10% or more of school—has become a national crisis since the pandemic and rates have remained stubbornly high. The current administration is being very proactive about trying to move the needle on solving chronic absence and have been very intent on learning from leading experts as well as district leaders about the drivers of chronic absence and what the needs are at the local level to solve the problem. In fact, at our last meeting, in September, our district leaders/partners were at the table to share their perspectives on the ground about the drivers of chronic absence, how they’re leveraging data, and what their needs are at the local level to solve the problem.

As a result of this collaboration, we’ll be releasing a factsheet later this fall with the White House and the Institute for Education Science (IES) that raises awareness of the root causes of absences and ways that the federal government can support cross-sector collaborations to tackle the issue.
 

How Do You Unwind?

I’m big on the mind-body connection and love to take long runs—running helps clear my mind. Sometimes I get my best ideas and inspiration when I’m in the zone with my running.

Read a policy brief by Kevin Gee:
Educational Inequities Related to Race and Socioeconomic Status Deepened by the COVID-19 Pandemic

November 2024