Nominated by: John Sipple
Karl L. Alexander has worked for 30 years to analyze and highlight home vs. school effects and coined the phrase “summer setback” to describe the phenomenon leading to differential academic and life course success. By thoughtfully documenting the experiences and outcomes in and out of school for poor, middle class, minority and majority children, we now better understand how schools impact children as well as the powerful impact of community and family on childhood and adult outcomes. States and school systems across the country now commonly debate and act on the merits of summer school, year-round schooling, teacher quality, early education, and after-school programs in large part due to the work of Prof. Alexander.
