Robin Chait is a Project Director with the School Choice team. Throughout her career, she has worked in policy, research, and practice to expand educational opportunities for all students.
Chait’s primary responsibility is to lead the NY-RISE (Resources, Information, Support & Engagement) initiative, with the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and our partner organizations: the Center for Learner Equity, Manhattan Strategy Group, and Tugboat Education. Funded through NYSED’s Charter School Programs grant, this three-year series of professional development workshops and technical assistance webinars strengthens the individual and collective capacities of charter school interest holders in board governance, home-to-school connections, financial operations, and special education.
Prior to NY-RISE, Chait led WestEd’s work on the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC), a partnership with Manhattan Strategy Group, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The NCSRC provides technical assistance to grantees of the federal Charter Schools Program and develops tools and resources for charter sector stakeholders. She also provides technical assistance and develops publications, tools, and resources for charter authorizers, state education agencies, and charter management organizations.
Prior to joining WestEd, Chait led policy, communications, and fundraising for Center City Public Charter Schools, a network of preK through 8th grade schools in Washington, DC. She also served as Director of Teaching and Learning at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, where she supported both charter and traditional public schools in implementing the Race to the Top grant. As Associate Director for Teacher Quality at the Center for American Progress, she conducted research, wrote policy briefs, and developed state and federal policy recommendations. She also taught 3rd grade through the DC Teaching Fellows Program. Chait began her education career at the U.S. Department of Education, where she worked on evaluations of federal education programs.
Chait holds an MA from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and an MA in teaching from American University.