Ruthie Caparas is a Research Associate with WestEd’s Strategic Resource Planning and Implementation team. She provides qualitative research, writing, editing, technical assistance, and project management for a range of education projects.
Her expertise includes accountability systems, school finance, systems improvement, and school-wide social-emotional learning (SEL). Caparas is passionate about leveraging a data-driven approach and resource allocation expertise to redesign education systems to support the whole child.
She has contributed to state-level projects including studies of California’s special education funding and accountability systems, cost adequacy and resource allocation studies in several states, statewide initiatives to promote continuous improvement at the local level, and statewide initiatives to advance school-based mental/behavioral health.
Caparas has also provided project management and technical assistance for the national Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd, including using a mixed-methods approach to identify SEL “bright spots” in multiple states.
Caparas received her BA from Stanford University and her MA in TK-12 educational leadership and policy studies from California State University, Sacramento.