Ruthie Caparas 

Overview

Ruthie Caparas provides research and technical assistance to drive systems improvement across a range of educational contexts. Her areas of expertise include accountability systems, school finance, and state policy analysis, as well as social and emotional learning (SEL), school-based mental/behavioral health, and other efforts to support the whole child.

Caparas’s school finance research has included cost adequacy and resource allocation studies in several states, each of which informed state policy changes to advance system effectiveness and resource equity. Caparas also provided technical assistance for the national Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd, where she led the use of a mixed-methods approach to identify SEL “bright spots” in multiple states and scale districts’ promising practices. Caparas’s work in California has included supporting statewide initiatives to advance school-based mental/behavioral health, conducting an evaluation of differentiated assistance in California, and leading a statewide project to identify and scale best practices for differentiated assistance.

Before joining WestEd, Caparas served as program administrator and later development coordinator for a nonprofit serving youth and families. Throughout her career, Caparas has been committed to promoting data-driven decision-making to optimize the use of resources and advance positive outcomes for children, families, and communities.

Education

• MA in TK–12 educational leadership & policy studies, California State University, Sacramento
• BA in English, Stanford University

Select Publications

Caparas, R., Eisenberg, L., Krausen, K., & Lias, C. (2024). Schools can’t do it alone: Developing sustainable systems of care for school-based behavioral health in California. WestEd. 

WestEd. (2024). Promising practices for differentiated assistance: Learning from county offices of education across California. WestEd. 

Caparas, R., & Willis, J. (2023). Policy considerations for the future of California’s Local Control Funding Formula. WestEd. 

Krausen, K., Tanner, S., Caparas, R., Makkonen, R., Burr, E., & Mathias, J. (2022). Evaluation of California’s differentiated assistance. WestEd. 

Caparas, R. (2021). Preparing students for life beyond the classroom: Spotlighting success in North Dakota. The benefits of social emotional learning (SEL) in two rural school districts. WestEd. 

Caparas, R. (2021). Spotlighting whole-person success: A guide for using statewide data to identify exemplar districts in SEL and school climate. WestEd.  

Krausen, K., Caparas, R., Ripma, T., & Willis, J. (2020). Strategic resource allocation for the 21st century: How state leaders can address the silent recession. WestEd. 

Krausen, K., Caparas, R., & Mattson, H. (2019). “We shake hands at the door”: How a focus on relationships is driving improvement in Chula Vista. WestEd. 

Willis, J., Krausen, K., Berg-Jacobson, A., Taylor, L., Caparas, R., Lewis, R., & Jaquet, K. (2019). A study of cost adequacy, distribution, and alignment of funding for North Carolina’s K–12 public education system. WestEd. 

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

Paul D. Hood Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Field, 2020 (Leandro Action Plan team member)