TC's Carolyn Riehl, in an interview with the Buffalo News, said a study she's doing will take an "objective" look at whether public-private-government partnerships are successful in improving schools. The study of Say Yes in Buffalo, by Riehl and TC colleague Jeffrey Henig, looks at partnerships that combine public and private resources to help children and their families. The study is backed by the Wallace Foundation.

Public-private partnerships have grown popular in urban areas since the success of the Promise Neighborhoods in Harlem and elsewhere, but not much research has been done to confirm or dispute their effectiveness.

"This is really the first study that takes a more dispassionate look at this approach,” said Riehl, an associate professor of education at Teachers College. “All of us care about education. We’d love to see education get better. We’d love to see collaborative partnerships be part of that. But we want to take an objective look at how they’re operating and how they can be most effective.”

Published Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015