Sara S. Kennedy

Ed.M., AIE '98

Sara S. Kennedy is an AIE alum whose path has led to law school. "Without the research and development knowledge and skills that I received from my involvement in the AIE Program," Kennedy says, "I would not have gone on to three years of work in R&D [in the mathematics education research group at the Education Development Center in Newton, Massachusetts] and ultimately to law school [at Northwestern School of Law]."

Though not focusing her legal studies around her interest in visual arts (especially oil painting) and learning that brought her to AIE, Kennedy does apply her educational interests to her graduate-school studies. Among her interests are "the legal issues involved in private organizations running groups of public schools," particularly "the conflicts that arise when one serves different constituencies: shareholders, school district representatives, teachers, parents, and students," and the problem of "accountability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Acts." Beyond the writing and research skills she gained, Kennedy says "the AIE community was such a friendly and collegial one" that it taught her "the benefits of close colleagues and trust within working groups."