Personal Background
Laura McGiffert Slover is a native Washingtonian with over 16 years of experience in the field of education in both the classroom and the policy community. Laura has been a member of the DC Board of Education since early 2007 and has played a critical role in the city's education reform efforts. In addition to her service on the Board, Laura is the Vice President of Content and Policy Research at Achieve - a non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability to prepare all young people for college, careers, and citizenship in the 21st century. Through her work at Achieve, she has advised district, state, and national policy makers on policies and practices that can make a difference for students. For example, in May 2008, Laura testified to the Congressional Committee on Education and Labor about state education policies around standards and assessments. Since 2009, Laura has been working to develop the Common Core State Standards, which have now been adopted by 27 states and DC.
Other accomplishments include:
- Serving on the board of directors of Project Northstar, which provides academic tutoring and mentoring for homeless and at-risk DC youth
- Tutoring a DC student from 4th grade through the completion of high school;
- Representing the community on the Local School Restructuring Team (LSRT) at Key Elementary School;
- Serving on the Steering Committee for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP);
- Acting as a Peer Reviewer of State Accountability Plans for the U.S. Department of Education;
- Teaching high school English in Eagle County, CO where she was part of developing new curricula and assessments;
- Coaching girls basketball and acting as the faculty advisor to the school newspaper;
- Acting as second vice president, Palisades Citizens Association (2005-2007).
Laura earned a bachelor's degree in English and American literature from Harvard University; a master's degree in education curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado at Boulder; and a master's degree in education policy from Georgetown University. Laura lives in Palisades with her husband Bill and their daughter, Avery (2).
