At the Gardner Center, we focus on questions our community partners raise about issues that matter to youth. Our interdisciplinary research team represents expertise in design and methods, schools and school districts, youth development, community engagement, and education policy. We foster a collaborative approach to research in which we work alongside our community partners. Practitioners and policymakers can then use findings from this research to effect change.
Milbrey McLaughlin, the David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy, founded the Gardner Center at Stanford in 2000. It is the only organization to which John W. Gardner lent his name.
For Michelle Griffith, having Stanford University’s support in developing a new mental health counselor program for the Redwood City School District feels like a “net underneath me,” she said.
“They’ve been this incredible resource to guide us,” said Griffith, district director of community schools and partnerships. “I feel like they’re side by side with us and providing their expertise and experience to really move us forward in supporting our students and families.”
