Robert Balfanz, PhD, is a research professor at the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University School of Education, where he is also co-director of the Talent Development Secondary reform model and director of the Everyone Graduates Center.
Balfanz is a leader and a co-founder of Diplomas Now, a school transformation model for high-needs middle and high schools. He is the first recipient of the Alliance for Excellent Education’s “Everyone a Graduate” Award and the Joan Lipsitz Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. In 2013, the White House named him a Champion of Change for African American Education.
He has published widely on such issues as secondary school reform, high school dropouts, and chronic absenteeism. He is also a frequent speaker on dropout prevention and early warning indicators. Balfanz holds a BA in history from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in education from the University of Chicago.