James P. Connell, Ph. D

Dr. Connell is a former special education teacher. He is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE) based in Philadelphia. Dr. Connell received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Denver. He was an associate professor of education and psychology at the University of Rochester and then Director of Research at Public/Private Ventures. In 1988, Dr. Connell received the American Psychological Association award for early career contribution to psychology in the developmental area and the William T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholar Award. In 1995, he was appointed co-chair of the Evaluation Steering Committee for the Roundtable for Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families. His research interest and expertise are in schools and communities as contexts for child and youth development and in research methodology. He has published numerous articles on youth development and community and school influences on youth living in diverse communities. Based on this research, in 1996, he completed a white paper entitled First Things First: A Framework for Successful School-site Reform. He has been working intensively with the Kansas City Kansas school district for the past three years on the planning, implementation and evaluation of First Things First in all 43 of this urban district's schools. He is now co-project director of Scaling Up First Things First - an $11.6 million national project taking First Things First to five diverse school districts across the country.