Our Team - Affiliates
Crystal A. Moore, PhD is the Director of Educator Engagement at The Education Trust–West. In this role, she leads a team of researchers and educators that partners with California school districts to help them assess how well every student has meaningful and equitable access to rigorous and relevant learning opportunities and resources. The Educator Engagement Team also helps district leaders and community stakeholders develop plans that translate data into changes that improve equity for students. Crystal thrives at this intersection of education research, practice and policy focused on transforming schools into the equitable and socially just places that all students deserve.
Born in New York City and raised by a working-class, single mother, Crystal’s history inspires her commitment to educational equity. She began her teaching career in Philadelphia, where she was able to work with third and fourth graders at three schools across the city. After leaving the classroom, Crystal became an expert in early literacy assessment, instruction and intervention, partnering with Reading First schools and districts across the US to provide differentiated instruction to elementary students. Eventually, she landed in Washington, DC, where she worked as an instructional coach, district professional development specialist and leadership coach in the DC Public School system.
Crystal earned her doctorate in sociology of education at Stanford University, where her dissertation focused on the experiences of African American school leaders. She completed the dissertation in a research-practice partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District. Prior to completing the PhD, Crystal graduated cum laude in the undergraduate policy program of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where she was a Mellon Minority Undergraduate Research Fellow and received the Priscilla Glickman ’92 Award for Commitment to Community Service. She also has a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania and in sociology from Stanford University.
