Matthew A Kraft

Lexington, KY

Excited to announce the call for papers for the inaugural MidSouth Education Policy Workshop, October 16-17, in Lexington, KY!

Send us your abstracts on all things econ of ed & ed policy by 8/27. Grad students & early career folks especially welcome!

Info & link to submit here: bit.ly/44TdiGf

How Much Is Climate Change Costing Schools? A New Effort Seeks to Find Out The initiative also documents what's known about schools' emissions, how climate disasters eat into learning time, and potential solutions.

Great piece in @edweek.org about SustainableED - our new initiative dedicated to advancing research at the intersection of education and climate change. @edsustainable.bsky.social

Sign up to join our growing network. 👇 🖊️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

www.edweek.org/leadership/h...

Congrats, Larry.

Thank you so much for sharing, Katharine. I hope our paths cross in this space. 😊

Great question. I see it as "yes, and" instead of "either or". This is just the space where I think I can the most value.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I think making these issues local is essential. We aim to develop tools to do just that.

Many thanks!

Yes! Same is true for urban heat islands as well. Great point.

😅. You should see the other initiatives I've pitched with no avail that were inspired by my kids

ed & dinosaurs
ed & why can't we eat dessert for every meal?
ed & why do I have to do things that you can do for me?

Sustainable Education Research Initiative: Bridging Education and Climate Change, Empowering Schools Professor Matthew Kraft launches new initiative with groundbreaking research.

You can read more about SustainableED below

Please reach out to us at sustainable-ed@brown.edu to get involved, join our mailing list, and help shape our future direction.

education.brown.edu/news/2025-07...

Many thanks to Grace & Sohil @annenberginstitute.bsky.social @brown-ibes.bsky.social.

And now building on our synthesis paper, I'm thrilled to announce the 🚀 launch 🚀 of

SustainableED - The Sustainable Education Research Initiative at Brown University. @edsustainable.bsky.social 🎓+🌎

We advance research to support climate-smart schools

Website
annenberg.brown.edu/sustainableED

We created the syllabus from scratch, mapping the contours of the issues at the intersection of education and climate change. We learned so much from the experts who spoke to our class.

Teaching then led to our new paper that synthesizes the course materials.

edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1238

New Course to Explore the Intersection of K-12 Education Systems and Climate Change Developed by Professor Matthew Kraft, EDUC 0120: K-12 Education Systems and Climate Change aims to empower future educators to combat the climate crisis

I'm an economist of education who studies K12 ed policy

I could study & teach about how climate change was affecting schools & what they could do to be part of the solution

So I worked w/ an amazing group of Brown students to develop a new class on ed & climate

education.brown.edu/news/2025-01...

I started by reading as much as I could about climate science. I was shocked by how much I didn't know & terrified by what I learned

Then I came across a TED Talk by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson which helped me find direction & inspiration in this all-hands-on-deck moment
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsOJ...

In 2022, as I was tucking my then 7-year-old son into bed he said to me in a sleepy haze

"Dad, global warming is bad. What are we going to do?"

This❓from out of the blue ROCKED me

I've spent the last several years searching for an answer

Let me tell you about that journey & where I've landed

🧵

This is one thread you won’t want to miss. Schools are uniquely at risk from climate change – but they have so much potential to contribute to solutions!

The BLS's issues with CPI data collection appear to be getting worse. The share of uncollected items subject to "different cell" imputation (meaning they're based on different items or items from different geographies) hit another record last month. (Data goes back to 2019.) #EconSky #NumbersDay

Dear @dwallacewells.bsky.social,

Reading The Uninhabitable Earth was a deeply impactful experience for me that helped change the trajectory of my research. Thanks for your continued efforts to raise awareness about the consequences of climate change.

- Matt

Dear @katharinehayhoe.com @ayanaeliza.bsky.social & @michaelemann.bsky.social,

Your writing, research, and public engagement have inspired this work from the very beginning. Thanks for leading by example.

-Matt

🌍 Join me tomorrow for a webinar where we'll discuss our findings and invite participants to share their perspectives and insights.

📅 Tues. 7/15 at 1 pm ET buff.ly/xbcXnIF

More education causes students to be more likely to adopt pro-climate beliefs, behaviors, and policy positions, on average

Students participating in environmental education programs also transfer knowledge to their peers & change parents’ beliefs

🎓 & 🌎 = 🙌

American 15-year olds’ understanding of environmental science ranked below that of 24 other countries on the 2015 PISA science exam, far lower than countries that have similar overall science scores suggesting environmental science is a particular weakness of U.S. science education.

Many K-12 teachers in the United States lack the training, support, and time to teach about topics related to sustainability

Climate change and environmental pollution have well documented negative effects on students'

cognitive development ⬇️

physical health ⬇️

mental health ⬇️

attendance in school ⬇️

academic achievement ⬇️

1 out of every 4 public schools is located in a census track at "very high risk" of at least one type of natural disaster.

These types of extreme weather events were responsible for 83% of school closures lasting a week or more between 2011 and 2019.

There is also tremendous potential to expand the use of clean energy in public schools.

K-12 schools are the second largest public infrastructure system in the country (behind highways).

School buildings, meal programs, and transportation systems produce annual emissions that are roughly the equivalent of 18 coal-fired power plants or 15 million cars.

We outline and synthesize the evidence along five broad dimensions in which education and climate change intersect.

When we think about education & climate change, we often picture images of schools damaged by natural disasters made more frequent & severe by climate change.

Extreme weather events are an increasing threat, but the relationship between schools and climate change is much more complex and expansive.

Schools are increasingly vulnerable to climate change & vital to advancing solutions.

Our synthesis illustrates why efforts to create more resilient schools & a more sustainable future need to be a central focus of education research, policy & practice.

edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1238

🧵