As one of the evaluation consulting firms working on issues of teacher preparation, quality, and improvement, we have worked with and helped institutions and organizations across the nation to improve the skills of the educators of today and set up programs to train the teachers of tomorrow. We are very excited to start our new evaluation work with Frostburg State University (Maryland) for their 2019 awarded Teacher Quality and Preparation (TQP) grant from the U.S. Department of Education …
News and Updates
Praying for Hope
I interlocked the last loop late Monday night to complete a crocheted lap “pandemic” blanket. Since fall 2019, I have turned to what some may call "old-fashioned" crafts. More so, now to calm my fears and anxieties; knowing situations that I cannot control or don't even understand too well. To be able to hold a thread, swirl it around my fingers with a simple metal hook and make something tangible and useful calms me. It is repetitive, rhythmic, meditative, and therapeutic. There is a …
April is Community College Awareness Month!
April is community college awareness month. Today, we spend a moment to express our deep gratitude to all the community colleges across the nation. They are doing tireless work during these trying times as they continue to serve their students, families, and the communities they serve. Since 2009, we have been very fortunate to work with several CCs across the country. We have been their grant writers, reviewers, evaluators, education researchers, technical assistance, capacity builders, …
Hunkered Down, Working, and Attempting to Weather the Pandemic
MNA continues to work during these truly unprecedented times. We pray and hope that all of you are staying healthy and sheltered in place. In 2018, the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) contracted with MNA to evaluate their initiative, Artificial Intelligence in Education, funded by the General Motors. MNA conducted surveys of educators who went through the professional learning program that cultivates future AI programmers for educators to support student-driven AI …
Saying Thanks To Our Staff and Contributors on International Women’s Day
This past Sunday was International Women’s Day. At MNA, it's IWD everyday where we celebrate all the women who are STEM and social science researchers, program evaluators, educators, data scientists, data wizards and Moms who are richly contributing to our growing consulting firm. They have made us prouder and stronger every day with their collaboration, realistic ideas, team work, hard work, talent and skills, and more importantly, their passion and compassion. Thank you 🙏🏽 💕💕 We are so …
A White Paper on Retention of URMs in Engineering Education
We are very excited to announce the release of a white paper on Retention of Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) in Engineering Education completed in collaboration with the National Society of Black Engineers (Alexandria, VA). Approximately 50 deans and university administrators convened at the URM Engineering Student Success Symposium in Utah in June 2018. The event, which received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), was organized by the National Society of Black Engineers …
Celebrating A Decade Of Our Evaluation Journey. Happy Holidays!
Before taking a break for the holidays, we are taking a moment to celebrate a decade of successful evaluation journey. Thank you 🙏🏽 to my very motivated, hardworking, and talented team of researchers and evaluators who have made this possible. I am nothing without them. In summary, a decade of growth comprised these: Total team members- 1 to 5 plus several regular consultants Number of projects completed-5 to 265 Number of clients served-4 to over 100 Grants funding …
Saying Thanks And Being Grateful To All Our HBCU Clients
Before we take a short break and head out to be with our families next week for Thanksgiving, we would like to take a moment to thank all our HBCU clients who have placed their deep trust in us by collaborating with us on their student success initiatives. MNA has been working with HBCUs since 2008. Our first project was with the UNCF to conduct a needs assessment of HBCUs across the country. In 2009, MNA completed a College Affordability study for UNCF. Since then, MNA has collaborated with …
Remember Our (First) Summer Intern? She Has Shared Her Reflections
My Summer Internship at MNA By Aneesha Goodala August 29, 2019 I have just completed my first summer internship at MN Associates, Inc. here in Fairfax, VA. MNA is a small, woman-owned research and evaluation firm established in 2004 by Kavita Mittapalli, Ph.D. How it began? I met Kavita at one of the Hindu temple events where we both volunteer over the weekends. We started talking about “my” future. Kavita mentioned that her company is considering opening a summer intern position. She …
The Year of Conferences
As I hang another conference name tag to accompany its buddies on a chair, here are a few reflections, learning, and takeaways from the education conferences I have either attended or presented so far. 1. They are all informational, although, some of them are expensive. 2. I do like to attend sessions that may inform my work. 3. I plan my between-session breaks—one simply cannot attend all the sessions that seem great. 4. I like to interact with as many people as I can including …