FOCUS
All students, families, and communities deserve equitable access to clean, safe, healthy, and high-quality public education, regardless of their ZIP code. Education is a social determinant of health; however, we know that U.S. K-12 schooling is a stratifying institution that reifies existing inequalities, particularly by race and socioeconomic status. Calaia is interested in addressing how the racial disparities and social inequities that occur in public policy and administration systems at every level of government and across sectors create disparities in outcomes. Her research seeks to identify the causes of endemic inequities such as poverty and social marginalization, and how they are institutionalized and adapted over time. Calaia’s scholarship reimagines education and health policy as interrelated solutions that can bridge siloed efforts to address social determinants of health, galvanizing more equitable outcomes in both areas and more democratic policy designs and governance.
MORE ABOUT CALAIA
Calaia is an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in political science, history, the economics of education, and business. In her research, she draws on her lived experiences, including serving as an eighth-grade mentor and tutor with City Year San Antonio, and her career with the American Heart Association. Calaia’s hometown is Dallas, Texas.
