National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)

What National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) does

REACH (National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice) is a non-profit academic research center headquartered at Tulane University in New Orleans, founded in 2018 with a five-year, $10 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (Grant R305C180025). Its mission is to produce objective, rigorous research that informs school choice policy design and implementation, with a consistent focus on disadvantaged students. REACH's research spans charter schools, voucher programs, inter-district choice, open enrollment, virtual schools, unified enrollment systems, transportation access, teacher policy, and the effects of COVID-19 on schooling, drawing on advanced econometric methods including event study models, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, and causal inference techniques.

REACH's core products include peer-reviewed publications (policy briefs, technical reports, working papers), a Research Clearinghouse cataloging 84 external studies, and the National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD), a near-census longitudinal dataset covering all U.S. public and private schools and districts from 1990-91 to the present. The research team comprises leading education researchers from over a dozen institutions, including Tulane, USC, University of Delaware, Michigan State, Wayne State, Temple University, UC Irvine, and others, organized around four lead institutions: ERA-New Orleans, EPIC (Michigan State), CEPEG (USC), and Syracuse University.

REACH distributes all research outputs free of charge through its website, newsletter, and academic/policy channels, and earns significant earned media coverage (The New York Times, CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal). The organization is funded through federal grants supplemented by philanthropic support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, City Fund, Walton Family Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, and the Murphy Institute at Tulane University. End users include federal, state, and local education policymakers, academic researchers, and education advocacy organizations.

Name

National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)

Legal name

REACH: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice

Website

https://reachcentered.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

REACH is a non-profit academic research center at Tulane University that produces rigorous, objective research on U.S. school choice policy, including the National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD), for policymakers, researchers, and education advocates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAN

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGADAB

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Education policy research
• School choice research
• Longitudinal school data
• Charter school evaluation
• Education access research

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: REACH is primarily funded through competitive federal grants. The primary grant is from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305C180025 to Tulane University. The initial establishment grant was a five-year, $10 million award. These grants fund the center's research operations, staff, and data infrastructure.
2. Philanthropic Foundation Grants: REACH receives support from private philanthropic foundations including Bloomberg Philanthropies, City Fund, Walton Family Foundation, and William T. Grant Foundation, and institutional support from the Murphy Institute at Tulane University. These grants supplement federal funding for specific research projects and operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

REACH is a nonprofit academic research center that conducts objective, rigorous research on school choice policies—including charter schools, vouchers, inter-district choice, open enrollment, virtual schools, and unified enrollment systems—to inform policy design and implementation for disadvantaged students. It produces peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and technical reports, maintains the National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD) covering all U.S. schools from 1990-91, and curates a Research Clearinghouse of external studies, all distributed free of charge.

Product overview

REACH operates as a research center offering a portfolio of research products and data resources focused on school choice policy. The core offerings include a publications platform containing policy briefs and technical reports on school choice topics, a Research Clearinghouse aggregating external school choice studies, and the National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD) providing longitudinal data on U.S. schools. These products serve researchers, policymakers, and education stakeholders seeking objective, rigorous research on education access and choice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• REACH Publications A library of peer-reviewed research reports, policy briefs, and technical reports on school choice policy—including topics such as transportation and school choice, charter schools, vouchers, unified enrollment systems, teacher policy, and COVID-19 impacts on education—distributed free to policymakers, researchers, and the public.
• Research Clearinghouse A curated, filterable database of 84 rigorous school choice research studies beyond REACH's own work, with categories covering choice policy types, aspects of choice, and publication dates, intended to keep the field informed of relevant external research.
• National Longitudinal School Database (NLSD) A near-census longitudinal database of all U.S. public and private schools and districts from 1990-91 to present, enabling researchers to examine traditional public schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and private schools. Distributed to academic researchers via a free data request process; downloaded 173 times as of July 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research cited over 3,000 times by other researchers (Douglas N. Harris alone)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Education Research Alliance for New Orleans (ERA) at Tulane UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERA serves as the administrative home for REACH. Douglas Harris is the founding Director of ERA. ERA and REACH share researchers, staff, and resources, with ERA-New Orleans being a lead research institution in the REACH network.
• Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPIC is one of four lead research institutions in the REACH network. EPIC researchers including Katharine Strunk and Joshua Cowen contribute to REACH studies on teacher policy, school choice, and Michigan-specific research.
• Center for Education Policy, Equity and Governance (CEPEG) at University of Southern CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEPEG is one of four lead research institutions in the REACH network. USC researchers including Julie Marsh, Huriya Jabbar, and Katrina Bulkley contribute to REACH's research portfolio.
• Syracuse UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSyracuse University is one of four lead research institutions in the REACH network, contributing researchers to the collaborative research agenda.
• Brookings InstitutionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrookings Institution is an affiliated research institution and co-host of panels on education policy with REACH. REACH Director Douglas Harris is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Brookings. Jon Valant is a Fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings. The institutions co-hosted events including a panel on COVID-19 and school choice.
• EdNavigatormajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdNavigator is a data and project partner that works with families navigating school closures in New Orleans. REACH has conducted studies on the effectiveness of EdNavigator's support services combined with enrollment system priority for displaced students (OneApp/NCAP).
• GreatSchools.orgmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreatSchools.org is listed as a data and project partner. REACH has conducted research analyzing online reviews from GreatSchools to understand how parents use school rating information for school choice decisions.
• National Alliance for Public Charter SchoolsminorOthersListed as a data and project partner. NAPCS is a national membership organization committed to advancing the charter school movement.
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA)minorOthersListed as a data and project partner. NACSA is dedicated to quality charter school authorizing and is a partner in REACH's research ecosystem.
• Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)minorOthersListed on the National Policy Advisory Board. CRPE is a research organization focused on urban public school system transformation.
• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)minorOthersListed on the National Policy Advisory Board. CCSSO represents chief state school officers in all states and territories.
• National School Boards Association (NSBA)minorOthersListed on the National Policy Advisory Board. NSBA serves as an advocate for public education and public school boards.
• Shanker InstituteminorOthersListed on the National Policy Advisory Board. The Shanker Institute supports research and policy work on public education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution (Brown Center on Education Policy): The Brookings Brown Center on Education Policy conducts nationally-scaled education research on school choice, accountability, and equity. REACH's Director Douglas Harris is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow, and the two organizations co-host policy panels — making Brookings a closely linked, though broader-portfolio, research peer.
• Urban Institute: Urban Institute is a major nonprofit research organization conducting policy-relevant work on education access, equity, school choice, and housing-school linkages — directly relevant to REACH's transportation and school choice research. Both organizations produce accessible policy briefs and serve federal and state policymaker audiences.
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): NBER houses the leading U.S. economics research network, including the Economics of Education program that produces many of the rigorous school choice studies REACH's researchers contribute to. Several REACH team members (Imberman, Schwartz) are NBER affiliates, and the two organizations share methodology and audience for econometric education research.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large, established policy research organization with substantial K-12 education research including school choice evaluations, teacher policy, and equity studies. Julie Marsh, REACH's Director of Qualitative Research, was previously a Senior Policy Researcher at RAND, illustrating the direct methodological and topical overlap.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): AIR is one of the largest U.S. behavioral and social science research organizations, with a substantial portfolio of K-12 education research, evaluation, and technical assistance. It competes with REACH for IES contracts and conducts parallel school choice and equity studies for federal and state agencies.

Direct peers

• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica conducts rigorous quantitative and qualitative education policy research using econometric methods similar to REACH's, including school choice, charter school evaluations, and education equity studies. Both organizations compete for the same IES grants and produce peer-reviewed policy-relevant research for federal and state clients.
• Education Trust: Education Trust is a nonprofit advocacy and research organization focused on educational equity and closing achievement gaps for low-income and minority students. Both REACH and Ed Trust produce equity-focused school choice research and target disadvantaged student outcomes, though Ed Trust also engages directly in federal policy advocacy.
• MDRC: MDRC is a nonprofit social and education policy research organization that conducts rigorous evaluations of school choice, charter schools, vouchers, and college access programs. Both organizations target disadvantaged students, use experimental and quasi-experimental methods, and produce evidence that informs federal and state education policy.
• Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE): CRPE is a research organization focused on urban public school system transformation, including school choice, charter policy, and enrollment systems — directly overlapping with REACH's research portfolio. Both organizations study district and charter performance, enrollment systems, and school choice design, and CRPE already serves on REACH's National Policy Advisory Board.

Others

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS): NAPCS is a national membership organization committed to advancing the charter school movement and is listed as a REACH data and project partner. While not a research peer, NAPCS represents the operator/advocate side of the school choice ecosystem that REACH's research evaluates, making it a thematically adjacent peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/reachcentered
• Facebookfacebook.com/REACHCenterEd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reachcentered

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)