Ain Grooms

Ain Grooms is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education. Her research focuses on K-12 educational equity, particularly for students of color and marginalized communities. She examines how educational policies impact student outcomes through the intersection of race and place. Current projects investigate equity-focused policies related to educator retention, principal pipelines, and computer science education implementation.

Before joining academia, Dr. Grooms held roles including founding administrator of a Boston charter high school, college advisor in NYC, and policy analyst in Atlanta. Her work bridges practice and research to address systemic inequities in education.

Key research areas include:

• Policy design and implementation for equity
• Racial dynamics in school leadership
• Computer science education access challenges
• Chronic absenteeism interventions

Her scholarship appears in journals like Urban Education, Peabody Journal of Education, and Journal of School Leadership. Recent work explores pandemic-era educational adaptations and the intersection of race/gender in educator experiences.

Dr. Grooms' research emphasizes actionable solutions for policymakers and practitioners, prioritizing community-informed equity strategies. Her current projects include analyzing principal pipeline development and corporate influence on STEM curricula.