Michael Fienberg

Michael graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a double major of Film and Communications. From there, he returned to his native Los Angeles and attended Pepperdine University, earning an MA and Single Subject Math Teaching Credential. After completing the program, he taught mathematics for five years at Calabasas High School in the San Fernando Valley. There, he primarily taught AP Statistics, but also taught classes including Algebra I, Algebra II Finance, CP Statistics, and Finite Mathematics. While at CHS, he helped design and pilot two new math courses designed to support struggling learners, served for two years as department chair, and performed as CHS's data coordinator during the school's WASC accreditation year.  

An interest in systemic school reform led him to exit the classroom and pursue a PhD. He is now a PhD student in Urban Education Policy with a focus on K-12 issues at USC working with Drs. Morgan Polikoff and Adam Kho. Michael's current research interests broadly focus on systemic school changes, and more specifically include program evaluation, curriculum and dual enrollment. 

• Silver, D., Fienberg, M., & Polikoff, M. (2022, January 13). Support for mask and vaccine policies in schools falls along racial and political lines. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/support-mask-and-vaccine-policies-schools-falls-along-racial-and-political-lines
• Polikoff, M. S., Silver, D., Garland, M., Saavedra, A. R., Rapaport, A., & Fienberg, M. (2021). The Impact of a Messaging Intervention on Parents’ School Hesitancy During COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 0013189X211070813.