Stephanie Davolos is director of Gateway to College Initiatives at Achieving the Dream. In her role, Stephanie works with colleges and their district and workforce partners to assess college access programs with an equity lens. She also supports communities working to bring to life programs designed to create robust and inclusive pathways to college and careers for K–12 students.
Prior to Gateway to College and Achieving the Dream, Stephanie worked at Holyoke Public Schools in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she served as chief of staff to the state receiver (state-appointed superintendent). Prior to HPS, she served for eight years as executive director to the Sizer School, a grade 7–12 charter “essential school” in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and was on the team that launched Citizen Schools, a national network of programs that connect middle school students to project-based learning led by volunteer citizen teachers. She got her start in education as a Teach for America corps member teaching French to middle school students on Bayou Lafourche in Cut Off, Louisiana.
Education
Ed.M. | Harvard Graduate School of Education
B.A. | Dickinson College
Past Experience
Chief of Staff to the State Receiver | Holyoke Public Schools
Executive Director | Sizer School, a North Central Charter Essential School
Regional Director Massachusetts/Director of Apprenticeships | Citizen Schools
Regional Director South Louisiana | Teach for America
How has education changed your life/your family?
My grandfather immigrated to the United State as a teenager. He put himself and four siblings through Georgetown University and was a beloved family doctor in our town. I grew up in the seventies and eighties and experienced the best and worst of America’s K-12 system. Public schools in turmoil and then the gift of a private catholic college prep high school, my father’s alma mater. These shockingly different early education experiences fueled a passionate career working for equity in education.
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