Education researcher and educatorhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidblazar.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidblazar.bsky.social/post/3mkardmazas2mGrateful to Clear Sky Science for this summary of our recent Nature Communications paper. The piece does a great job breaking down what we found — including why the early years matter most, and the powerful equalizing role public investment plays. https://www.clearskyscience.com/en/10.1038/s41467-026-70316-324 Apr 2026 14:46 +0000at://did:plc:7pvpur4ah4bgvvfdtkh6eyd5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkardmazas2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidblazar.bsky.social/post/3mk3mfzq67s2sGrateful to @mattbarnum.bsky.social and @chalkbeat.org for covering our research. Low-income kids have ~$80K less invested in their development than wealthier peers — and the gap isn't in schools. It's in housing, health care, and nutrition. Kids don't live in silos. Neither should our solutions. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/04/21/poor-children-face-investment-and-resource-gaps-outside-school/22 Apr 2026 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:7pvpur4ah4bgvvfdtkh6eyd5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk3mfzq67s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/davidblazar.bsky.social/post/3mjpipplfzk2bContinuing to catch up on work I missed sharing while I was off social media. Out in Educational Researcher: Black teachers have large effects on the self-efficacy and engagement of their Black students — and improve test scores and attendance for all students. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X24126133617 Apr 2026 17:56 +0000at://did:plc:7pvpur4ah4bgvvfdtkh6eyd5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpipplfzk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidblazar.bsky.social/post/3mjmqswcf5c2hMy first post here and I'm excited to share some recent work. A team of UMD researchers and I track investments in children to understand who gets left out and when. 1️⃣ Gaps exceed 50% before kindergarten 2️⃣ Public schooling narrows them at age 5 3️⃣ But disparities persist in type of services received https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70316-316 Apr 2026 15:43 +0000at://did:plc:7pvpur4ah4bgvvfdtkh6eyd5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmqswcf5c2h