Elise Castillo

Assistant Professor

Elise Castillo is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; and a 2023-2024 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. She conducts qualitative research on school choice policies, focusing on their possibilities for, and limitations to, advancing equitable, democratic, and racially integrated public education. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Castillo employ concepts from sociology, political science, and critical policy analysis. She has a particular interest in understanding how diverse Asian American students and families experience and make sense of school choice and integration policies, and she has investigated this topic in Greater Hartford, Connecticut, and New York City. Related work examines the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on school integration organizing in New York City, where school choice has exacerbated segregation over the last two decades; and how progressive and community-based charter schools can advance or hinder racial equity and integration. Her work has been published in various academic journals, including American Journal of Education; Education Policy Analysis Archives; and Race, Ethnicity, and Education. In addition, she has shared her work with broader audiences in The Connecticut Mirror and the Have You Heard podcast. Dr. Castillo taught middle and high school English in New York City public schools prior to earning her Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.