Multi-Site Case Studies + Infographics for Practical Adoption
Rapid qualitative research and case-study storytelling to surface best practices for supporting students experiencing homelessness
What you’ll see
Role-specific protocol design for 60-minute interviews across state, school, and community stakeholders
Team leadership and interview calibration across 9 sites (50+ participants)
Two-layer analysis: cross-site themes + within-site narrative synthesis for rich case studies
How we transformed qualitative insights into scannable infographics for broad adoption
Published deliverables designed for real-world use by other states and LEAs
Client: U.S. Department of Education (American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth Program)
Timeline: February–December 2024
My title: Project Director
My role: Research lead + people manager (protocol design, team supervision, fieldwork leadership, synthesis, and deliverables)
Users / audiences: Federal program stakeholders; state coordinators; local education agencies (LEAs); school-based liaisons; community partners; other states/LEAs seeking replicable models
Methods: 60-minute semi-structured interviews; role-specific interview guides; cross-site thematic analysis + within-site analysis for individual case studies
Sample / scope: 50+ participants across 9 sites
Deliverables: Cross-site findings integrated into the broader report + individual site case studies + infographic “data highlight” products designed for broad use
Outcomes (high level): Produced publishable, practitioner-friendly case studies and infographics under a tight turnaround, translating qualitative findings into digestible guidance for other states and LEAs.
The problem
States and districts had significant flexibility in how they used American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds, but there wasn’t a clear, field-tested set of examples showing which strategies worked, under what conditions, and what implementation challenges to anticipate. The client needed credible, timely evidence to document innovative approaches and share practical learning with the field.
What we needed to learn
How were SEAs and LEAs using ARP-HCY funds to identify and support students experiencing homelessness?
What strategies appeared most effective (and why) across different local contexts?
What enabling conditions and constraints shaped implementation (staffing, partnerships, guidance, systems)?
What lessons could be packaged so other states/LEAs could act on them quickly?
What I owned
As Project Director, I led end-to-end delivery under a tight deadline. I owned:
Designing semi-structured interview protocols and customizing guides by role (state, school-based, community partners),
Supervising a research team and modeling high-quality interviews,
Coordinating fieldwork across 9 sites and managing data quality,
Leading analysis in two layers: cross-site themes + within-site narrative analysis to create rich individual case studies,
Translating findings into a cross-site contribution for the overall report plus standalone case studies and infographics, and
Working closely with the client to ensure deliverables were high-quality, usable, and publishable.
Research approach
To balance rigor with speed, we used a structured qualitative approach:
Role-specific interview guides to ensure each participant type contributed the right kind of evidence (policy + implementation + lived experience).
Standardized 60-minute interviews across sites for comparability.
Two-level synthesis: (1) thematic analysis across all sites to identify patterns; (2) site-level synthesis to preserve context and produce actionable case narratives.
What we built
We produced two complementary deliverable types:
Case studies (one per participating SEA/LEA site)
Rich, contextual narratives that highlight implementation strategies, best practices, and challenges—so readers can see “what they did” and “how they did it.”Infographic “data highlight” products
Scannable one-pagers designed to be shared widely and used quickly by other LEAs/states. For example, the Fairfax County Public Schools data highlight includes funding amounts, a concise study overview, and “key findings” that translate qualitative themes into practical takeaways (e.g., increasing staff capacity, enhancing essential supports, fostering community-based partnerships). It also pairs outcomes and context—such as changes in identification of students experiencing homelessness and graduation rate shifts—alongside quotes that bring the implementation story to life.
These deliverables were produced for the U.S. Department of Education and published by the Department. Inclusion here is for portfolio purposes and does not imply endorsement.
Impact
This project was published by the U.S. Department of Education as an executive summary and site-level ‘data highlight’ infographics designed for field use that:
Documented innovative uses of ARP-HCY funds across multiple contexts,
Surfaced replicable best practices and common implementation challenges, and
Made findings usable for other states/LEAs through infographic formats designed for quick uptake.
What I learned
This project reinforced how important it is to listen carefully across diverse perspectives and roles, especially when you are trying to understand what implementation really looks like on the ground. With nine sites and many different stakeholder types, the work was not just collecting stories. It was identifying the common themes that held across contexts, preserving what was unique about each site, and translating both into actionable recommendations that others could actually use. It also strengthened my ability to deliver publishable products under a tight timeline by working in close partnership with the client, moving drafts back and forth quickly, and keeping the team aligned so the final case studies and infographics were clear, accurate, and ready for the field.
