Rate My Professor Jessica Rigby

Jessica Rigby is an Associate Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Policy in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She holds a B.A. in History with High Honors from Oberlin College (1998), a Preliminary Secondary Teaching Credential from San Jose State University (2002), an M.A. in Education Policy from Stanford University (2006), and a Ph.D. in Policy, Organizations, Measurement, and Evaluation from the University of California, Berkeley (2012). Rigby began her career as a teacher of middle and high school English and history. Prior to her faculty appointment at the University of Washington in 2014, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College (2012-2014), contributing to the Middle-school Mathematics and the Institutional Setting of Teaching (MIST) project. She has held research positions with organizations including Policy Analysis for California Education, New Leaders, San Francisco School Alliance, and Aspire Public Schools.

Her research examines district and school leadership to support antiracist, ambitious, and culturally sustaining mathematics instruction, addressing disparities for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students. Rigby directs the Systems Leadership for Math Improvement research-practice partnership and co-developed the Leadership for Antiracist, Ambitious Mathematics Teaching & Learning Framework. Her publications appear in journals such as Educational Administration Quarterly, American Journal of Education, Teachers College Record, and Journal of Educational Administration. Notable works include "Three Logics of Instructional Leadership" (2014), "Principals’ Conceptions of Instructional Leadership and their Informal Social Networks" (2016), "Administrator Observation and Feedback: Does it lead towards improvement in inquiry-oriented math instruction?" (2017), and "Learning Opportunities about Teaching Mathematics" (2020). She has received the Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award (2013), AERA Division A Outstanding Dissertation Award (2012), and others. Rigby chairs the College of Education Faculty Council, reviews for leading journals, and teaches courses on antiracist educational leadership and organizational dynamics.