Megan Rauch Griffard

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Assistant Professor, College of Education

Expertise: Teacher retention, vacancies, and turnover, School funding, Crises, natural disasters, pandemics, and other disruptions to schooling

Biography

Megan Rauch Griffard is an assistant professor with UNLV's Educational Policy and Leadership program. Her primary research areas address: (1) teacher retention, vacancies, and turnover; (2) K-12 school finance, and (3) crises, natural disaster, pandemics, and other disruptions to schooling.

Griffard began her career in education in Nevada as a high school teacher in Clark County School District. At UNLV, she teaches courses that prepare aspiring school leaders to manage human and fiscal resources in schools.

She has shared her research in more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and policy papers, 15 national conference presentations, and 13 presentations to local organizations and other stakeholders in education policy. In 2023, Griffard received the Dissertation of the Year award from the American Educational Research Association's Leadership for School Improvement group.

Education

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.S., Northwestern University
M.Ed., UNLV
B.A., Boston College

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Megan Rauch Griffard In The News

CCSD to add more tests for middle schoolers in 2026-2027 school year

Middle school students can expect to take more exams starting next school year, according to a document sent to some Clark County School District principals earlier this month. The exams, scheduled to be administered in mid-December and mid-May, will test students’ knowledge in math, English language arts, science and social studies. The tests can be worth of up 20 percent of a student’s final semester grade in the subject being tested, the document states.

Nevada’s traditional public schools are losing children to charter schools. Why?

Jennifer Wolf’s third grade son is a vocal student with a budding interest in fairness and social awareness, she told The Nevada Independent. On multiple occasions, she said “he has approached his teachers to talk through situations and share his perspective on how certain classroom moments unfolded.” Wolf’s view is increasingly popular: Enrollment in Nevada’s state charter school network is up 2.3 percentage points this year. When Nevada’s State Public School Charter Authority (SPCSA) was founded in 2011, it oversaw approximately 11,000 students. Today it oversees more than 70,000.

US high school students lose ground in math and reading, continuing yearslong decline

A decade-long slide in high schoolers’ reading and math performance persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 12th graders’ scores dropping to their lowest level in more than 20 years, according to results released Tuesday from an exam known as the nation’s report card.

Nevada raised teacher pay in 2023. Two years later, vacancies have dropped.

When Principal Anthony Nuñez first arrived at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas three years ago, the school was in crisis. About 40 percent of the school’s 100 teacher positions were vacant — causing larger class sizes and a heavy reliance on long-term substitute teachers.