Bio:

Laura Bornfreund is a freelance author and consultant working on a book about transforming kindergarten. The book’s working title is Making Space for Joy, Play, and Rigor in Kindergarten. Previously, Bornfreund worked for New America for 14 years, most recently as a senior fellow and advisor on early and elementary education with the Education Policy program. As a Senior Fellow, Bornfreund focused on transforming kindergarten and promoting policy and practice to strengthen the transition into kindergarten and the early elementary school grades. Her work can be found here.

Bornfreund was director of Early & Elementary Education Policy at New America for nearly seven years and, before that served as deputy director. During her time at New America, she wrote multiple publications, including, Getting in Sync: Revamping Licensing and Preparation for Teachers in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and the Early Grades. and was lead author of A Toolkit for Effective and Supportive Transitions for Children, Families, and Educators, Support Early Learning in America: Policies for a New Decade, From Crawling to Walking: Ranking States on Birth–3rd Grade Policies that Support Strong Readers, and Beyond Subprime Learning: Accelerating Progress in Early Education. Bornfreund also contributed a chapter to Sustaining Early Childhood Learning Gains: Program, School, and Family Influences. She has presented on many topics, including high-quality teaching and learning in kindergarten, state policies in the early grades, teacher preparation, principal preparation, and transition into kindergarten.

Bornfreund’s work was not only cited in the seminal 'Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Third Grade' consensus study from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council in 2015 but also featured in national outlets and education publications. These include The Atlantic, Chalkbeat, CNN, Educational Leadership, Education Week, Hechinger Report, National Journal, NPR, Pacific Standard, the Washington Monthly, Phi Delta Kappan, Slate, and the Washington Post.

Before her tenure at New America, Bornfreund's journey was marked by diverse experiences. She worked with several policy organizations in Washington, DC, including the Institute for Educational Leadership, The Forum for Education and Democracy, and Common Core (now Great Minds). She also contributed to the City of Orlando, FL, where she was pivotal in the early implementation of its Parramore Kidz Zone, an initiative modeled on the Harlem Children's Zone. Bornfreund’s journey began as a fourth-grade teacher in Orlando, a testament to her deep-rooted passion for education and versatile skill set.

Bornfreund graduated from the University of Central Florida, where she obtained a Bachelor’s of science in elementary education and a Master's of Public Administration. She currently resides in Florida with her husband and two daughters.

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Areas of work

• Writing policy briefs or frameworks and  tool-kits

• Conducting interviews, listening sessions, informal focus groups

• Technical assistance and planning

• Editing and reviewing proposals and other documents

Areas of expertise

• Policy and practice areas across pre-K, kindergarten, and the early grades

• Alignment within and across PreK-3rd grade

• Transitions across grade levels