Shirley Xu is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Her research uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to explore the causes and consequences of educational inequality and the interventions aimed at mitigating these disparities. Specific areas of inquiry include educator labor markets, multilingual learner policy, school choice, and school and district organizational improvement. She received a PhD in Education Policy and Leadership from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, as well as a BA in English and teaching certification in grades 7-12 English Language Arts and Reading from Rice University. Shirley previously taught high school English and English as a Second Language in Houston, TX.