Charles Smith, Ph.D.
Dr. Smith's impact on the field began when he was a student at Wayne State University, where he co-founded, implemented and evaluated the Youth Urban Agenda Civic Literacy Project. He later joined the High/Scope Foundation, where he managed research and technical assistance projects in the early childhood and out-of-school time fields. As head of the David P. Weikart Center on Youth Program Quality, Smith led the development and validation of one of the field’s most prominent performance improvement tools, the Youth Program Quality Assessment. Read a short biography.
Charles Smith is the founder and Executive Director of the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a division of the Forum for Youth Investment, and Senior Vice President at the Forum. The Weikart Center currently provides technical supports to a portfolio of over 85 quality improvement systems and quality intermediary organizations in 38 states, including several thousand direct service organizations. Dr. Smith leads the measures and analytics team at the Weikart Center. His current areas of focus include design and implementation of lower stakes performance accountability policies and integration of afterschool systems with schools.
Before joining the Weikart Center in 2007, Charles worked for the High/Scope Foundation, where he managed research and technical assistance projects in the early childhood and out-of-school time fields. These included a randomized trial for the Youth Program Quality Intervention, a longitudinal evaluation of child outcomes in the Michigan School Readiness Program and a low-stakes accountability system focused on improving quality in Michigan’s 2,000 state-funded preschool classrooms.
Charles received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, with primary concentrations in welfare state history, urban planning, adult education policy and civic education for young adults. At Wayne State he co-founded, implemented and evaluated the Youth Urban Agenda Civic Literacy Project, an ongoing civic learning initiative for secondary and undergraduate students which enrolled over 18,000 participants in southeastern Michigan in past two decades.
Dr. Smith's impact on the field began when he was a student at Wayne State University, where he co-founded, implemented and evaluated the Youth Urban Agenda Civic Literacy Project. He later joined the High/Scope Foundation, where he managed research and technical assistance projects in the early childhood and out-of-school time fields. As head of the David P. Weikart Center on Youth Program Quality, Smith led the development and validation of one of the field’s most prominent performance improvement tools, the Youth Program Quality Assessment. Read a short biography.
Charles Smith is the founder and Executive Director of the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, a division of the Forum for Youth Investment, and Senior Vice President at the Forum. The Weikart Center currently provides technical supports to a portfolio of over 85 quality improvement systems and quality intermediary organizations in 38 states, including several thousand direct service organizations. Dr. Smith leads the measures and analytics team at the Weikart Center. His current areas of focus include design and implementation of lower stakes performance accountability policies and integration of afterschool systems with schools.
Before joining the Weikart Center in 2007, Charles worked for the High/Scope Foundation, where he managed research and technical assistance projects in the early childhood and out-of-school time fields. These included a randomized trial for the Youth Program Quality Intervention, a longitudinal evaluation of child outcomes in the Michigan School Readiness Program and a low-stakes accountability system focused on improving quality in Michigan’s 2,000 state-funded preschool classrooms.
Charles received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, with primary concentrations in welfare state history, urban planning, adult education policy and civic education for young adults. At Wayne State he co-founded, implemented and evaluated the Youth Urban Agenda Civic Literacy Project, an ongoing civic learning initiative for secondary and undergraduate students which enrolled over 18,000 participants in southeastern Michigan in past two decades.