In the Media

Selected coverage and interviews about my research—much of it on community responder programs and emergency mental-health response, alongside earlier work on school transitions, discipline, attendance, and graduate student debt.

Featured coverage

Associated Press · Time · Scientific American · USA Today · The Washington Post · Science

2025

She Goes to Police Calls in a Prius. It’s Part of a New Approach to Mental-Health Emergencies Associated Press · December 23

2024

It’s Official: Non-Police First Responders Work and America Needs More of Them The Hill · May 1

2023

A Humane Answer to Mental Health Emergencies Interview · Harvard Data-Smart City Solutions · March 1

Tyre Nichols’ Death Has Reignited the Debate Around Police Brutality. Here Are 5 Proven Ways to Reduce It—and 2 Strategies That Don’t Work Business Insider · January 30

2022

To Keep People Safe, Congress Should Invest in What Communities Need The Hill · October 8

Mental Health Professionals Really Can Assume Some Police Duties Washington Monthly · August 16

There’s a New Number to Call for Mental-Health Crises: 988 Time · July 16

Inspired by Denver’s STAR Program, Congress to Consider Bill That Would Expand Alternate Responses to 911 Calls Denver Post · July 13

Mental Health Pros, Not Police, to Respond to Some Calls: Miami-Dade Heeds Calls for Reform Miami Herald · July 12

Study: Denver’s STAR Police-Alternative Program Lowered Crime and Costs Axios Denver · June 22

Deploying Mental Health Workers for Low-Level 911 Calls May Lower Crime American Association for the Advancement of Science · June 13

For 911 Calls, Are Mental Health Specialists Often the Better Choice? U.S. News & World Report · June 13

Denver Deployed Mental Health Workers Instead of Police—and Some Crimes Went Down Mother Jones · June 11

Mental Health Specialists Responded to Nonviolent Crimes in Denver. Crime Fell TODAY · June 9

Sending Health Care Workers Instead of Cops Can Reduce Crime Interview · Scientific American · June 9

Study Finds Denver’s STAR Program Is Reducing Crime NBC Denver (9News) · June 9

Denver’s Mental Health Approach to Low-Level 911 Calls Helped Reduce Minor Crimes, Researchers Find NBC News · June 8

A Program to Remove Police from Some 911 Calls in Denver Helped Reduce Crime, Study Finds USA Today · June 8

Mental Health Emergency Responder Programme Cut Crime Rates in Denver New Scientist · June 8

Health Team Response to Some 911 Calls Can Cut Crime MedPage Today · June 8

Stanford Study Shows Benefits to Reinventing 911 Responses Stanford News · June 8

2021

Schools Are Back in Person, but Quarantines, Health Concerns Have Students Missing More Class Chalkbeat · November 30

Black Students Take on More Debt and Get Fewer Slots on Grants, Data Show Science · November 22

What Should Kids Be Doing This Summer, Really? Los Angeles Times · June 14

School House Rocked Stanford Magazine · March

Expanded Learning Is the Right Investment for Right Now — Let’s Make Sure We Do It Wisely EdSource · February 3

2020

A 30-Minute Intervention That Produced Significant Improvements The Marshall Memo · December 21 · subscription

“Summer Slide” Meets COVID-19 Podcast · Stanford School’s In · August 24

Graduate Student Debt Is Growing but Stratified The Society Pages · February 19

2019

The Growing Burden of Graduate Student Debt Interview · Research Minutes Podcast, University of Pennsylvania · November 21

Perfect Attendance Would Have ‘Very Modest’ Effect on Madison Middle School Achievement Gap Wisconsin State Journal · September 26

Tips for Surviving—and Thriving During—School Transitions CBC News · September 8

Five Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids Transition Smoothly to Middle School The Washington Post · August 27

How Grad Schools Became the Hidden Culprit Behind America’s Student-Debt Crisis Business Insider · August 23

An Effective—and Cheaper—Way to Ease the Middle-School Transition The Philadelphia Inquirer · August 6

Positive Messaging Early in the School Year Can Help Sixth Graders Transition to Middle School, UW Study Says The Cap Times · July 31

These Academics Spent $1.35 to Make Middle School Less Awful. Here’s How Time · July 30

Older Kids’ Messages Can Make the Move to Middle School Less Daunting Education Week · March 13

How School Suspensions Affect Students’ Well-Being in School Medium · March 13

2017

Madison Pre-K Benefits Student Behavior and Literacy Wisconsin Public Radio · December 26

Report Finds MMSD 4K Enrollment Leads to Higher Literacy Scores The Cap Times · December 22

Madison School District’s 4K Program Boosting Opportunity for Minority, Low-Income Youngsters Wisconsin State Journal · October 7

2016

How Students’ Emotions Affect Their Schooling Education Week · April 16

Op-Eds & Public Writing

How to Get Cops Out of the Mental-Health Business Thomas S. Dee and Jaymes Pyne. The Wall Street Journal (2022)

Why Student Absences Aren’t the Real Problem in America’s ‘Attendance Crisis’ Jaymes Pyne, Elizabeth Vaade, and Eric Grodsky. The Conversation (2021)

Student Absences Aren’t the Problem Jaymes Pyne, Elizabeth Vaade, and Eric Grodsky. Wisconsin State Journal (2021)

Boys Enjoy Educational Advantages Despite Being Less Engaged in School Than Girls Jaymes Pyne. Brown Center Chalkboard, Brookings Institution (2020)

Advanced Degrees Bring Higher Starting Salaries—but Also Higher Debt Jaymes Pyne and Eric Grodsky. The Conversation (2020)

African Americans Take on More Debt for Grad School—and the Payoff Is Complicated Jaymes Pyne and Eric Grodsky. The Conversation (2020)