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Appendix A -- Resources for Technical Assistance

To help all children reach high academic standards, many states, school districts, and schools will need a new kind of technical assistance. They will need comprehensive assistance that is driven by the needs of families and children and that can provide tools and information to help them leverage all available resources in order to improve teaching and learning for all children. To that end, the Department is creating regional technical assistance centers to provide comprehensive, high-quality assistance and information. The Depart ment is also changing the way it relates to the field by shifting its focus from monitoring for compliance to providing support to enhance program quality.

Regional Service Teams and Integrated Programs Reviews

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), which houses the Office of Migrant Education, has a new organizational structure that is built around ten regional service teams. Existing program offices, including the Office of Migrant Education, will retain a small program base, but will provide most services to OESE grantees through teams that have staff with expertise in OESE's programs.

This new structure signals a new relationship with states and local operating agencies. Rather than focus on providing program-specific advice, the restructured OESE will use cross-program teams to encourage and support state and local efforts to integra te services and collaborate across programs. In anticipation of this change, OESE began in 1994-95 to conduct integrated reviews of federally funded education programs. Integrated reviews are on-site observations and assessments performed by a team of s taff members from two or more program offices within the Department. Each focused on the progress of systemic reform efforts within a state and explored how individual federal programs fit within that broad reform effort. The Office of Migrant Education participated in all of the initial integrated reviews.

This integrated review team (IRT) approach will facilitate, encourage, and assist SEAs' efforts to improve the academic performance of all children, particularly disadvantaged children. Integrated reviews will (1) address how SEAs and LEAs are designing and implementing educational services for all children; (2) assess the extent to which state standards and programs are effective and the degree to which students are achieving success; (3) identify institutional barriers to stud ent achievement; and (4) monitor the state's compliance with essential program requirements.

Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers

The Department is establishing a network of 15 Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers to serve as vital sources of technical assistance and support for state and local program staff. These 15 Centers, authori zed under Title XIII of the ESEA, will replace the various categorical centers currently funded by the Department. They will provide "one-stop shopping" for states, local education agencies, tribes, participating colleges and universities, schools, and families as they seek to improve teaching and learning in their schools and dist ricts. In addition to other major tasks, the Centers will be responsible for providing assistance to states in the following areas, which are closely tied to coordination, collaboration, and service integration:

1. Improving the quality of instruction, curricula, assessments, and other aspects of school reform;

2. Implementing effective schoolwide programs;

3. Meeting the needs of disadvantaged children;

4. Implementing high quality professional development activities for teachers, administrators, pupil personnel, and other staff;

5. Coordinating services and programs to meet the needs of students so they may fully participate in the educational program of the school;

6. Expanding the involvement and participation of parents in the education of their children;

7. Reforming schools, school systems, and the governance and management of schools;

8. Evaluating programs; and

9. Meeting the special needs of students living in urban and rural areas and the special needs of local education agencies in urban and rural areas.

Other Resources for Technical Assistance

Regional Education Laboratories (Labs)

The ten Regional Education Labs conduct applied research and development to produce well-tested programs, tools, and materials that support state and local systemic reform efforts. The Labs also work with states and a limited number of localities to impl ement broad-based comprehensive school improvement strategies designed to help all children achieve to high academic standards. For more information, contact Bob Stonehill of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) at (202) 219-2088 (or by e-mail at Robert.Stonehill@ed.gov).

National Diffusion Network (NDN)

NDN identifies and disseminates promising and exemplary education programs through a state-based dissemination system. Curriculum materials, training, and technical assistance for teachers are available through NDN State Facilitators. The annual NDN cat alogue, which is also available in the Department's Online Library, describes NDN programs and claims of program effectiveness. For more information, contact Luna Levinson of OERI at (202) 219-2134 (or by e-mail at L una_Levinson@ed.gov).

Regional Technical Support and Professional Development Consortia for Technology (Regional Technology Consortia - RTCs)

The RTCs help states, LEAs, teachers, school library and media personnel, administrators, and other clients integrate advanced technologies into K-12 classrooms, library media centers, adult literacy centers, and other settings. For more information, con tact Catherine Mozer of OERI at (202) 219-8070 (or by e-mail at Catherine.Mozer@ed.gov).

Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia

The 10 Eisenhower Consortia serve states in their regions by disseminating exemplary instructional materials for mathematics and science and by providing assistance in the use of effective teaching methods and assessment tools. For more information, cont act Jim Clemmens of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) at (202) 219-2068 (or by e-mail at James.Clemmens@ed.gov) or Liz Barnes, also of OERI, at (202) 219-2210 (or by e-mail at Elizabeth.Barnes@ed.gov).

National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE)

Established under Title VII of the ESEA, NCBE is an adjunct clearinghouse of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system. NCBE collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates information about bilingual education and related programs. T he system may be accessed by telephone at (800) 752-1860 (or by e-mail at askncbe@ncbe.gwu.gov).

THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES WILL BE PHASED OUT AND REPLACED BY THE NEW COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS BY MARCH 31, 1996. The Comprehensive Centers, which were discussed earlier, will provide assistance in all aspects of school reform and will offer an integrated approach to raising academic standards and improving teaching and learning for all students.

MEP Coordination Centers (PCCs)

The PCCs provide services to promote the coordination of activities between and among state and local migrant education programs, projects, and streams; work with federal and nongovernmental programs, agencies, and organizations to secure and coordinate s ervices that would better enable SEAs and LEAs to meet the educational needs of migrant children; and collect and disseminate information on exemplary programs and practices that improve the inter/intrastate coordination of services to migrant children, including such areas as continuity of services, identification and recruitment, early childhood educati on, and secondary education. For more information, contact Saundra Bryant of the Office of Migrant Education at (202) 260-1473 (or by e-mail at Saundra.Bryant@ed.gov).

Title I Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) & Rural Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs)

The TACs and RTACs provide technical assistance to states and localities on a variety of issues concerning Title I programs, including the MEP. The TACs and RTACs work to improve projects, evaluate program effectiveness, and assist states in implementing program improvement. For more information, contact Grace Ross of the Compensatory Education Program at (202) 260-0967 (or by e-mail at Grace.Ross@ed.gov).

Title VII Multifunctional Resource Centers

In addition to providing technical assistance and training to individuals participating in bilingual education programs or special programs of instruction for limited English proficient students, these centers gather and disseminate information on a wide variety of issues relating to bilingual education. For more information, contact Ana Garcia of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs at (202) 205-8077 (or by e-mail at Ana.Garcia@ed.gov).