Profiles of the Regional Educational Laboratories

Foreword

As we enter the 21st century, we realize more than ever that our nation's vitality and continued strength rests on the shoulders of our children, and that we can provide them with a sound footing to meet that future by providing a high quality education. Many students are already receiving such an education; we read about the increasing availability of advanced placement courses and international baccalaureate programs. Often, these students attend schools amply provided with resources most predictive of high quality--well-prepared, experienced teachers, effective administrative and support staff, safe and healthy learning environments, up to date textbooks, well-stocked media centers, and access to technology.

But what is the nature of the education being provided to students in other schools across America? States have begun identifying low-performing schools; a recent estimate puts the number at 10,000. What do we know about such schools? We know only that these schools post lower than desirable (according to performance standards) student achievement results year after year after year. We know that these schools do not possess some or all of the resources predictive of high performance. We know that students attending these schools often face challenges in their lives--at home, in their communities--that can affect the manner in which they learn. But, most importantly, we also know that every student can achieve and that we cannot fail these students, or the staff in the schools they attend, or the communities whose children and schools these are.

Background on the Regional Educational Laboratories

The Regional Educational Laboratory Program, administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, is the U.S. Department of Education's largest research and development investment designed to help educators, policymakers, and communities improve schools; its statutory mission is "to promote knowledge-based school improvement to help all students meet high standards and to help the nation meet the National Education Goals" (Public Law 103-227, enacted in 1994). Since their establishment in 1965, the Regional Educational Laboratories have been conducting high quality, useful, cutting-edge research, or preparing summaries and syntheses of research to inform the educational policy and practice. Laboratories have also, in partnership with schools, districts, and states, been developing, field testing, and refining processes, strategies, and tools designed to solve difficult and pressing educational problems.

The Laboratories' knowledge of their regions and ties to national networks, their understanding of the informational needs of policymakers and educators, and their involvement in the field enable them to link the worlds of research, policy, and practice. The products and services developed by Laboratories have helped schools, districts, and state education agencies take advantage of the latest and best research and proven practices to improve schools. Program indicator data for Fiscal Year 2000 contain a few key statistics regarding the contributions of the Laboratories to educational improvement:

• products supplied to 1,635,492 clients;
• direct services provided to 127,162 clients;
• hits on Web sites totaling 35,828,628; and
• intensive research and development work with 630 school, district, or state sites that involved 545,612 students; 34,923 teachers; 5,029 administrators; and 13,024 parents.

Work of the Regional Educational Laboratories

This handbook includes a brief description of each of the 10 Laboratories to acquaint you with Laboratories' past accomplishments, current work under the 2000-05 contract period, and upcoming events. More extensive information about Laboratories' programs of work and products are provided on their Web sites, several of which have won national awards for content and design. Those Web addresses, as well as other contact information, are included in this handbook. You are also welcome to contact the U.S. Department of Education's program officers (included in the contact information) for further information about the Regional Educational Laboratory Program.

In 2000, a competition was held resulting in the award of new 5-year contracts under the Regional Educational Laboratory Program. The Request for Proposal (RFP) articulated the following general purpose that constitutes the context for all proposed work:

To advance the procedural knowledge ("know how" based on rigorous research and expert practice) about transforming low-performing schools into high-performing learning communities (communities that successfully organize or develop the values, beliefs, and technical skills of its members to help students achieve at high levels); and to promote the use of that procedural knowledge in policy and practice to help increase the number of high-performing learning communities.

The RFP also established the following 10 principles meant to characterize all proposed work:

• based on high priority regional needs;
• focused on well-defined problems;
• built upon existing knowledge coming from the research and practice communities;
• designed with attention to rigorous standards of quality related to the conduct of work and the quality of all resulting products;
• conducted with special attention to the needs of rural areas as required by statute;
• attentive to students most at risk of failure due to barriers of language, culture, or poverty;
• characterized by appropriate use of both widely used and emerging technologies;
• noted for extensive use of partnerships and networks across a wide spectrum of organizations at local, state, regional, and national levels;
• designed to forge a stronger Laboratory system, including encouragement to make wider use of strategies, products, and services created by other Laboratories; and
• noted for its impact on policy, procedure, and practice within its region and, in certain circumstances, across the nation.

Laboratories have proposed a 5-year plan for work designed to meet the purpose of transforming low-performing schools into high-performing learning communities and adhere to the principles for Laboratory work by:

Addressing Critical Problems in their Region

Schools face critical problems that make it difficult for all students to learn to high levels of achievement. Schools and school districts also have difficulty finding and using the informational resources they need to create high-performing learning communities, and will continue to fall even farther behind if the knowledge base is not expanded and information is not widely disseminated. Guided by governing boards that represent the constituents in the regions, including teachers, researchers, and high-level policymakers, the Laboratories will use rigorous applied educational research practices to assist in solving site-specific problems and use those experiences to develop generalizable solutions.

Serving as a National Leader

Each Laboratory is taking a leadership role in a significant education issue area that can make a contribution to the procedural knowledge required to build high-performing learning communities. Leadership work includes synthesizing research-based information, disseminating the information, and applying the information in ways that transform policy and practice. The National Leadership Areas include: Assessment of Educational Achievement, Curriculum and Instruction Related to Reading and Language Mastery, Educational Leadership, Educational Technology, Expanded Learning Opportunities, Family and Community Involvement, Re-engineering Schools for Improvement, Standards-Based Educational Practice, and Teaching Diverse Students.

Serving as Part of a Laboratory Network Program

Each Laboratory is participating in collaborative activities with other Laboratories to optimize the uses of Laboratory resources, create nationwide resource collections, and apply experience across the Laboratory network to specific problems.

Contact Information

For more information about the Regional Educational Laboratory program please contact:

Or visit:

Regional Educational Laboratory Network Web Site: maintained by the Laboratories and contains highlights of their activities, entry to each Laboratory's Web Site, and a place to search and request Laboratory publications (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/).

U.S. Department of Education Laboratory Program Web Site: maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. It provides information about Laboratory program events and publications, and links to other Laboratory Sites (http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/Labs/).

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This page last modified August 29, 2001 (jer)