2003 Annual Report to Members
Center for School and District Improvement
NWREL's Center for School and District Improvement helps school systems—districts, schools, and their communities—build capacity to create systemic change and improve academic and life success for children, youth, and young adults. The center offers products and services in applying research to practice, improving school systems, improving teaching schoolwide, and recreating secondary schools.
National Leadership Area in Re-engineering
National Leadership in Re-engineering Schools is a component of NWREL's Regional Educational Laboratory contract. Under this component, NWREL and collaborating organizations provide assistance to districts and schools, many of which are bombarded with multiple reforms and lack the capacity to integrate them into a coherent effort that improves student learning. A related problem is lack of support for schools most in need of improvement to apply the educational knowledge base to daily practice. NWREL's approach has three components: research synthesis, direct support, and dissemination.
Three types of synthesis products are being produced: an annual topical synthesis of research; descriptions of research in practice in schools and districts that have reengineered successfully; and updates of a national Catalog of School Reform Models. Direct support includes an annual national re-engineering forum; topical institutes for school and district personnel in the Northwest; and training and technical assistance for selected districts across the nation. Dissemination is through publications, forums, institutes, and direct engagement.
Re-engineering Schools Research and Development Team
The Re-engineering Team assists schools, districts, and communities in the Northwest as they reshape rules, roles, structures, and relationships to build capacity for long-term improvement.
Funded under NWREL's Regional Educational Laboratory contract, the team develops strategies, tools, and resources that help schools and school districts address critical problems and become high-performing learning communities. Targets include reallocating resources and time; improving school culture and climate; building capacity; sharing and decentralizing decisionmaking; implementing effective professional development; establishing clear student goals; increasing stakeholder and community involvement; and aligning assessment, teaching, and curriculum with student outcomes. The team's efforts result in research syntheses, process guides, and technical assistance and training through institutes and in direct support of 15 regional partner school sites.
Quality Teaching and Learning Research and Development Team
The Quality Teaching and Learning Team also is a Regional Educational Laboratory project to develop services, products, and other resources to assist schools in becoming high-performing learning communities. Challenges targeted by the team include:
- Aligning professional development, curriculum, instruction, and assessments with a standards-based educational program
- Engaging all students in supportive and challenging learning environments
- Responding to the needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse student population
- Ensuring support for instructional programs that include job-embedded professional development focused on student learning
Serving Smaller Learning Communities
Funded by the Smaller Learning Communities Program of the U.S. Department of Education, this project helps high schools of 1,000 or more students create smaller, more personalized learning environments.
NWREL is coordinating assistance to schools and districts around the country that have been awarded Department of Education grants to work toward creating smaller learning communities. NWREL is working with regional centers, operated by seven partner agencies that help grantee schools implement plans for smaller learning communities. In addition to information on a Web site, assistance includes regional meetings for grantee directors, site visits to identify follow-up assistance needs, and intensive support for high-need grantees.
Onward to Excellence II
Onward to Excellence II is the current generation of a research-based school improvement process developed at NWREL for use by K-12 schools to raise student achievement. Low-performing schools that apply OTE II demonstrate an impact on student performance and reap other benefits as well. With a 20-year history and more than 1,000 schools trained in the process, many schools today use OTE II for comprehensive school reform and Title I schoolwide requirements. During 2003, 81 schools received OTE II training and assistance services from NWREL and several regional partners. NWREL conducts OTE II activities on a fee-for-service basis, supplemented by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Comprehensive School Reform program.
Products From 2003
The center produced two updates of important products that are available on NWREL's Web site: "Parent and Community Involvement," an updated chapter in Research You Can Use to Improve Results, and a 2003 update of the Catalog of School Reform Models.
- National Leadership Area in Re-engineering
www.nwrel.org/scpd/re-engineering/ - Re-engineering Schools Research
and Development Team
www.nwrel.org/re-eng/ - Quality Teaching and Learning Research and Development Team
www.nwrel.org/qualityteaching/ - Serving Smaller Learning
Communities
www.nwrel.org/scpd/sslc/ - Onward to Excellence II
www.nwrel.org/scpd/ote/ - Research You Can Use to Improve Results
- Catalog of School Reform Models
