The REL Network:

A Shared Responsibility

by Bracken Reed

According to the 2002 annual report from the national network of Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs), new federal mandates have raised the stakes not just for the nation’s public schools, but for the organizations that serve them. Both the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the 2002 Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) have major implications for the laboratories, both individually and collectively, in their insistence on proven, research-based practices.

As the report notes, the new legislation is the culmination of "nearly 20 years of increasing pressure to hold schools accountable for student achievement." But it does come with "tough new consequences" that are already having a significant impact on educational policy and practice. Faced with these new consequences, more schools and districts are turning to research and development for immediate help, not just with the "what" of proven practices, but with the "how" of making these practices a reality in the classroom.

As organizations with a long history of working to improve public education through close partnerships with state and regional agencies, the laboratories are ideally suited to address the priorities outlined in the new legislation and to help translate them into real educational settings.

The federal network of 10 regional laboratories serves schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Pacific Island Territories, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Each laboratory maintains a strong individual identity, shaped by the unique needs of its region, while working to establish national leadership in critical areas.

The new annual report, the second in the REL system’s current five-year contract with the federal government, shares success stories from each of the laboratories, profiles their unique national leadership areas, and highlights the increased cross-laboratory collaborations that use current technology to get proven research into the hands of those who need it most.

The 2002 Annual Report of the REL network, Improving the Lives of Children Through Education Research & Development , may be found online at www.relnetwork.org.

NWREL Focuses on Proven Tools

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory’s 2002 Annual Report to Members celebrates the Laboratory’s 36th year as a nonprofit institution dedicated to providing "educational research, development, and dissemination" to public schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

NWREL has long been looked to in the Northwest region as a source for proven educational tools and for training and assistance to support their implementation, writes Chief Executive Officer Carol Thomas.

While this has not changed, recent legislation spotlights the empirical side of NWREL’s work. New federal mandates place strong expectations on schools and the organizations, like NWREL, that serve them, she says. "Schools and districts not able to meet accountability requirements face sanctions and loss of funds, while the education service providers that can help them also face increased scrutiny of the quality and impact of their work in return for their funding."

"We believe such expectations are necessary and reasonable," says Thomas. The 2002 annual report focuses on how NWREL is answering this challenge in its continuing partnership with schools throughout the region.

To order the 2002 Annual Report to Members see the Document Order Form. The NWREL annual report can also be found at www.nwrel.org/comm/2002ar/