NWREL Study Homes in on

Regional Needs

The No Child Left Behind Act, services for ELL students, family involvement: all are hot topics in education these days. But, how does an organization like the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory determine what are the burning issues for its stakeholders and where it should concentrate its efforts? The answers to those questions come from regional needs assessments, the latest of which will be completed in the next few months.

While NWREL is continually taking the pulse of the region, a more formalized assessment—with extensive surveys, advisory summits, and state education assemblies—takes place every two years. Steve Nelson, NWREL's director of planning and service coordination, describes it as a three-step process: identifying, elaborating, and validating needs. According to Nelson, the Laboratory is following a clear mandate contained in the 2002 Education Science Reform Act, which specifically calls for "identifying and serving the needs of the region by conducting a continuing survey of the educational needs, strengths, and weaknesses."

Nelson points out that the laser-like focus on a five-state area is what distinguishes NWREL from research and development centers in other agencies, and that our R&D agenda is specifically guided by the needs identified within our region. For example, NWREL's current strategic plan contains five major goals directly linked to the 2002 needs assessment: an increased focus on low-performing schools, services for English language learners, state/local assessment of student achievement, support of state educational agencies, and family involvement.

While it's too early to report on the findings of the latest assessment—which will be published next November—some issues are bubbling to the surface. "Four years ago, teacher collaboration wasn't on anyone's radar screen," says Nelson. "Now, teaching is no longer a solitary act behind closed doors." Consequently, educators are calling for more resources that address how to collaborate, when to collaborate, and what it takes for that to happen.

Also, it's no surprise that the No Child Left Behind Act is having dramatic effects on state and local educators. "If we think attention to low-performing schools, data use, English language learners, and parental involvement in decision-making were on the list before, they're really going to be on the list now."

Previous Regional Needs Assessments

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