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November/December 2001 | NW REPORT

New Grants
Expand Lab Work
Lab to Foster Smaller Learning Communities, Charter Schools Across the Nation

By Karen Blaha

The Laboratory won a $1.8 million contract from the U.S. Department of Education to provide research-based assistance to 65 schools and districts across the country as they work toward creating smaller learning communities. The Smaller Learning Communities Program will help large high schools of 1,000 or more students to create smaller, more personalized learning environments. Research shows that students in smaller settings have better attendance, are less likely to drop out, have fewer discipline problems, and perform better academically.

This award to the Laboratory will help schools put into effective operation their already-developed plans. Among the 65 organizations, four Oregon districts will receive implementation assistance. They are Beaverton School District 48J; David Douglas School District #40, Portland; Eugene School District; and North Clackamas School District, Milwaukie.

The assistance, which includes skill-building institutes and workshops, will be tailored to the needs of the schools as they implement their plans. To efficiently assure high-quality, research-based assistance nationwide, the Laboratory is working with six partner organizations to serve as regional centers. The partners include Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island); Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (Austin, Texas); SERVE (Greensboro, North Carolina); WestEd (San Francisco, California); and Region VI Comprehensive Center, Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (Madison). Much of the coordination work will be accomplished through technology, including e-mail, listservs, video conferencing, and telephone.

Other Awards

The Laboratory also was awarded a $576,000 two-year federal grant to assist charter school founders and operators. Charter schools are opening around the country with growing frequency, creating a demand for training and resources to support these developments. The Laboratory will provide leadership training and technical assistance to charter school developers to help them gain the critical knowledge and skills they will need to successfully plan for, design, and implement charter schools. Integral to the Laboratory's work will be the use of its popular Charter Starters training materials.

A nearly $1 million award from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention continues the Laboratory's operation of the National Mentoring Center through August 15, 2002.

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