NORTHWEST REPORT

The newsletter of the
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

Executive Director/CEO: Dr. Carol F. Thomas
Editor: Denise Jarrett Weeks
Production: Paula Surmann
Technical Editor: Eugenia Copper Potter
Photographers: Denise Jarrett Weeks

101 SW Main Street, Suite 500
Portland, Oregon 97204
Telephone: (503) 275-9500
Fax: (503) 275-0458
E-mail: Info@nwrel.org

NWREL's Web Site address is www.nwrel.org

This publication had been funded at least in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract number ED-01-CO-0013. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

September/October 2001 | NW REPORT

When the ocean liner SS United States docked on Germany's shoreline in 1963—bringing Carol Thomas and her parents closer to their new home in Heidelberg—the civil rights and feminist movements in the United States had placed "inclusiveness" front and center of the American conscience. While the culture wars were reshaping the national psyche of her home nation, the 17-year-old Thomas was embarking on her own cultural experience that would galvanize her world view around the same core value.

Thomas' father served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and, later, as a civilian working for the military. Her mother grew up in Alabama, the oldest of 10 children. Both had learned the importance of family and good communication. At the Thomas family dinner table, anything could be discussed, and Thomas and her brother and sisters were encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts.

Thomas began her college career at the Munich campus of the University of Maryland where she met young people from all over the world. Living in a foreign country and learning alongside students from many nations introduced her to a multiplicity of views, experiences, and cultures. Today, as chief executive officer of a $20 million organization, Thomas traces her style of leadership—which she describes as collaborative—to those formative days in Germany.

"It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life," she recalls. "It influenced my views on diversity, because I've seen the benefits that come from those cross-cultural relationships."

When she turned 21, she returned to the States, working as a legal secretary by day and, by night, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from San Francisco State University. She continued in a master's degree program in educational psychology, doing field work at Far West Laboratory in San Francisco and beginning a 30-year career with the Regional Educational Laboratories.

As field coordinator for an evaluation study on beginning teachers, Thomas came together with people from all corners of education: researchers, teachers, parents, administrators, students. "I'd never been exposed to that kind of team project before or of being able to work with people doing applied research and development," she says.

Her master's completed, she joined the Far West staff fulltime, going on to work for the Central Midwestern Regional Educational Laboratory in St. Louis, Missouri, before returning to California to earn a Ph.D. in Education from University of California at Berkeley. In 1984, she joined the Southwest Regional Laboratory, directing several projects and programs until 1995 when she came to the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory as associate executive director. In July, Thomas was selected to serve as CEO by the Lab's board of directors after a nationwide search.

Thomas's work has involved teacher education, program evaluation, school improvement, substance abuse prevention, organizational theory, quality control systems, resource development, strategic planning, and more. Along the way, she's remained a student of the world, traveling the globe with her husband, Ed Myers.

The fourth CEO in NWREL's 35-year history, Thomas has pledged her leadership to the principle of inclusiveness. As both a promise and an expectation, collaboration has been the theme of her remarks and actions since her appointment in July.

"Our staff should model a learning community," she says, meaning that diverse views and expertise are considered essential to sound decisionmaking, relationship building, and organizational development. The Laboratory's long and exemplary record of service, she says, "did not result from the work of any one person. No one holds a monopoly on intelligence, creativity, problem solving, or the ability to work with others."

She's walking her talk. Working with Tom Olson, a consultant and regional educational laboratory veteran, Thomas has solicited input for her five-year strategic plan from a rich cross-section of Laboratory staff, board of directors, members, and constituents. In small groups, employees across the Lab offered their input. Program directors were invited to a retreat for the same purpose. Ditto for board of directors. Anybody, it seemed, could send her an e-mail note—raising a concern, offering a suggestion, or simply adding his two cents—and she'd send a genial reply.

According to Thomas, five areas are essential to advancing the growth and development of the Laboratory:

Research and development. Laboratory programs must address changes in education, she says, attending to shifts in demographics, the teaching profession, and governmental expectations. "For the Northwest Lab, it is not just a question of what are the cutting edge issues, but what are the issues that are important to this region," she says. Foremost are the dual goals of excellence and equity in education. "The Lab's research, development, and service delivery agendas should address emerging needs with intellectual rigor and sensitivity to the demands of context and practice."

Resource development. Existing in a soft money environment, regional educational laboratories need a portfolio with a variety of funding sources—federal, state, and local. "Being the largest Lab is not the goal," says Thomas, but the more resources the Laboratory has to focus on its mission of improving education in the Northwest, "the more ‘creative risks' we will be able to take in our quest to find solutions for pervasive educational problems."

Organizational structures. By seeking input from others and analyzing existing programs and structures, Thomas is examining the Laboratory's organizational structure and relationships with a view to long-range and strategic planning. She's working with the Lab's board of directors, staff, educators, and other concerned citizens in the region to develop and implement a shared vision for improving teaching and learning in the Northwest.

Staff recruitment and retention. Thomas believes a successful Laboratory is built around a partnership with skilled, diverse, and motivated staff, and she's looking to expand professional development opportunities and on-the-job training, among other things. "Providing a professional environment and opportunities that encourage our existing skilled and committed staff to remain is a cornerstone to future Lab success," says Thomas.

Regional relationships. The challenges in the Northwest region are too big for any one institution, says Thomas: "It's important that we coordinate all of the things that we're doing in each of the five Northwest states." To this end, five Laboratory staff members are serving as state liaisons, communicating with education and social service agencies, professional associations, and policymakers to ensure that Lab services are targeted to each state's individual needs. The Laboratory's role in the region, she says, is as a facilitator and advocate.

"One of the most satisfying career experiences I've had is when I facilitated a series of meetings for a group of people from disparate state agencies," Thomas recalls. "Over a period of six months, we met to sort out what each agency provided in the area of substance abuse prevention. In the end, we came out with a publication that not only helped the agencies' clients, but helped the agencies better coordinate their ser-vices. At the time, people were just talking about interagency collaboration, and the concept has stuck with me ever since."

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