A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

   FOR RELEASE                            Contact:  Melinda Kitchell    February 27, 1995                                  (202) 401-1008

Riley Appoints First Research Policy and Priorities Board

"We want our department's research arm to be the best -- the nation's clearinghouse of good ideas," Riley said. "This board will help us achieve that goal."

"We expect the new board to help ensure that the work of OERI is focused on the real needs of students and to provide information that is of real help to teachers, parents, schools and colleges," said Sharon P. Robinson, assistant secretary for OERI. "The secretary has appointed a diverse, bipartisan board that reflects the many perspectives of America. They will influence and guide our efforts to improve achievement for all students. With the board now in place, we are prepared to fulfill our challenging congressional mandate."

The board was established by Congress to work with the assistant secretary of educational research and improvement in developing a long-term research agenda and setting priorities to guide the work of the Education Department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI).

Five appointees bring significant school experience to the board:

• Patricia Ann Baltz, teacher, Camino Grove Elementary School, Arcadia, Calif., 1993 Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year;
• Ann Blakeney Clark, principal, Alexander Graham Middle School, Charlotte, N.C., 1994 National Principal of the Year;
• Rudolph F. Crew, superintendent of schools, Tacoma, Wash.,
• Robert W. Marley, elementary school teacher, Pearl Kessler School, Wichita, Kansas;
• Claire L. Pelton, associate director, Advanced Placement Program, the College Board; vice chair, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Five were selected for their expertise and broad perspective on education:

• Gene Bottoms, director of High Schools That Work program in 13 southern states, Southern Regional Education Board;
• John T. Bruer, president, James S. McDonnell Foundation, expert in cognitive science and education;
• Joyce A. Muhlestein, specialist, Utah Center for Families; member, national Parent Teacher Association's Health & Welfare Commission;
• Alba A. Ortiz, associate dean for academic affairs and research, college of education, University of Texas at Austin; specialist in bilingual and special education;
• John Theodore "Ted" Sanders, state superintendent of schools, Ohio.

Five of the new board members are education researchers, nominated by the National Academy of Sciences:

• Jomills Henry Braddock II, professor and chair, department of sociology, University of Miami;
• Kenji Hakuta, professor of education, Stanford University;
• Sharon Lynn Kagan, senior associate, Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy, Yale University;
• Glenda T. Lappan, professor of mathematics, Michigan State University;
• Edmund W. Gordon, distinguished professor of educational psychology, City University of New York.

Members will serve six-year terms (for a maximum of 12 years), with initial appointments randomly staggered. The board will meet quarterly and will select a chair from its appointed members to serve a two-year term.

In addition, Riley named the following as ex-officio, non- voting members of the board: assistant secretary for educational research and improvement, U.S. Department of Education; director of research, U.S. Department of Defense; director of research, U.S. Department of Labor; director, National Science Foundation; director, National Institutes of Health; chairs, National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts; Librarian of Congress; and director, Office of Indian Education Programs, U.S. Department of the Interior.

The appointments cap a year of extensive reorganization, mandated by the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination and Improvement Act of 1994. In the new configuration, five research institutes, each dedicated to a single mission, will be guided by the board's research priorities plan. The institutes will focus on:

• student achievement, curriculum and assessment;
• education of at-risk students;
• early childhood development and education;
• educational governance, finance, policy-making and management;
• postsecondary education, libraries and life-long learning.

In addition, a new Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination has been established to inform the public of research findings.