The Northwest region comprises Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Of its 2.1 million public school students, 48 percent are concentrated in the five largest metropolitan areas, while the number of small, rural schools is about 25 percent more than the national average. The student population is diverse—with a rapid growth in Hispanic enrollment and a Native American enrollment that's more than three times the national average. Sixty percent of the schools are Title I-eligible.
Research Alliances
In 2012 REL Northwest will work with the following research alliances:
- Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA): Policymakers and researchers from Alaska's higher education system are focused on creating a shared research agenda to improve education and build awareness of research evidence about key education policy issues, particularly preparing students for postsecondary success.
- Idaho Statewide System of Support (Idaho SSoS): Made up of state education agency staff, technical assistance providers, and stakeholders from local education agencies, this alliance is building its members' capacity to design and implement evaluations of school improvement services and to improve the use of data and research to support low-performing schools.
- Montana AA District Network (MT AA): Representatives from districts with high schools that have more than 1,000 students and from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction are seeking to strengthen their use of student achievement data and research evidence to evaluate and improve dropout prevention efforts and high school graduation rates.
- Oregon Leadership Network (OLN): Representatives from Oregon school districts are working to increase their ability to understand and compare data and research on improving high school graduation outcomes and decreasing disproportionate disciplinary practices to ensure more equitable practices and policies.
- Rural Schools Network (RSN): Administrators from 22 Oregon GEAR UP rural districts with more than 50 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch are using data and conducting research to better understand what helps their students reach and succeed at college.
- Washington Educational Service District Network (WA ESD): Representatives from Washington's nine ESDs and state data analysts and policymakers are using state and local data to support a more effective, coordinated, and consistent statewide ESD network.
- Road Map for Education Results: Part of a larger cradle-to-college initiative involving seven districts in Washington's South Seattle and South King County, this alliance is focused on helping districts identify indicators of ELL students' academic success and language development, and using evidence to better support ELL students.
- Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Schools: Representatives from BIE high schools in Oregon and Washington are working to improve data quality and use, particularly to inform efforts to increase graduation rates and prepare students for success in college and careers.
Corporate Experience
Education Northwest, through REL Northwest and thousands of other projects, has worked for more than four decades with educators, policymakers, parents, students, and community leaders to identify needs, evaluate programs, and develop new solutions to the challenges they face. More than 920 institutions are members of Education Northwest, including over 600 school districts and 77 institutions of higher education spread across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Lab Director:
Steve Fleischman
Governing Board
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Contractor: Education Northwest 101 SW Main St., Suite 500 Portland, Oregon 97204 Phone: (800) 547-6339, ext. 454 relnw@educationnorthwest.org http://educationnorthwest.org/rel-northwest |
Subcontractors/Partners:
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