Project Summary

The Education Alliance served from 1995-2005 as the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory, under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. Many of the projects and publications available through this web site had their origins in work done under the two consecutive cycles of this contract.

From 1995-2000, the work of the LAB was organized into five major initiatives, three support areas, and a team that provided service to the individual states and islands within the LAB region.

Each of the initiatives included a number of related projects which were carried out by LAB staff and partners in cooperation with members of the education community. The initiatives were :

• Urban School Reform
• Standards, Assessment and Instruction
• School Change and Community Involvement
• Secondary School Restructuring
• Leadership and Professional Development

From 2000-2005, the LAB continued its work with policymakers, state departments of education, superintendents, teachers, parents, and community and business leaders to develop and implement effective educational reforms appropriate to the needs of the region's unique communities. Of high importance was supporting efforts in low-performing schools. The main themes of the work of this contract cycle were:

• Secondary School Redesign
• Support for Professional Learning
• Leadership in Complex Environments
• Teaching Diverse Learners

The last of these was assigned as a national leadership area, given the Alliance's expertise in equity and diversity. Our work in this area sought to understand the educational needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students and to develop classroom-level and systemic approaches to meet those needs.

See also:

• Teaching Diverse Learners