The Regional Educational Laboratory Program is a network of 10 laboratories that serves the educational needs of designated regions by providing access to high quality, scientifically valid education research through applied research and development projects, studies and related technical assistance activities.
About Northeast and the Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (REL Northeast and Islands/REL-NEI)
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and WestEd are pleased to serve as the new REL-NEI, under a five-year contract from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) beginning in March 2006. The REL-NEI region includes the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), New York state, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The core theme underlying the work of REL-NEI is evidence-based education. The overarching goal of our work is to help preK-16 educators at the state, district and school levels increase their use of scientifically-based evidence to improve student achievement and reduce performance gaps among student groups.
By providing an independent source of scientific evidence, and by promoting and enabling its use to inform decisions about education policies and programs, REL-NEI will also "further the transformation of education into an evidence-based field, and thereby enable the nation to educate all of its students effectively."
Click here for more information about REL-NEI.
Who We Are
The research team for this project is a partnership between four organizations:
American Institutes for Research (AIR)
AIR is a not-for-profit behavioral and social science research organization headquartered in Washington D.C. Founded in 1946 as a nonprofit organization, AIR’s work spans a wide range of substantive areas: education, student assessment, international education, individual and organizational performance, health research and communication, human development, usability design and testing, employment equity, and statistical and research methods.
AIR leads the evaluation components of the Thinking Reader study, and is responsible for study design, recruitment, data collection, data management, data analysis and report-writing.
Key Staff: Teresa García Duncan, Principal Investigator; Kathryn Drummond, Evaluation Director.
Principal Investigator: Teresa García Duncan, Ph.D.
Teresa García Duncan is currently a Principal Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research. Dr. Duncan’s expertise is in student learning and cognition, evaluation, experimental and quasi-experimental study designs and quantitative data analysis. Her work spans multiple topic areas, including beginning reading, adolescent literacy, educational technology, testing accommodations for English language learners and the effects of teacher professional development on student achievement. Prior to joining AIR in 1999, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin from 1993 to 1999, holding a joint appointment between the Quantitative Methods and the Learning, Cognition and Instruction domains in the Department of Educational Psychology. Dr. Duncan obtained her doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Michigan in 1993.
Evaluation Director: Kathryn Drummond, Ph.D.
Katie Drummond is a Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research. She works on a variety of research and evaluation studies related to increasing literacy achievement and the educational opportunity of children not responding to their current instruction. In addition to her REL-NEI work, she currently works on the National Response to Intervention Center. Previously, Dr. Drummond served as the Project Coordinator for the Beginning Reading review of the What Works Clearinghouse, which evaluated the empirical evidence supporting literacy interventions. She also worked on the Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) study, a randomized field trial that evaluated two supplemental literacy programs designed for struggling ninth-grade readers. Prior to joining AIR in 2003, Dr. Drummond obtained her doctorate in educational psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She taught special education for three years in Louisiana public schools and worked in a clinical setting for two years conducting literacy interventions.
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
CAST, founded 1984, is an internationally recognized research & development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, including those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning. A major portion of CAST’s research focuses on the role of technology and digital texts in supporting diverse learners’ achievement. For the past decade, CAST has combined the principles of Universal Design for Learning and reading comprehension instruction in the design of interactive digital texts with embedded strategy instruction. This work resulted in the development of the Thinking Reader®, a series of nine widely-read middle school novels with embedded reading comprehension strategy supports, available through Tom Snyder Productions.
CAST leads the implementation work on the Thinking Reader study, including professional development and follow-up coaching. Tom Snyder Productions (TSP, the distributor of the software) will provide software and technical support, as well as one of their field trainers to assist in the trainings and follow-up coaching sessions.
Key Staff: Peggy Coyne, Implementation Director; Bridget Dalton, Literacy and Technology Consultant
Implementation Director: Peggy Coyne, Ph.D.
Dr. Coyne received her doctorate in language and literacy from Boston University School of Education in 2006. She has been CAST’s Associate Director of Programs since 1987 and has been professionally involved in special education and rehabilitation for 30 years. Her work on federally-funded research projects at CAST has included serving as Project Director for the U.S. Department of Education OSEP-funded Literacy by Design project, the predecessor to the proposed work; Project Director of the OSEP-funded reading comprehension study, Engaging the Text; and Research Associate and Instructional Designer on an OSEP-funded research project, Strategic Learning Editions. Dr. Coyne has also led the work with the Massachusetts Department of Education on a professional development program for educators and parents of students with intellectual disability. She holds a Massachusetts certification in elementary education and moderate special needs.
Literacy and Technology Consultant: Bridget Dalton, Ed.D.
Bridget Dalton is Assistant Professor in Language, Literacy and Culture at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on digital literacies, reading comprehension, students with diverse learning needs and adolescent literacy. She obtained her doctorate in reading, language and learning disabilities at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Dr. Dalton served as Chief Officer of Literacy and Technology for CAST, Inc., a nonprofit research and development organization that develops and applies universal design for learning theory and practice. She served as co-editor of Reading Online, the International Reading Association’s first peer-reviewed electronic journal, and has co-authored award-winning literacy software. Dr. Dalton was an Associate Professor at the University of Guam, where she directed the Literacy Lab and coordinated the graduate program in language and literacy.
Sun Associates (Sun)
Sun Associates offers technical assistance and program evaluation services to educational organizations such as schools, districts, and states. Sun Associates works in all areas of educational reform, specializing in helping organizations successfully integrate and evaluate the impact of instructional technology. Other areas of expertise include social studies/history/civics education, and science/technology/engineering/math (STEM) curriculum.
Sun Associates staff is responsible for conducting the classroom observations for this project.
Key Staff: Jeff Sun and Jeanne Clark
Jeff Sun
Jeff Sun is the Director of Sun Associates and has over 20 years of professional experience working in education and technology, mainly in the areas of strategic planning, professional development, evaluation research, and support to educational policymakers. Jeff has extensive experience working with state and local education agencies and has worked in staff and consulting capacities to a number of U.S. Department of Education-funded programs and coordinates Sun Associates’ work with a wide variety of public and private sector clients.
Jeanne Clark
Jeanne Clark is an evaluation associate and a founding member of Sun Associates. Jeanne has experience in K-12 instructional technology training, strategic planning, support, and evaluation. Jeanne has worked on a variety of projects at the national, state, and local levels. She specializes in issues related to teacher professional development, change, and the impact of instructional technology innovations on students.
Education Development Center (EDC)
For 50 years (1958-2008), EDC has been dedicated to enhancing learning, promoting health, and fostering a deeper understanding about the world. EDC’s award-winning programs and products, developed in collaboration with partners around the globe, consistently advance learning and healthy development for individuals of all ages. Today, EDC manages 325 projects in 35 countries, addressing a wide range of topics, including early child development, K-12 education, health promotion, workforce preparation, community development, learning technologies, basic and adult education, institutional reform, medical ethics, and social justice.
EDC is the lead organization (prime contractor) of the REL-NEI award. AIR, CAST, and Sun Associates are subcontractors to EDC.
Key Staff: Jill Weber, REL-NEI Director
REL-NEI Director: Jill E. Weber, M.Ed., M.B.A.
Jill E. Weber is a Senior Project Director at the Division for Applied Research and Innovation of the Education Development Center, Inc. She has more than 15 years of experience supporting leaders at the state and local education agency levels, as a practitioner, professional development provider and technical assistance provider. Ms. Weber has worked in the areas of educational technology, online learning, policy development and analysis, curriculum development and assessment and accountability. In addition to her director role at the REL-NEI, she is a member of the New York Comprehensive Center’s Senior Management Team and a team leader of the eLearning initiative. At REL-NEI, Ms. Weber oversees contractual compliance, work area management and coordination of REL work as it relates to the National Laboratory Network. She also performs needs assessment and supports the measurement of impact and effectiveness. Previously, she was the Director for the Northeast and Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium (NEIRTEC). Ms. Weber holds an M.Ed. in Technology Integration from Harvard University and earned a B.S. with a science concentration in K-8 education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also earned an M.B.A. from the University of Dayton-Ohio.
