ABOUT US

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 the Regional Educational Laboratory-Northeast and Islands (REL Northeast & 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 six organizations:

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, Class.com, Windwalker Corporation, Nimble Assessment Systems, and Northwest Evaluation Association are subcontractors to EDC.

EDC leads the implementation work on the Virtual Algebra study, working closely with Class.com to ensure alignment of the course to Maine education standards and adherence to the highest standards of quality.

Key Staff: Peggy Clements, co-Principal Investigator; Cheryl Rose; Implementation Director

Co-Principal Investigator: Peggy Clements, Ph.D.

Peggy Clements is a researcher at Education Development Center, Inc. and has been conducting research related to education and children's development for over 20 years. Her research investigates the social and educational factors that influence children's development, and she has collaborated with researchers from multiple disciplines, including psychology, education, medicine, sociology, public policy, political science, and social work. In addition to her work on the Virtual Algebra Study, Dr. Clements is principal investigator for the IES-funded study of Big Math for Little Kids, a preschool mathematics curriculum, and she consults on the development of research design and data analysis plans for studies at EDC. Dr. Clements holds master's and doctorate degrees in Psychology from New York University, and a bachelor's degree in from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Implementation Director: Cheryl Rose

Cheryl Rose is a project director for the Northeast and the Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (REL Northeast & Islands/REL-NEI) housed at Education development Center, Inc. Rose’s expertise is in the areas of mathematics professional development and middle and high school reform. Prior to joining EDC, Rose served as the senior program director for mathematics at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA) from 2001-2008 serving as project director and co-principal investigator of several National Science Foundation (NSF) funded and State Mathematics and Science Partnership Projects. After receiving her B.S. in secondary mathematics education from the University of Maine at Farmington, Rose worked as a high school and middle school mathematics educator from 1991-2001 during which time she obtained her M.Ed. in curriculum and instruc­tion from City University in Seattle in 1994.

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 Virtual Algebra study, and is responsible for study design, data collection, data management, data analysis and report-writing.

Key Staff: Teresa García Duncan, co-Principal Investigator; Jessica Heppen, Evaluation Director.

Co-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: Jessica Heppen, Ph.D.

Jessica B. Heppen is a Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research. Dr. Heppen has expertise in evaluation of educational interventions, quantitative methods, and secondary school improvement, particularly in the area of mathematics.  In addition to serving as the Evaluation Director for the Virtual Algebra Study, Dr. Heppen also currently serves as the Deputy Director for the National High School Center, where her work focuses on topics including algebra instruction, dropout prevention, and secondary transitions. Prior to working at AIR, she conducted evaluation studies of educational technology interventions on student achievement in New York City and districts around the country. These longitudinal studies collectively included more than 13,000 students and 900 teachers of grades 6-8 in both urban and rural schools. Dr. Heppen holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Rutgers University, where she also taught courses in social psychology and quantitative methods.

Class.com
Class.com grew from a research project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1996, the University won a USED Star Schools grant to research and develop an Internet-based high school curriculum appropriate for all students, specifically including at-risk and reluctant learners.

Class.com was founded in 1999 to carry the mission of the grant forward and deliver the results of this research to schools everywhere. Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska with users throughout the country, Class.com develops and distributes high-quality online content for secondary learners. Cross-disciplinary teams of instructional designers, subject-matter experts, classroom teachers, and multimedia developers develop each course from the ground up for delivery online.

Key Staff: Katherine Endacott and Chuck Friesen

Chuck Friesen, Ph.D.

Chuck Friesen is the mathematics editor at Class.com. Dr. Friesen has expertise in K-12 technology and mathematics education.   Prior to joining Class.com he served in the Lincoln Public Schools (Nebraska) as a mathematics teacher and department chair. He also directed the district-wide instructional technology progrm.  While in those roles he implemented numerous mathematics and technology-related grants. Most recently he has participated as a lead mathematics and technology trainer for a state-wide Mathematics Science Partnership Grant. Dr. Friesen obtained his M.A. from Ohio State University and his doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Nebraska.

Katherine Endacott, M.Ed.

Katherine Endacott, M.Ed., serves as Class.com President and Chief Executive Officer. A former teacher and administrator, Ms. Endacott’s experience in public education includes classroom teaching, curriculum development, teacher education, and extensive volunteer work in school improvement. As a public official, she helped establish academic standards and assessment plans for the state of Nebraska. Ms. Endacott has served on the Board of Governors of Southeast Community College and as Vice President and Legislative Chair of Nebraska’s State Board of Education. She has also been a director of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Ms. Endacott holds a Bachelor of Science with Distinction and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Windwalker Corporation (Windwalker)
Windwalker designs, conducts, and reports on research, assessment, and evaluation projects at international, national, state, and local levels. In Training and Media Development, Windwalker specializes in the analysis, design, development, delivery, and evaluation of training, e-learning, and educational programs and products. Core competencies include instructional systems design, performance measurement and evaluation, and multimedia development. In Research and Evaluation, Windwalker specializes in the design and implementation of social science research projects.

Windwalker staff is responsible for conducting the classroom observations and collecting transcript data for this project.

Key Staff: Manya Walton and Stacey Merola

Manya Walton, Ph.D.

Dr. Manya Walton is a Project Manager and Institutional Review Board Administrator at Windwalker Corporation. She is experienced in project management, quantitative and qualitative research design, and data collection modeling and methodologies.  Dr. Walton manages the U.S. Department of Education, Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) technical assistance and data analysis project; extant data collection and analysis activities under the IDEA National Implementation Study; and the National History Education Clearinghouse formative evaluation.  Dr. Walton received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Stacey Merola, Ph.D.

Dr. Stacey S. Merola is currently a Senior Research Analyst and the Institutional Review Board Chair at Windwalker Corporation. Dr. Merola has extensive experience with project management, quantitative and qualitative research methods, systematic reviews and survey design. Additionally, Dr. Merola is currently Deputy Project Manager on a study of Career and Technical Education programs in American high schools. Prior to joining Windwalker in 2007, Dr. Merola was the Project Coordinator for the What Works Clearinghouse’s Elementary School Math Curriculum-Based Interventions review and co-Project Manager on a project to develop a new measure of socioeconomic status for NAEP at the American Institutes for Research. Dr. Merola received her Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in research methodology from Cornell University in 2001.