Arlington, Va., Oct. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education to operate four centers that will support national, state, and local efforts to address educational challenges and help students thrive. The centers are part of the federally funded Comprehensive Center Network, which provides states and districts with capacity building services and technical assistance (TA) to improve teaching and learning.
AIR will lead three Regional Comprehensive Centers (RCCs) and one national content center focused on fiscal equity. Through this work, AIR will expand its longstanding commitment to guiding educators’ use of evidence to improve outcomes; increasing equitable access to learning opportunities; and improving the quality of classroom instruction for all students. Through five-year grants that begin in October, AIR will guide the work of three RCCs:
- Northeast Comprehensive Center (serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Building on experience working with educators in districts across the northeast region, AIR’s TA experts will connect evidence-based programs, practices, and interventions to inform decision making and learning experiences. The AIR team, led by Ellen Cushing, will operate the Northeast Comprehensive Center with support from Applied Enterprise Management.
- Midwest Comprehensive Center (serving Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). Supporting students who are often underserved is a critical part of AIR’s commitment to the Midwest region. AIR leads the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest, allowing the institution to build on an interconnected and active networks of districts, schools, and practitioners to ground its TA approach in understanding local contexts and needs. Led by Aaron Butler and Betheny Lyke, the Midwest Comprehensive Center team includes partners from Manhattan Strategy Group.
- West Comprehensive Center (serving Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah). AIR will work with practitioners and education leaders across the region to create and scale capacity-building services that tackle the region’s most urgent educational challenges, such as chronic absenteeism. Led by Jenny Scala and Alicia Espinoza, the West Comprehensive Center team includes the Arizona Rural Schools Association, the Brigham Young University Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling, the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, and the University of Nevada, Reno.
AIR will also launch a new Fiscal Equity Center, which will help states and districts across the U.S. develop equitable and adequate resource allocation strategies. Led by Beth Howard-Brown and Jim Colyott, AIR will establish and operate the center with its partner, Afton Partners, and with support from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO).
“Evidence-based technical assistance provided across the Comprehensive Center Network will help strengthen the capacity of state and local education agencies to close equity gaps and boost student achievement,” said Julie Kochanek, senior vice president of AIR’s Human Services Division. “We are eager to hit the ground running, first by listening to what leaders and educators need, and then working collaboratively to meet those needs in a way that is inclusive and informed by the evidence.”
In addition to leading the four centers, AIR will serve as a subcontractor to McREL International, supporting the Central Comprehensive Center, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
AIR has operated Comprehensive Centers since the inception of the program in 2005, partnering with national, state, regional, and local entities in all 50 states and U.S. territories to provide high-quality services and resources to support the education field.
About AIR
Established in 1946, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of education, health, and the workforce. AIR’s work is driven by its mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR has offices across the U.S. and abroad. For more information, visit www.air.org.
