Regionwide

The Region 11 Comprehensive Center (R11CC) will work with the state education agencies (SEA) and local education agencies (LEA) across the four-state region—Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming—to build capacity for a shared definition and lexicon surrounding approaches for tailored acceleration. After which, the team will study the processes in place and create a resource that can be used by all LEAs, highlighting successful implementation of accelerated learning approaches.

Groups of students in Region 11 have experienced disproportionate impacts because of the pandemic. In all LEAs, at least some students missed in-person instruction and experienced disengagement. These students often were members of groups who have been historically marginalized (for example, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, students living in poverty).

The R11CC will implement and scale evidence-based practices to support LEAs as they work to build internal human, organizational, resource, and policy capacity to implement accelerated learning. The R11CC will also identify and share trends, best practices, and cost-effective strategies used in the region. Across the four states, there is the potential for the work to benefit 607 LEAs serving more than 649,000 students.

The project will first work to build capacity across the region for a shared definition and lexicon surrounding approaches for tailored acceleration. Next, the project will survey LEA and building administrators on their accelerated learning implementation efforts. The survey will allow leaders to document which approaches are being used and which are being used successfully, in particular, with disproportionately affected groups. Based on the surveys, interviews will be conducted with three to five LEA/building administrators who shared successful implementation and outcomes. The work also will document barriers to implementation and lessons learned. These findings will be prepared and shared within the participating states and across R11CC partners.

Over the yearlong timeline, the project intends to survey education leaders and document evidence-based accelerated learning and tailored learning practices that are positively impacting student outcomes. In the long term, these practices are intended to improve achievement scores and social emotional outcomes for those who were disproportionately impacted. The R11CC will disseminate findings to various stakeholders through a multimodal approach—including, but not limited to, an infographic, a webinar or virtual conference presentation, and a report summarizing the findings posted on our website.