Central Comprehensive Center

2BATFDW School Bus in a lonely empry road near Bismarck in North Dakota, USA

Challenge

State education agencies provide oversight for public schools, with the goal of ensuring all students receive a high-quality education.

The Central Comprehensive Center serves state, regional, and local education agencies in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. We collaborated with state education agency leaders in these states to identify areas of focus that include increasing academic achievement in literacy and mathematics, strengthening accountability systems, improving educator working conditions, supporting student attendance, and strengthening leadership.

We selected these topics because they have the potential to result in substantial improvements for many students, are priorities for education policymakers, and require intensive effort to achieve intended outcomes.

Solution

NORC brings strong technical assistance skills, deep knowledge of the Central Region, and extensive understanding of evidence-based practices.

NORC fulfills the mission of the Comprehensive Centers Program by providing intensive capacity-building services to states in the Central Region that improve educational opportunities and outcomes, close achievement gaps, and improve the quality of instruction for all students. Our services are tailored to state education agency needs and priorities and focus on building client and recipient capacity in four dimensions—human, organizational, policy, and resource—ultimately strengthening individual and systemwide abilities to engage in continuous improvement and achieve intended outcomes.

Our technical assistance approach reflects our understanding of the research on adult learning principles, implementation science, improvement science, and systems change frameworks. Our project team members also bring deep experience with states in the Central Region and an extensive understanding of evidence-based practices in education.

Result

Our services will help state education agencies improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students in the Central Region.

Our services are designed to help state education agencies solve their most tenacious educational challenges: increasing academic achievement in literacy and mathematics, improving educator working conditions, strengthening leadership practices, increasing student attendance rates, strengthening accountability systems, and increasing postsecondary success. Beyond our work in each state, we expect to share insights and lessons learned that will help states across the nation improve.