Pacific West Comprehensive Center

Drone shot of Chuuk Island and reef. Truk Lagoon. Ocean, coral reefs, sand, palm trees.

Building capacity to address high-leverage education priorities in the Pacific region

Client

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education
Dates

October 2024 – September 2029

Challenge

Improving education outcomes in the Pacific region requires an exceptional approach to intensive capacity-building services.

Education systems under the jurisdiction of the Pacific West Comprehensive Center—that is, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)—share several political realities and challenges, including fragmented school and data infrastructures, teacher shortages, and limited resources. These challenges complicate the systems’ implementation of coherent improvement strategies, while vulnerability to external shocks, such as typhoons, and reliance on multiple funding sources further strain system capacity. Addressing these challenges is critical to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for students and their teachers.

Solution

NORC is pursuing a continuous improvement approach to technical assistance and high-quality capacity-building activities as the Pacific West Comprehensive Center.

Regional Comprehensive Centers (CCs) are charged with providing capacity-building services that substantially help clients and recipients by implementing, scaling up, and sustaining evidence-based programs, practices, and interventions resulting in improved student outcomes and reducing the barriers that underserved populations encounter. In 2025, NORC assumed the Pacific West Comprehensive Center to deliver services focused on building client and recipient capacity across four dimensions—human, organizational, policy, and resource—with the goal of ultimately strengthening individual and systemwide abilities across the Pacific region to engage in continuous improvement and achieve intended outcomes.

NORC will implement the capacity-building approach by delivering high-quality, relevant, and useful intensive capacity-building services by assembling the best teams, implementing evidence-based approaches, engaging in continuous improvement, and using an asset-focused lens. Each jurisdiction will be served by a team with contextual expertise and strong relationships, technical assistance skills, and depth of experience to support educational leaders and staff in the CNMI, the FSM, Guam, and Palau in addressing their high-leverage priorities.

Result

Our approach supports Pacific education systems in strengthening their capacity to improve instructional quality and establish coherence across their initiatives.

This project is designed to support Pacific West jurisdictions in selecting, implementing, scaling, and sustaining evidence-based programs, practices, and interventions aimed at improving student outcomes. While each jurisdiction will focus on different topic areas, the continuous improvement approach is expected to guide meaningful and lasting change. In the CNMI, the FSM, and Guam, anticipated longterm outcomes include strengthened literacy instruction and improved student performance on standardized assessments. In Palau, Pacific West CC support is projected to contribute to higher graduation rates and increased postsecondary enrollment.

To achieve these outcomes, the Pacific West CC will deliver intensive technical assistance, foster peer-to-peer learning across the region, and coordinate efforts across technical assistance centers and organizations. Deliverables such as federal reports, outreach activities, and multi-format dissemination materials will be developed using NORC’s deep understanding of what works in the Pacific West region. These activities are expected to inform local policy decisions, influence educational practice, and support future research initiatives. As the CC projects progress, findings and tools will be shared broadly to encourage replication and adaptation.