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McREL: Turning what works in teaching, leading, and learning into innovation and results

Serving the Region

The North Central Comprehensive Center (NCCC) is a U.S. Department of Education-funded program that provides research-based services to state education agencies in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota to implement Federal Department of Education initiatives and requirements. The NCCC is one of 16 regional centers serving as an outreach arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of the NCCC is to help the states within our region increase their capacity to support schools and districts in meeting the requirements of NCLB and other federal programs.



Setting and Reaching Goals


The NCCC is operated by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), a nonprofit education research and development organization, located in Denver, Colorado. The NCCC provides training and technical assistance to accomplish two main goals: (1) to build states' capacity to implement the provisions of NCLB and help districts and schools achieve the goals of the law, and (2)  to improve state's access to resources, information, and services that help districts improve student learning, close achievement gaps, and sustain school improvement.

The U. S. Department of Education recognizes the difficulties states face in implementing No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In response, the department has formed a network of 16 regional Comprehensive Centers and five national Content Centers as its technical assistance and service arm to help states reach those legislative goals. With funds provided by the Department of Education, the 16 regional technical assistance centers around the country assist State Education Agencies (SEAs) in expanding their capacity to help the local districts and schools within their state implement NCLB.
Each regional Comprehensive Center works closely with the five Content Centers:


We invite you to explore this site to learn more about the work of North Central Comprehensive Center,
the network of Comprehensive Centers across the nation, and the Content Centers.
North Central Comprehensive Center