Hawley Begins Serving on the McREL Board of Directors
October 1, 2003
Madison, S.D.
— Dr. Tom Hawley, Dean of the College of Education at
Dakota State University, has joined the Mid-continent Research for
Education and Learning (McREL) Board of Directors. McREL, a nationally
recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo.,
builds on research to solve specific problems in education today and
develops widely acclaimed PreK–16 products that are used by
educators to maximize student learning.
“We are delighted that Tom Hawley has joined our Board,”
said McREL President and CEO Tim Waters. “Tom has had an exceptional
career as a military educator and brings to our Board 20-plus years
of experience in education, technology integration, and leadership
development. His innovative ideas and dedication to preparing tomorrow’s
educational leaders will be invaluable as our organization looks
to the future.”
McREL’s 27-member Board represents educators, policymakers,
and business people from the seven-state region — Colorado,
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
— that McREL serves through contracts with the U.S. Department
of Education. Through these competitive contracts, McREL staff members
leverage knowledge and translate it into services to policymakers
and educators that lead to positive learning outcomes for students.
“Each time I work with McREL, I have been impressed with
their professional and knowledgeable leadership team and staff who
are on the cutting edge of what works in schools and classrooms
across this region,” said Hawley.
In South Dakota, for example, McREL consultants visit individual
schools throughout the year and address site-specific needs, such
as improving reading scores or building mathematics skills. Four
schools — Spring Creek Elementary on the Rosebud Indian Reservation,
Newell Elementary and Middle Schools, and Alcester-Hudson Elementary
School — are working within a framework of distributed leadership
to plan and implement school improvement processes.
Common areas of work are enhancing instructional practices, improving
parent and family involvement, and using data. “At McREL-sponsored
data retreats, we have learned how to look at data and process how
what we do as teachers affects our students’ performance,”
said one school team member.
Hawley joins several other Board members from
South Dakota, including Dianna Miller, Executive
Director of the South Dakota Mining Association and Rick
Melmer, South Dakota Department of Education secretary.
“I am honored to have been selected to serve on the McREL
Board of Directors. We are fortunate to have an organization like
MCREL serving our state,” said Hawley, who previously served
as interim secretary at the South Dakota Department of Education.
“With the increased focus on professional development and
school improvement, McREL offers a wide array of technical services
and practical expertise which greatly improves K–12 achievement.”
In 2002, McREL delivered services to clients in 40 states and seven
foreign countries and had annual revenues of more than $11 million.
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McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization
located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all
students through applied research, product development and service.
Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses
on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality,
field-tested, research-based products and services available in
PreK–16 education.
