Melmer Joins Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
Board
September 9, 2003
Pierre, S.D.
— South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Dr.
Rick Melmer has joined the Mid-continent
Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Board of Directors.
McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization
located in Aurora, Colo. It is dedicated to improving education
for all students through applied research, product development and
service.
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to
serve on the McREL Board of Directors,” said Dr. Melmer. “McREL
has a history of leadership in educational research for states in
the Midwest.”
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 provides research-based products and services to educators
and policymakers.
In South Dakota, for example, McREL is currently
assisting state officials in a three-year effort to improve the
performance of a statewide consortium of schools: Spring Creek Elementary
on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, Newell Elementary and Middle
Schools, and Alcester-Hudson Elementary School.
“[Our] veteran teachers were good teachers,
but with McREL’s help they have become great teachers,”
said Kathy Johannsen, Elementary Tech Coordinator for Alcester-Hudson
Elementary Schools. “We have gone from a Title I school put
on improvement two years ago to a school with an Advanced + Proficient
rate of 93 percent in reading and 94.5 percent in Math. I feel we
would not have achieved this without the help of McREL.”
“We are very pleased that Dr. Melmer has
joined our Board,” said McREL President and CEO Tim Waters.
“With all of his years of experience and dedication to education,
we are honored that he has agreed to offer his insights and guidance
to our organization.”
Other McREL Board members from South Dakota include
Dianna Miller, Executive Director of the South Dakota Mining Association,
and Jay Mickelson, an award-winning high school teacher from Pierre,
whose term expires this year. Dr. Tom Hawley, Dean of Education
at Dakota State University and former interim South Dakota Department
of Education Secretary, has been nominated to replace Mickelson.
In addition, Gene Enck, executive director of
the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, and Glenna
Fouberg,
president of the South Dakota Board of Education¸ serve on
McREL’s policy advisory team. Dr. Jack Keegan, superintendent
of the Sioux Falls School District, participates in a McREL network
of urban superintendents.
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.
