Regional Education Laboratory for the Pacific Region

McREL’s Pacific Center holds the Regional Education Laboratory Pacific (REL Pacific) contract for the 2012–2017 contract period. As one of 10 Regional Education Laboratories established and funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, REL Pacific at McREL serves educators in the state of Hawai‘i; the territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam; and the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

At REL Pacific, we’re dedicated to building relationships among regional educators, community leaders, and research partners to make the results of our research and evaluation available to the people who need it most. Our carefully designed program of research, evaluation, and analytic technical assistance is designed to improve student outcomes by increasing Pacific educators’ capacity to understand and effectively use high-quality research and data to inform decision making and teaching practices.

We support Research Alliances that bring together education agency staff, data experts, policymakers, and practitioners to work collaboratively to address problems and questions of high priority and relevance to Pacific education, including teacher effectiveness, family and community engagement, college and career readiness, and data optimization. Working together with REL Pacific staff, Alliance members identify problems and questions to be answered through research and evaluation, participate in the development of longitudinal data systems, apply research and evaluation study findings to inform decision making and practices, and use the skills and knowledge they’ve gained to help others do the same.

REL Pacific also offers customized technical assistance services and resources for educators and policymakers that help translate recent research findings into everyday practice. From conducting information searches to working with you to analyze your data, REL Pacific is here to help. And through presentations and expertly facilitated, face-to-face and virtual forums, such as our Bridging Policy, Practice and Research (Bridge) events, we bring you the latest research and help you apply it to your specific situation.