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McREL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education research, development, and service organization that helps schools, districts, colleges and universities, and education agencies and foundations improve educator efficacy and student learning.

We help our clients analyze and improve their programs, build their staff’s skills, knowledge, and capacities, and make an even bigger difference for every student. Our areas of expert service include:

  • Analysis and alignment of strategic plans; policies, programs, and processes; and curriculum, instruction, assessments, and standards, to make sure your system components are working together cohesively, efficiently, and effectively to support higher levels of success for students and educators.
  • Evidence-based, practice-proven professional development, learning, and coaching to help educators, principals, and district administrators apply highly effective practices for teaching, learning, and leading.
  • Data collection and analysis, logic models, and program evaluations to inform crucial decision-making and guide continuous improvement efforts.
  • School improvement strategies, action planning, implementation support, and technical assistance to support quick wins and sustainable long-term success.

We work with all types of schools and districts (public, charter, and private), state education departments, regional service agencies, foundations, ed-tech companies, and colleges and universities across the U.S. and around the world.

Call us at 800-858-6830 or email info@mcrel.org to speak with one of our experts about your school/system’s goals and find out how we can support your efforts.


Our Commitments to Our Clients

What can you expect from McREL when we work with your school or system? You’ll get a dependable partner that listens to your needs, understands your goals, and delivers evidence-based services and resources to support your success.
We promote better outcomes for every learner. We believe that a quality education is a foundational civil right of every person. To that end, we seek out opportunities to partner with schools and systems of all types, locations, and contexts, engaging with educators to apply evidence-based practices that elevate educational experiences and outcomes for all students.
We deliver quality work that makes a real difference. Our goal is to deliver high-quality services that lead to positive, enduring differences for your school or system and your stakeholders. You can depend on us to meet or exceed your expectations every step of the way.
We value context and collaboration. We take a collaborative, partnership-oriented approach with our clients. It begins with our team listening to and understanding your contexts, goals, and needs before we design the right services for you. We’ll honor your team’s expertise and capacities as we work together, adding our strengths and resources to yours to help you achieve your goals.
We emphasize continual learning. Curiosity, exploration, change, and reflection are vital to deep learning and lifelong fulfilment. As such, you can expect us to encourage your team’s professional curiosity and growth. That goes for us too. While delivering great service to you and your team, we know we’ll be learning from you too, discovering new insights together that lead to better results for all.

McREL’s Research Base, Models, and Frameworks

Our approaches and strategies, while customized for each client’s situation, are founded on McREL’s highly regarded research-based frameworks and models, including:

Our Team

McREL’s team of education consultants and professional learning facilitators combine their personal experience as former educators, principals, and district administrators with in-depth knowledge of best evidence-based practices for effective teaching, learning, coaching, and leading. And our team of researchers and program evaluators are experts in applied research that helps clients make well-informed decisions for continuous improvement and solve their problems of practice.

Executive Leadership

Picture of McREL CEO Bryan Goodwin

Bryan Goodwin
President & CEO

Picture of CFO Sue Desch

Sue Desch
Chief Financial Officer

Picture of Chief Research & Evaluation Officer Dr. Matt Linick

Dr. Matt Linick
Chief Research Officer

Picture of Ron Miletta, Chief Operations Officer

Ron Miletta
Chief Operations Officer

Picture of Dr. Dale Lewis, VP of Large Programs

Dr. Dale Lewis
VP of Large Programs

Picture of Dr. Kris Rouleau, VP of Learning Services

Dr. Kris Rouleau
VP of Learning Services

Board of Directors

Kenneth Anderson
Director
Former Chair of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Teacher Education

Deborah Backus
Director
Educational consultant; former National Director of Strategic Partnerships at Blueprint Schools Network

John Canuel
Director
Independent consultant at JM Canuel Consulting

Nancy Commins
Director
Clinical Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado at Denver School of Education and Human Development

Jim Edwards
Director
Former Assistant Executive Director of the Kansas Association of School Boards

Rich Elsasser
Chair
Executive Director of Texas Region 13 Education Service Center

Denise Blyn Borders
Chair Elect
Former CEO of Learning Forward and Vice President at SRI International

Mary Hattori
Director
Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program

Michael Middleton
Director
Former Deputy Chancellor and Interim President of the University of Missouri

Sione Thompson

Sione Thompson
Director
Principal, Silver Falls School District, Oregon

Denise Uehara
Director
Principal Researcher and Knowledge Mobilizer at Kamehameha Schools, Hawai’i