Serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington

REL Northwest is part of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. Operated by Education Northwest for nearly 50 years, REL Northwest serves the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Our purpose is to build regional stakeholders’ capacity to identify, access, use, and apply data and research to meet their self-defined improvement goals. Along with the other nine RELs across the country, REL Northwest seeks to build a national knowledge base of reliable, actionable evidence to help improve student outcomes.

The core of the RELs’ work over the next five years is strengthening the capacity of policymakers and practitioners to use data and other high-quality evidence through research alliances, which are partnerships between the REL and local education groups and stakeholders. REL Northwest is currently working with eight alliances that are focused on these key regional issues:

• Turning around low-performing schools
• Increasing graduation rates and preparing students for postsecondary success
• Achieving greater equity by improving outcomes for all students

In addition to working with research alliances, REL Northwest continues to offer customized assistance, including research-based answers to educators’ questions through its free reference desk service, Ask A REL. And, we will continue to inform education policy and practice in the Northwest by conducting and disseminating studies that address critical regional challenges.