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Contact: Meg Grant
210.558.1902
mgrant@edvanceresearch.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 26, 2007

REL Southwest at Edvance Research Lab Director to Provide Keynote at National Conference of State Legislatures & Institute of Education Sciences Meeting

San Antonio Dr. Dean Nafziger, Lab Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest at Edvance Research will be a keynote speaker at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) joint meeting with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) on Friday, November 30th in Phoenix, Arizona.

(NCSL) is launching a four-year effort to work with legislators and legislative staff to identify and learn about emerging research on education issues and to engage in discussions about how research findings inform policy decisions.

Dr. Nafziger stated, The goal of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Program is to provide evidence-based research that can assist legislators, educators, business leaders and parents as they evaluate education programs and policies. This forum offers an interactive venue for key legislative staff members to learn more about the REL Network and how our rigorous research can help them make decisions that are informed by scientifically valid data.

REL Southwest, at Edvance Research, is one of ten educational laboratories in the Regional Educational Laboratory Network (REL Network). REL Southwest serves the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas and works for the benefit of over 6.5 million students, over 400,000 teachers in approximately 14,000 schools in grades pre-kindergarten through college in this five-state region.  The REL Network encompasses ten geographical regions that span the nation with its primary mission being to serve the educational needs of designated regions. The REL Network uses applied research, development, dissemination, and training and technical assistance to bring the latest and best research and proven practices into school improvement efforts. The Regional Educational Laboratory program is part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), under the United States Department of Education. http://edlabs.ed.gov/RELSouthwest

Educators in the southwest region may obtain technical assistance through the REL Reference Desk by calling 1-877-EDVANCE   (1-877-338-2623) or e-mailing RELinfo@edvanceresearch.com.

Founded in 2005, Edvance Research, Inc. is a research enterprise with a mission to be a leader in the advancement of rigorous research, specializing in the education arena. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. www.edvanceresearch.com