Arkansas Following the success of the Texas Consortium on School Research (TCSR), REL Southwest at Edvance Research is working with education leaders in Arkansas to create a research consortium in that state with a focus on using research and data to improve practice and student achievement in rural, high-poverty areas. The research consortium was initiated by the REL Southwest Governing Board, and an inaugural meeting was held in October 2010; leadership from 10 Arkansas districts was in attendance. With support from the Arkansas Commissioner of Education Tom W. Kimbrell, REL Southwest is working with the Arkansas Department of Education Research and Technology department as well as the Southeast Arkansas, Great Rivers, and Arkansas Rivers Education Service Cooperatives.
Texas With the recent national focus on education reform, education leaders and researchers are anxious to understand data and find the most effective methods to utilize this knowledge in their daily work. TCSR member districts are heavily involved with building capacity for leadership around research, identifying and sharing best practices, conducting research to know what works and what doesn’t work in their districts and analyzing data to find new ways to address issues. TCSR provides a safe venue for its members to interact and share data, ideas, successes and challenges that lead to collective and ongoing improvements in the interpretation and application of data. The members of TCSR are building a dynamic Community of Practice around school research.
Sara Arispe, Executive Director of Accountability and Data Quality at Fort Worth ISD, shared her experience as a TCSR member, “Fort Worth ISD is thrilled to participate in the Texas Consortium on School Research. This is an exciting opportunity to increase collaboration between practitioners in districts and researchers to leverage and share education research efforts, analyses, findings, and best practices relevant to Texas as we all move more strategically toward common goals like increasing career and college readiness”. | 
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