Wednesday, November 12, 2008

What Happened to Rural at NWREL?

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory used to be a leader in rural education research. A visit to their website shows that they've given up their rural emphasis. Searching the Products Catalog for "rural" produces zero publications. The message that comes up reads:
Sorry, I didn't find any matches for "rural" in the title, year, author, or description of products in our online catalog.
A search of the full NWREL website for "rural" produces 703 hits. The most recent year for a publication is 2005.

What is NWREL doing with the millions of dollars it is supposed to be allocated over the past 3 years researching issues affecting rural schools? Do any rural educators or policy makers in the region care that NWREL doesn't have a rural focus anymore? It is truly a sad thing to see.

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