NEWS Release
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NEWS Release |
UNCG/SERVE RECEIVES NEW $36 MILLION
FEDERAL CONTRACT
TO OPERATE SOUTHEAST EDUCATION
LAB FOR FIVE YEARS
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GREENSBORO--A federal contract of $36,075,000 has been awarded to SERVE, the research and development center at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, to continue operation of the southeastern regional educational laboratory for a five-year period.
This is the largest federal contract or grant ever received by the University, said UNCG Chancellor Patricia Sullivan as she made the Monday announcement. Officials at UNC's General Administration said that the contract is one of the largest ever received by a UNC system campus.
SERVE, formerly known as the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education, was founded at UNCG in 1990 and is affiliated with the UNCG School of Education. States covered by SERVE are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Dr. John R. Sanders is executive director of SERVE.
The new funding is part of a $325 million contract package awarded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) after approval by the U.S. Congress. Over the next five years, the labs will be charged with focusing their programs on transforming low-performing schools—where students have not achieved their potential—into high-performing learning communities where all students achieve high standards.
The lab at SERVE has been designated with “Expanded Learning Opportunities” as its national leadership area. During this five-year cycle, the laboratory will study the achievement gap between low-performing and high-performing schools. The program will utilize research and analysis on comprehensive school reform, class size reduction, charter schools and strategies to improve teacher quality.
SERVE also will create a national advisory committee for expanded learning, create and maintain a national clearinghouse on expanded learning opportunities, and conduct research and development activities on early childhood education.
"I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has renewed its contract with our School of Education to enable SERVE to continue its splendid work in the Southeast," said Chancellor Sullivan. "SERVE has been existence for a decade now, but there still remains much to be done to improve our schools in the region. I am pleased that UNCG will continue to take a leadership role in the Southeast through this effort.”
The mission of SERVE will be to continue providing leadership and a variety of services and research designed to assist state and local efforts in improving the quality of education in the Southeast. SERVE has over 100 employees, and will continue to maintain its principal offices in Greensboro (at UNCG), Atlanta, Ga., and Tallahassee, Fla. SERVE also maintains one-person offices in individual departments of education in the six states.
Dr. Edward Uprichard, UNCG's provost and former dean of the School of Education, said, “I was delighted and extremely pleased to learn that we won the Southeast Regional Educational Laboratory award competition. The laboratory, which will be beginning its 11th year at UNCG, has established a strong track record in research and development activities and in providing services to K-12 schools in the region.”
Dr. David Armstrong, dean of the UNCG School of Education, said, "SERVE's outstanding work has a wonderful reputation in its six-state region and throughout the entire country. SERVE's agenda augments and extends the many outstanding School of Education faculty projects that seek to improve K-12 programs in the schools. I am pleased that funds will be available to allow SERVE to continue its efforts to support young people and enhance the quality of their school experiences."
Sanders said that the national leadership area, expanded learning opportunities, would have the SERVE lab focusing on programs and practices that take place before and after school to provide support for at-risk students. SERVE requested the topic, Sanders said, in its renewal proposal submitted to the DOE. For the past five-year cycle, SERVE’s focus was on early childhood learning.
Examples of such practices include pre-school education, after-school tutoring and special weekend programs to bring families together around education. “These are the things that support learners who come from at-risk backgrounds,” said Sanders. “Expanded learning is an approach to helping kids that have not been traditionally successful in school. It gives them more time than the normal school day provides.”
How does Sanders feel about what SERVE has accomplished in its first decade? "SERVE has met every requirement of its contract and received very high marks on its evaluation,” said Sanders. "Our programs have a strong value-added component for public education and they are designed to address the needs of teachers and children. We feel we have made a significant impact on the region."
Sanders said SERVE's first decade made its research and development, publications and services programs available on-line. During the 10 years, he said approximately 700,000 reports, publications and policy briefs were distributed by SERVE. There were also approximately 200,000 publication flyers and catalogs sent to SERVE's clients. Clients access the SERVE website more than 5,000 times a day.
SERVE also provides a variety of field services, including program support, technical assistance, and training sessions on subjects ranging from reducing school violence to alternative assessment and grantwriting. In addition, SERVE has been involved with at least 200 schools in the region annually in providing research and development services to meet specific needs in individual states.
In North Carolina, SERVE programs have focused on such areas as classroom assessment, comprehensive school reform, policy analysis, assistance to schools and districts, formative teacher evaluation, and projects in middle school math and reduced class size.
"I feel good about what we have accomplished so far," said Sanders. "And basically it is because we have been able to reach the classroom teachers. As we develop products and services, we keep teachers and students in mind. I am looking forward to the next five years so that we can enlarge upon that effort. Classroom teachers and innovative programs are the keys to improving educational outcomes."
Looking ahead to SERVE's contract over the next five years, Sanders said SERVE's principal tasks would be as follows:
SERVE has been affiliated with the UNCG School of Education since its inception in 1990. It administers contracts and grants totaling $15.1 million for 2000, $51.5 million for the period 1996-2000, and over $125 million since its inception in 1990. As a research and development center at UNCG, SERVE’s core business is the operation of the regional educational laboratory. Also integral to SERVE are the Southeast and Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium, the Eisenhower Math and Science Consortium for the Southeast, a subcontract for the operation of the Region IV Comprehensive Technical Assistance Center, the Anchor Schools Program and the National Center for Homeless Education, and a number of smaller projects.
SERVE was created to promote and support the continuous improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast. Collaboration with business, education, and policy organizations helps SERVE identify and address pressing educational needs of the region. SERVE’s priority is developing tools and strategies to assist educators in systemic education reform efforts.
Sanders has a national reputation in educational change and management of large research and development projects. Before coming to UNCG, he was deputy executive director of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Charleston, W.V., since 1985, and had been with the organization since 1973.
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