About REL Appalachia
Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia (REL AP) serves educators in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. To address the priorities and interests of these states, REL AP works in partnership with school districts, state departments of education, and others to create and support use of data and evidence to improve academic outcomes for students.
REL AP works to bridge the worlds of education research and education practice. REL AP offers various supports to the collaborative research partnerships and other stakeholder groups in the Appalachia region:
| Applied research studies and studies in progress that address partnerships' research questions. |
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Training, coaching, and technical support such as survey, interview, or observation protocol development, literature reviews, or tool development. |
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Workshops and coaching that support the use of data and research. |
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Ask A REL annotated bibliographies produced in response to stakeholder research questions. |
Our Team
REL Appalachia is led by SRI International, with support from the following partners:
- Educational Development Center (EDC)
- L-evation
- Magnolia Consulting
- McREL International
- Mike Puma Associates
- Plus Alpha Research & Consulting (PARC)
Dr. Deborah Jonas' research expertise is in strengthening transitions across the education pipeline—from early childhood to elementary and from high school to college and careers.
Her research has informed changes to community college placement policy, high school graduation policy, definitions of college and career readiness, and preschool program expansion.
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Governing Board
The REL AP Governing Board is composed primarily of education leaders who live and work in our four states. They each bring unique expertise in elements of education policy, research, program design, and special populations to help ensure that we address the needs of all students in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.