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agency overview { 02 } programs { 04 } resources { 10 } finances { 16 } people { 24 } offices { 29 } FEATURES Offering What Works 24/7 { 15 } Turnaround Success { 23 } Fast Track to Improvement { 27 } WestEd is driven, above all, by our mission to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. I’m proud of the positive impact we achieved in 2011 by remaining committed to this mission in the midst of economic turmoil and political uncertainty. FRO M THE CEO Throughout the year WestEd continued to be (REL West) conducted rigorous research a catalyst for improvement in education and in many areas and provided extensive as- human development. We’ve had many remark- sistance at local, state, and regional levels able successes: to implement evidence-based practices. For example, REL West convened Utah policymak- + Providing high-impact, high-quality, high- ers and district, university, and community utility services. WestEd’s Strategic Literacy leaders to explore ways to increase college Initiative, for example, trained 580 teachers, readiness and high school graduation; and 100 teacher leaders, and many other profes- helped Arizona educators examine character- sionals, seeking to improve literacy for more istics of the state’s English learner population than 400,000 high school students in Cali- and implications for state and local strategies fornia, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and to improve learning. Utah. Our Center for Child and Family Studies provided high-quality training for more than + Ensuring that clients have access to informa- 1,200 Early Head Start providers nationwide. tion they need, when they need it. The South- west Comprehensive Center at WestEd, + Launching high-leverage, high-visibility new which has helped states develop systems initiatives. WestEd began work as the Proj- of support for school and district improve- ect Management Partner for the multistate ment since 2005, recently collaborated Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, with the Nevada Department of Education one of only two such groups charged with to create an effective system to monitor developing cutting-edge assessments for School Improvement Grant implementation. the Common Core State Standards. Another This effort’s success was highlighted in addition to WestEd’s portfolio of projects was the U.S. Department of Education’s School the highly respected, nonpartisan Center for Turnaround Newsletter. the Future of Teaching and Learning, which provides research for policymakers to help These make up just a small sampling of the strengthen the teaching force. many ways WestEd works throughout the country to improve education and human de- + Developing and disseminating research- based,high-utility information. WestEd’s Math velopment. I encourage you to look through this Pathways and Pitfalls curriculum won a report for more information and examples. And Distinguished Achievement Award from please contact us if you might be interested in the Association of Educational Publishers. working together to make a positive difference Our Regional Educational Laboratory West for children and adults. — Glen H. Harvey, Chief Executive Officer 1 AGENCY OVERVIEW WestEd is a catalyst for improvement in education and healthy human development. Our many endeavors are united by a commitment to our challenging mission: promoting excellence, achieving equity, and improving learning for children and adults. A nonprofit, nonpartisan agency working at WestEd focuses on education and more, addressing the needs of local, state, and federal levels, WestEd devel- the whole child, from birth onward: ops research-based programs, intervention + Providing services that ensure healthy beginnings for infants strategies, improvement services, and other and toddlers resources. Our focus is on quality in all that we do. Whether through research, evalua- + Supporting all children, especially the most underserved, in- tion, policy support, or technical assistance, cluding low-income children, those in low-performing schools, students who are English learners, and children with disabili- we work to find the best answers to enduring 2 ties and other special needs challenges and emerging questions in edu- cation and human development. + Developing and sharing knowledge about youth resiliency and health By making a quality difference in the lives of CATALYST FORCATALYST IMPROVEMENT children and adults, our work champions an + Increasing learning through effective teaching and leadership, ideal: Regardless of the circumstances into with expertise in mathematics, science, literacy, college which people are born, they should have readiness, and other areas opportunities to succeed in their schools and + Supporting educators to better understand performance communities. Pursuing this ideal, we recog- through effective assessment, and helping districts and states nize that learning and healthy development improve accountability systems are interwoven and lifelong. Accordingly, + Conducting rigorous research and evaluations and sharing best | practices through partnerships, resources, and online tools WestEd Annual Report Annual WestEd + Seeking new approaches to enduring challenges through innovative uses of technology, and much more 2011 WestEd works at all levels of education systems — in child care centers, WestEd-at-a-Glance schools, district offices, institutions of higher education, state and federal agencies, and communities. As lead agency or partner in two HEADQUARTERS federally funded regional educational laboratories, five comprehen- San Francisco, CA sive centers, a regional resource center, and two equity assistance OFFICES centers, WestEd is able to build on extensive networks of expertise, 16 nationwide deep reservoirs of research knowledge, and close ties to districts and states throughout the country. STAFF Our staff members represent some of the best talent from across the More than 600 country. WestEd staff are highly educated and experienced, diverse ANNUAL REVENUE in perspective and background, passionate about their work, and $126.3 million in 2011 dedicated to making a difference for our clients. FUNDING SOURCES The many indicators that our work is making a difference include: increased student achievement in districts where we’ve worked, Approximately 400 large-scale experimental studies confirming the impact of our PROJECTS projects, teachers providing testimonials about the improvements in More than 400 at any given time their classrooms, policymakers finding better ways to meet the terms of legislation and satisfy the interests of their constituents, and the FOUNDED frequency of clients returning to us year after year. 1966 as Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and While this report gives a flavor of what WestEd has to offer, our work extends far beyond these examples and is increasingly interdisciplin- Development (FWL) and Southwest ary and collaborative. Our several hundred projects and services Regional Educational Laboratory are grouped into the dozen program areas described in the following (SWRL), which merged in 1995 pages and in more detail online at WestEd.org. under the name WestEd 3 PROGRAMS Center for Child & Family Studies DIRECTORS: J. RONALD LALLY & PETER L. MANGIONE The Center for Child and Family Studies Assessment & Standards Development Services (CCFS) is dedicated to helping children get DIRECTOR: STANLEY RABINOWITZ a healthy start in life, with a particular focus on children and families living in poverty, dual Known for creating assessment systems that are valid, fair, and language learners, and those with disabilities aligned with rigorous standards, WestEd’s Assessment and Stan- or other special needs. As a leader in promot- dards Development Services (ASDS) program provides state and ing high-quality, research-based early care national policy guidance on building aligned student, school, and edu- and education services, CCFS’s work informs cator accountability systems. ASDS develops assessments for both national, state, and local child and family general education and special populations, and conducts alignment policies. The Center’s acclaimed Program for studies, standards reviews, and research on access of standards Infant/Toddler Care is the most widely used and assessment for all student populations. ASDS assessment and training system for infant and toddler care- standards reviews range from language arts, mathematics, science, givers in the country, and its DVD/video and 4 and social science to emerging fields such as college and career print materials are distributed worldwide. In readiness. ASDS is the Project Management Partner for the multistate 2011, CCFS supported the federal Early Head Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium — the first collaboration of Start National Resource Center by providing its kind to develop a common assessment system among a majority of CATALYST FORCATALYST IMPROVEMENT intensive, high-quality training to more than states. As lead agency of the national Assessment and Accountability 1,200 Early Head Start providers nationwide. Comprehensive Center, ASDS has particular expertise in assessments for underserved student populations, including English learners and MORE ONLINE: WESTED.ORG/CCFS students with disabilities. MORE ONLINE: WESTED.ORG/ASDS | WestEd Annual Report Annual WestEd 2011 Center for Prevention & Early Intervention DIRECTOR: VIRGINIA REYNOLDS WestEd’s Center for Prevention and Early Comprehensive School Assistance Program Intervention