Central Educational Center Evaluation and Dissemination
NIWL conducted a small-scale study of the Central Educational Center (CEC)‚ in Newnan‚ Georgia‚ in 2002 to document the promise and potential of the school’s partnership model. Researchers conducted a critical assessment of the CEC model in general‚ reviewing critical dimensions such as curriculum design‚ instructional practice‚ career development of students‚ recruitment and professional development of staff‚ and student assessment and credentialing‚ but focused most attention on the external relationships that helped establish and support CEC. Published by the U.S. Department of Labor‚ Reconceptualizing Education as an Engine of Economic Development: A Case Study of the Central Educational Center shares developmental design features, promising practices‚ and lessons learned.
NIWL is now partnering with CEC and Florida State University in a dissemination project‚ sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education‚ designed to replicate the CEC model in communities throughout the state. The dissemination team is assisting three Georgia school districts‚ identified through a rigorous application process‚ with the planning and startup of new public charter schools to be operational by September 2006. These districts are located in Douglas‚ Walton‚ and Whitfield counties.
The CEC dissemination team is providing a combination of mentoring‚ professional development‚ and technical assistance to the selected communities as they design‚ develop‚ and launch new charter schools based on the essential elements and principles that underscore the current CEC model. The team will also develop‚ produce‚ and disseminate materials to serve as guides to school districts throughout the state and beyond on the practices and strategies employed by CEC and its protégé schools in launching and sustaining successful charter schools. A key dissemination mechanism will be an interactive training website.
NIWL provides overall project management to CEC and is responsible for developing the replication process‚ monitoring the communities that are implementing the CEC model‚ providing technical assistance through site visits‚ conferences‚ and workshops, and developing written and electronic replication materials and resources. As the national partner in this effort‚ NIWL also offers information resources from its broad experience in career and technical education to the replicating communities and takes the lead in raising visibility for the Georgia efforts among policy‚ research‚ and general audiences.