The SERP field site Core Group

The Core Group includes both the district and the research leadership. This group plays a guiding role, ensuring that the research, development and evaluation work is closely tied to district priorities and decision making. The assumption at the heart of the SERP structure is that incorporation of research knowledge into practice does not happen simply because a researcher or designer provides clear guidelines about “what to do.” It requires that the work be responsive from the start to the district’s needs, processes, and people. The Core Group is the mechanism to ensure this responsiveness.

The Core Group membership from a district always includes the District Superintendent and the Chief Academic Officer (or equivalent position). Others from the district who are critical to the work, including instructional leaders in the targeted areas, are invited by the District’s leadership to participate. Participants from outside the district include a senior representative of the SERP Institute in Washington, DC, the local SERP Field Site Director, and lead researchers. Others who are critical players in the local context may be added by mutual agreement of the District and SERP leadership.

The core group will meet monthly, and will be critical to getting research and development (R&D) in context done effectively. From the researchers’ standpoint, the transaction costs of engaging in the R&D are reduced because the district leadership can facilitate the work. For example, the district can solicit parent permissions when needed in the regular course of communication between the schools and parents, and can provide the legal agreement required for data use, as well as the personnel who can explain the history behind critical data -- like how a program was rolled out, and how teachers and/or students were selected for participation in it. Administrators, in turn, have their transaction costs reduced substantially. The SERP team will carry the responsibility for identifying, recruiting, and coordinating the research and development talent needed for the work. SERP researchers will also provide administrators with independent observations on sources of strength and weakness in the districts’ schools that can be built upon or addressed in the collaborative work.

The core group is a unique feature of the SERP field site model. While there are many partnerships between researchers and school districts, these are often peripheral to school district decision making. The continuous interaction of those involved in the research and development with the district’s leaders creates an unprecedented opportunity both for making research and development relevant to district and school priorities, and for integrating the evidence obtained from research into district decision making.