Hawley Begins Serving on the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Board of Directors 

MADISON, S.D. — Dr. Tom Hawley, Dean of the College of Education at Dakota State University, has joined the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Board of Directors. McREL, a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., builds on research to solve specific problems in education today and develops widely acclaimed PreK–16 products that are used by educators to maximize student learning.

“We are delighted that Tom Hawley has joined our Board,” said McREL President and CEO Tim Waters. “Tom has had an exceptional career as a military educator and brings to our Board 20-plus years of experience in education, technology integration, and leadership development. His innovative ideas and dedication to preparing tomorrow’s educational leaders will be invaluable as our organization looks to the future.”

McREL’s 27-member Board represents educators, policymakers, and business people from the seven-state region — Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming — that McREL serves through contracts with the U.S. Department of Education. Through these competitive contracts, McREL staff members leverage knowledge and translate it into services to policymakers and educators that lead to positive learning outcomes for students.

“Each time I work with McREL, I have been impressed with their professional and knowledgeable leadership team and staff who are on the cutting edge of what works in schools and classrooms across this region,” said Hawley.

In South Dakota, for example, McREL consultants visit individual schools throughout the year and address site-specific needs, such as improving reading scores or building mathematics skills. Four schools — Spring Creek Elementary on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, Newell Elementary and Middle Schools, and Alcester-Hudson Elementary School — are working within a framework of distributed leadership to plan and implement school improvement processes.

Common areas of work are enhancing instructional practices, improving parent and family involvement, and using data. “At McREL-sponsored data retreats, we have learned how to look at data and process how what we do as teachers affects our students’ performance,” said one school team member.

Hawley joins several other Board members from South Dakota, including Dianna Miller, Executive Director of the South Dakota Mining Association and Rick Melmer, South Dakota Department of Education secretary.

“I am honored to have been selected to serve on the McREL Board of Directors. We are fortunate to have an organization like MCREL serving our state,” said Hawley, who previously served as interim secretary at the South Dakota Department of Education. “With the increased focus on professional development and school improvement, McREL offers a wide array of technical services and practical expertise which greatly improves K–12 achievement.”

In 2002, McREL delivered services to clients in 40 states and seven foreign countries and had annual revenues of more than $11 million.

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McREL is a nationally recognized, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality, field-tested, research-based products and services available in Pre-K–16 education.