Program: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence , Santa Cruz, CA Contact(s): Roland Tharp, Director: (408) 459-3500 Purpose: To move issues of risk, diversity and excellence to the forefront of discussions concerning educational research, policy and practice Background Program Operations Outcomes Background The Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California, Santa Cruz is a five-year program funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. The project began in 1996 and impacts policies and practices in education for the benefit of all children. CREDE's research and training focuses on critical issues relating to the education of minority students and students deemed at-risk by factors of race, poverty and geographic location. Program Operations CREDE operates 32 research projects under six programmatic strands: language learning and academic achievement; professional development; family, peers, school and community; instruction in context; integrated school reform; and assessment. The participants in these programs engage in education research, information dissemination and implementation of research-based education practices. They learn and practice methods of effective teaching and learning for diverse, at-risk students. Each of CREDE's 32 research projects illuminates a focus point under one of the six overall programmatic topics. In each of these projects, a team of principal investigators, who are experts in the area, work with a group of participants, generally teachers and students affected by the topic, to determine the relevant information concerning the particular subject. For example, in one of the center's projects related to family, peers, school and community, an expert from the Center for Applied Linguistics works with English Language Learners (ELL), and school and community-based organizations, to identify the essential features of successful partnerships between schools and community-based organizations that support the academic achievement of ELLs. Outcomes and Significant Accomplishments CREDE's research has led to the development of "Teaching Alive!: Five Standards for Effective Teaching and Learning," a pre-service and in-service professional development program for comprehensive school reform. The program includes an interactive CD-ROM and user's guide, and a training manual. Thirty-three schools have implemented, or are currently implementing, the "Teaching Alive!: Five Standards for Effective Teaching and Learning."