College of Education and Human Development

Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement

About the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI)

Our Mission

Is to maximize wellbeing in schools, families, and communities.
 

Our Vision

Is to become the premier hub for making research accessible and actionable to ensure equitable outcomes.

Our Values

We are: 

  • Collaborative: We listen, support, and respectfully challenge each other for the sake of a collective goal.
  • Advocates: We put people first. We maintain humility and integrity while seeking justice for children, families and communities, even when it's not easy.
  • Responsive: We engage our collaborators to seek out their individual needs and goals and tailor our approach in ways that recognize their unique perspectives.
  • Equity-focused: We value equity, inclusion, and dignity. We insist on a culture of respect and we strive to be an antiracist organization. We align our words with action.
  • Innovative: We challenge assumptions. We embrace curiosity, change, and encourage new ideas.

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

We are committed to tackling injustices and embracing diversity by continuously engaging with principles of equity, antiracism, cultural responsiveness, and intersectionality. We seek to learn about, live out, and promote these principles in our work with educational programs and systems as applied researchers, evaluators, trainers, and coaches.

CAREI is proud to be a co-lead of the Region 10 Comprehensive Center (R10CC)

CAREI is proud to be one of three operating organizations of the Region 10 Comprehensive Center (R10CC), serving Minnesota and Wisconsin. As one of 19 federally funded centers, the WMCC10 aims to improve the academic achievement of elementary and secondary school students in the two-state region by advancing the use of evidence-based practices.

The center is operated by CAREI and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC) and Education Analytics (EA). The WMCC10 team has extensive experience working with the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI), Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), regional education support organizations, professional associations, and school districts to translate research into practical applications.