The Regional Educational Laboratory Program is the U.S. Department of Education's largest research and development investment designed to help educators, policymakers, and communities improve schools and help all students attain their potential. The network of 10 regional laboratories works to ensure that those involved in education improvement at local, state, and regional levels have access to the best available research and knowledge from practice. Under the guidance of boards of constituent members, laboratories work to implement comprehensive school improvement strategies through dissemination of information, training, and technical assistance. They also conduct development and applied research and cooperate with other providers of technical assistance. Each laboratory has been asked to develop one expertise as a specialty area aligned with the dominant themes of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement National Institutes. The laboratories and their specialty areas are: (1) Northeast and Islands Laboratory at Brown University (Rhode Island), language and cultural diversity; (2) Mid-Atlantic Laboratory for Student Success (Pennsylvania), urban education; (3) Appalachia Educational Laboratory (West Virginia), rural education; (4) Southeaster Regional Vision for Education (North Carolina), early childhood education; (5) North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (Illinois), educational technology; (6) Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (Texas), language and cultural diversity; (7) Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (Colorado), curriculum, learning, and instruction; (8) WestED (California), assessment and accountability; (9) Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (Oregon), school change processes; and (10) Pacific Region Educational Laboratory (Hawaii), language and cultural diversity. (SLD)