Florida and the Islands Regional Comprehensive Center at ETS

The Regional Comprehensive Center for Florida and the Islands is operated by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The Center is one of 16 regional centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The mission of this and all technical-assistance regional centers is to help low-performing districts and schools close achievement gaps and meet the goals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.

Purpose of the Comprehensive Center

The Florida and Islands Regional Comprehensive Center serves the state of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Center is located in Tampa, Florida.

The Center offers technical assistance in the following areas:

Implementing school improvement efforts to help meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements
Identifying and adopting instructional and assessment methods that have been proven effective through scientifically based research, especially for students with special needs
Designing programs and strategies and allocating resources to recruit, train, and retain talented teachers and school leaders
Enhancing assessment and accountability systems

Goals and Objectives of the Comprehensive Center

The Center focuses on 5 prime initiatives:

Teacher quality
Leadership quality
Implementation of data- and research-based strategies to turn around low-performing schools
Strategies to meet the needs of special populations
Community and stakeholder involvement