Our Goal

High-quality teaching and learning for each student, in every classroom.

The Center for Educational Leadership’s (CEL) mission is to improve learning for all students while eliminating long-standing academic achievement gaps. 

As a nonprofit center within the University of Washington College of Education, our access to current research and best practices makes our work toward this goal especially effective.

Our Theory of Action

CEL’s work rests upon the critical assumption that the single most important factor in supporting student learning is the quality of classroom instruction.   We know that in order to support excellent teaching, school leaders and teachers need to acquire and develop expertise about what constitutes powerful instruction.  To achieve that goal, CEL develops the leadership skills, content and instructional knowledge and abilities of teachers, school administrators, and district leaders. 

Our Track Record

CEL has commissioned research through the UW Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy to analyze the impact of CEL’s professional development work with school districts.  As a result of these studies, we have learned that:

• Principals and district coaches improve in their ability to analyze instruction and provide specific and meaningful feedback to teachers;
• Teacher practice improves when administrators and coaches support and model quality instruction; 
• Student learning increases when schools and districts have focused and intentional instructional leadership.

To learn more about CEL’s research briefs, access our Case Studies page.

Click here to download our brochure describing our services.

Contact us for a no-cost consultation of how we can support the improvement of teaching and learning in your district.