An Introduction to NCRERN's New York & Ohio Rural Research Network

This brief introduces NCRERN’s New York and Ohio Rural Research Network, a collaborative research-practice partnership launched in 2019 to support rural districts in using evidence-based strategies to improve student outcomes. Initially composed of 30 New York and 20 Ohio rural districts, the network engages partners in a structured Proving Ground continuous improvement process, guiding districts through understanding data trends, identifying root causes, selecting and designing interventions, and rigorously piloting and evaluating them. The network has focused on three priority areas: attendance, postsecondary readiness, and postsecondary entry. Districts collectively select interventions to test—pooling their student populations to ensure sufficient sample sizes for rigorous evaluation—and receive ongoing implementation support and rapid-cycle results to inform decisions about scaling, revising, or discontinuing programs. The brief also describes the demographic characteristics of partner districts, which tend to be small and predominantly White, with New York districts generally smaller and more economically disadvantaged than Ohio districts. Despite pandemic-related challenges and district attrition, NCRERN has continued to pilot and test multiple interventions while expanding its network.