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LOS ANGELES — The National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), a professional development initiative that was begun in 1995 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, has selected UCLA School Management Program (SMP) faculty member Debra Laidley as one of its co-directors.

The NSRF, which is located in the Harmony School Education Center (HSEC) in Bloomington, Indiana, supports 35,000 teachers, principals, and college professors at more than 1,500 schools and universities in its effort to foster equality in education and society.

Among the NSRF’s responsibilities is the certification of “Critical Friends Group” institutes. “Critical Friends Groups” are teams of six to 12 educators who work together to identify ways to improve education at a particular school while focusing on the unique challenges faced by that student body. Certified programs, such as those offered by SMP, provide professional development for CFG coaches who help the groups analyze teacher and student work in pursuit of improvement.

Laidley has been with SMP since 1996 and coordinates the program’s “Critical Friends Groups New Coaches Institutes.” A graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles with a Master’s Degree in educational administration, Laidley began her career as a teacher in 1978 and has taught English, English as a second language, student leadership, and journalism in grades 7-12.

In addition to her ongoing position with SMP, Laidley is a secondary literacy specialist with the Los Angeles Unified School District.