The Center for Education Policy and Leadership (CEPAL) aims to foster connections between the research and practice of urban education policy and leadership in public elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education in the United States. Our focus stems in part from two main assumptions: deep ties to practice are essential to the generation of useable research; and practice can be enhanced with strong connections to research. CEPAL’s research projects engage a range of partners across the country from schools and community-based youth organizations to local and state governments and federal agencies. A major strand of CEPAL’s work involves the dissemination of timely research findings in a variety of formats to school and school district leaders, and policymakers in Maryland and Washington DC, and to audiences nationwide.

CEPAL is based at the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, a Research I and nationally ranked university in the DC Metropolitan Area.

As part of our dissemination efforts, this website provides direct links to information about CEPAL research projects, publications, and news & events. We welcome you to review our work and share it with others.

- Robert Croninger, Director