Joining Character Lab Research Network (CLRN)

How can I help my district become part of CLRN? 

Your participation starts with filling out the interest form! After you submit, our team will contact you regarding next steps.

How are districts chosen to become part of CLRN?

The School Partnerships Team reviews interested districts on a regular basis to determine which districts will join the network. We value amplifying the voices of students traditionally underrepresented in education research. At this time, we are focusing on partnering with districts and schools that serve predominantly Latinx or Black students as well as rural school districts.

Other districts and schools are still encouraged to fill out the interest form to join our prospective partner list.

If my district is not immediately selected to join CLRN, what happens next?

If you are not selected to join CLRN immediately, you will be added to our list of prospective partner districts. You can expect communication from our team on your status and anticipated next steps.

What are my district’s next steps if accepted to the network? 

Your district will work closely with Character Lab to ensure you are set up to run research activities as soon as possible.

Districts nominate and recruit the specific middle and high schools that will participate in CLRN by connecting Character Lab with school principals.

Once schools are enrolled in CLRN, each school nominates a School Research Lead, a detail-oriented teacher or administrator who will be paid and trained for their efforts to coordinate activities.

Your Character Lab contact will work with your tech team to integrate our digital platform. The digital platform enables students to engage in research activities using a Single Sign-On (SSO) which allows us to link all data points (such as age, grade level, and school) for a student. We also ask our school partners to export requested variables from their student information systems that are sent through a secure file exchange site.

Is there a cost to participate?

There is no cost to your district to participate in Character Lab. Philanthropic donations allow us to make a significant financial investment in each of our districts, including free training opportunities, a paid School Research Lead position, and a paid student leadership program.