Who We Are

The Systems Development & Improvement (SDI) Center is one of several centers that are part of the UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH). UC SDI fosters the development, implementation, and evaluation of P20 education research and demonstration efforts that improve opportunities to learn for children and youth, their families, and the professionals who support them. At the core of many UC SDI activities is a commitment to advocacy on behalf of all children, as well as partnerships – with school districts, with professional associations, with institutions of higher education, with regional providers, with the state – that improve conditions and outcomes for students with disabilities and other marginalized groups of learners (e.g., learners who are economically disadvantaged, BIPOC learners, learners at risk of school failure for a variety of reasons, etc.). 

All UC SDI projects are designed to increase equity and improve the capacity of districts to meet the educational needs of all learners. Center projects are organized in areas of work that include: (1) inclusive instructional leadership, (2) structured literacy approaches grounded in the science of reading, (3) technical assistance and dissemination in low incidence sensory disabilities, (4) personnel preparation and professional learning activities to build the professional capital to meet effectively a wider range of student instructional and educational needs, (5) program evaluation activities designed to support program improvement and effectiveness, and (6) other innovative efforts, consistent with the priorities of the Center and of CECH, customized based on client need and request.