Overview
Rebecca Bates has more than 25 years of experience in K–12 education as a teacher leader, technical assistance provider, and researcher. Bates has led large federal technical assistance grants with multiple concurrent projects covering a range of topics including literacy, school improvement, and policy development and implementation. Her projects involve collaborating with multiple teams and partners at the local, state, and federal levels. She has experience designing and leading professional development, developing guidance and resources, engaging diverse populations, and translating research into practice. She has developed tools, training, materials, and assessments as the literacy content lead for various research studies, including IES studies.
Currently, Bates leads communication and dissemination activities for REL Northwest and other literacy projects across WestEd. She focuses on translating research to practice and providing educators and education leaders with the resources they need to support implementation. She prioritizes communication with educators and educator leaders and seeks to provide opportunity and support for change without adding burden.
Before joining WestEd, Bates was the deputy director of the Region 9 Comprehensive Center and lead technical consultant for comprehensive literacy state development grantees. As a former English teacher and reading specialist, Bates understands what is takes to implement evidence-based practices and how to communicate with educators who are creating conditions where all children have the opportunity to learn.
Education
- MEd, University of Alaska Southeast
- Teaching Certificate, Western Oregon University
- BA in English, Oregon State University
Select Publications
Asqueri, E., Bates, R, & Stackhouse, S. (2024, May). Improving outcomes for all students in Oregon. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/Products/Region/northwest/Blog/107979
Hymel, A., Heigham, I., Bates, R., & Smith, R. (2024, January 29). Using data to make decisions: Portland public schools’ quest to engage students. REL Northwest. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/Products/Region/northwest/Blog/107573
Bates, R. (2022). Literacy stakeholder engagement meeting, October 25, 2022: Summary of themes. Illinois State Board of Education. https://www.isbe.net/Documents/102522LiteracySummitSummary.pdf
Bates, R., & Humphries, B. (2022, March 1-3). Using CLSD data to tell a story [Paper presentation]. The 2022 Comprehensive State Development Program National Convening: Mapping Our Progress: Advancing Literacy in the Face of COVID-19. Virtual.
Dwyer, C., Williams, J., Hoffman, K., Gumm, R., & Bates, R. (2022). Literacy leads, content follows, students thrive: Advice for grades 4–8 literacy leaders. National Comprehensive Center at Westat. https://compcenternetwork.org/ccn-products/multimedia/literacy-guide-4-8.
Roach, A., & Bates, R. (2020, November 11). What’s working in education during COVID-19? Region 9 Comprehensive Center. https://region9cc.org/blog/whats-working-education-during-covid-19
Thomas, B., Davis, L., Bates, R., & Thornton-Garett, T. (2019). How teachers can use WWC practice guides [Webinar]. What Works Clearinghouse. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/multimedia/47
Carnahan, D., Bates, R., & Brooks, G. (2009, November). Examining alignment and quality of the written ELA curriculum: Results and implications from seven school districts [Paper presentation]. The Literacy Research Conference Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, United States.