An Education Week blog post presents research findings on bridging the research-practice divide in our nation’s education system. The study asked, “What are the features of strong, positive, and useful relationships between researchers and practitioners?” The researchers, Christopher Harrison (Montana State University Billings) and Kristen Davidson and Caitlin Farrell (University of Colorado Boulder’s National Center for Research in Policy and Practice), found that practitioners value three key characteristics in research-practice partnerships. First, researchers’ work should benefit the school district’s work. Second, researchers should make efforts to develop trust and relationships with practitioners. Lastly, researchers should plan for ongoing engagement with local districts. The advice is relevant to those seeking to enact the six core principles of improvement, in particular “accelerate improvements through networked communities.” Read more about the study.