Evaluating Emergency Licensure in Massachusetts
Funded by: Comm of MA/DESE
Amount: $100,000
Dates: 8/16/21-6/30/23
Summary: The closure of schools and test-centers in response to Covid prevented many candidates from satisfying the typical requirements of in-person student teaching and passing licensure exams. In response, Massachusetts has authorized an emergency license to be in effect for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. This evaluation will provide a thorough accounting of the implementation of emergency licensure, along with its costs and benefits. We will work closely with the leadership in the Department to hone these questions to ensure that the evaluation directly informs further regulatory action connected to emergency licensure.
 
Forecasting Educator Diversity Supply & Demand in Massachusetts
Funded by: The Barr Foundation via MassINC
Amount: $50,000
Dates: 1/9/23-7/8/23
Summary: Massachusetts has set forth the goal that by 2030 at least 26% of the teacher workforce will be educators of color. This study will provide additional insight in support of this goal by forecasting the supply and demand of educator diversity in Massachusetts over the next ten years. The report will also frame the issue within a broader context, pulling in additional state and national research and incorporating information about efforts already underway in the state.

Project PS-LinC: Preparing Scholar Leaders to Study Interventions and Complex Systems Shaping the Lives and Outcomes of Students wth Disabilities: A Special Education Leadership Preparation Program
Funded by: USDoED
Amount: $2,500,000
Dates: 11/1/19-10/31/22
Summary: The purpose of PS-LInC is to admit and prepare ten special education PhD scholars (5 at BU Wheelock, 5 at UConn Neag) to enter faculty positions at research-focused universities, ideally R1s. Scholars will be prepared to conduct methodologically and conceptually rigorous interdisciplinary investigations of how complex systems operate, in interaction with educational systems, to serve students with disabilities. PS-LInC will provide an opportunity to recruit, substantially fund, and train a one-time cohort of five special education doctoral students. This grant will provide an opportunity for our research-active faculty to train the next generation of special education researchers, thereby strengthening the program and increasing its national visibility.

Collaborative Research: Quantifying systematicity, iconicity, and arbitrariness in the American Sign Language Lexicon
Funded by: NSF
Amount: 317,838
Dates: 9/1/19-8/31/23
Summary: This collaborative project will study how signs convey meaning in American Sign Language (ASL) by analyzing the semantic organization of the ASL lexicon. However, current theories are predominantly built upon evidence from spoken languages, and may underrepresent characteristics that are particularly common to sign languages. This project represents the first comprehensive quantitative analysis of the semantic organization of the ASL lexicon. Specifically, this project aims to 1) conduct a lexicon-wide evaluation of the semantic associations between signs, 2) characterize iconic and non-iconic systematic relationships between form and meaning using visualization techniques inspired by network science, and 3) implement a novel approach to quantify iconicity in a subset of the lexicon in an effort to understand which semantic features participate in iconic mappings and how iconicity might shape semantic processing.
 
Effects of input quality on ASL vocabulary acquisition in deaf children
Funded by: NIH
Amount: $2,751,661
Dates: 5/8/20-4/30/25
Summary: The majority of deaf children experience a period of limited exposure to language (spoken or signed), which has cascading effects on many aspects of cognition. The goal of the current project is to understand how children build a vocabulary in sign language, and whether and how this differs for deaf children who have limited exposure to a sign language. These data will be made publicly available to researchers and practitioners interested in sign language vocabulary development.
 
The Fourth International Conference on Sign Language Acquisition
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $49,982
Dates: 5/1/21-10/31/23
Summary: The aim of this project is to host the International Conference on Sign Language Acquisition (ICSLA) which will bring together researchers from around the world who focus on topics associated with the acquisition of sign languages, as a first or second language. The goal is to make sign language acquisition research accessible to practitioners, and to inform research as to the practical needs of people working most closely with deaf children. Research on sign language acquisition has the potential for profound impacts on the lives of deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. We aim to set an example by doing more than simply providing access to deaf participants, but by centering the conference on the experiences and expertise of deaf children, students, educators, and researchers.

Promoting Language and Literacy Among the Youngest English Learners: The Nuestros Ninos Professional Development Program
Funded by: US Department of Education
Amount: $2,868,044
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/27
Summary: Dr. Castro will work with Dr. Gillanders on the design of the NNP courses and coaching mediation, including developing the fidelity of implementation and formative assessment measures. She will be responsible for implementing the NNP courses with teachers, assistant teachers, and coaches, including mentoring of the master coaches and supervising the adjunct instructor, in collaboration with District Partners during Years 1-5. She will work with Drs. Seidel, Franco, and Gillanders to ensure evaluation activities are conducted as planned and reports of project activities can be submitted timely. Dr. Castro, in collaboration with Dr. Gillanders, will be responsible for preparing and submitting project progress and final reports to OELA. She will collaborate with colleagues in the dissemination of project findings through preparing PD resources, submitting manuscripts, and presenting at local, national, and international conferences.

Project Ignite: Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Professional Learning Communities
Funded by: Middle LLC
Amount: $202,848
Dates: 9/1/21-6/30/24
 
Evaluating the Providence Leadership Development Academy & Residency
Funded by: USDoED-OESE via Brown Univ
Amount: $37,155
Dates: 10/1/21-9/30/23
Summary: The Providence Public School District (PPSD) in Providence, Rhode Island, with support from the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (TSL) grant award, is seeking to improve their current human capital management system through the redesign of their current leadership development model. Together with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, we will conduct a rigorous impact and implementation evaluation of the Providence Leadership Development Academy (PDLA), a leadership development model that includes the PLDA Residency, a teacher-to-principalship pathway program for highly effective teachers.

CAREER: Developing Critical STEM Thinkers: Optimizing Explanations in Inquiry-based Learning
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,109,984
Dates: 6/1/2017-5/31/2023
Summary: This early CAREER proposal includes integrated research and education objectives to develop a detailed understanding of how preschoolers critically evaluate explanations from adults in STEM learning situations. Specifically, the PI will conduct (1) observations of questions and explanations in an inquiry-based preschool; (2) systematic experiments in laboratory and museum settings to explore how various aspects of an explanation impact children’s STEM learning; and (3) an intervention designed to promote scientific thinking in parent-child dyads in a museum setting. The work will produce generalizable insights, distributed widely, into how to leverage the explanations from social others to optimize STEM learning in a variety of contexts. The proposed research also investigates methods that museums can use to promote parental engagement in informal learning settings, and therefore has the potential to enhance scientific engagement for both the adult and child beyond the museum.
 
Developing Belief: The Development and Diversity of Religious Cognition and Behavior
Funded by: Templeton Foundation via University of California at Riverside
Amount: $2,723,128
Dates: 6/1/20-5/31/25
Summary: The Developing Belief Network will coordinate an international team of scholars in the collaborative study of the development and diversity of religious cognition and behavior, addressing two critical gaps in current understanding of the development and diversity of religious beliefs and behaviors. We will also build capacity within this field by funding stipends for writing up and publishing the findings from relevant dissertation research, as well as by making the validated tasks publicly available for use by interested scholars.
 
Multi-Gen STEM Makerspaces in Affordable Housing: Co-Designing a Model with the Community
Funded by: NSF via CAST
Amount: $151,038
Dates: 7/1/20-6/30/23
Summary: Makerspaces are learning environments that engage participants in authentic science and engineering practices, using hands-on and collaborative approaches to support activities and projects that foster creativity, interest, and skill development. This project will produce a model for a STEM makerspace that focuses on increasing access. The model has four critical components that operate together: affordable housing, informal STEM learning, maker education, and multi-generational learning. The project will support mobility from poverty by including STEM learning as part of the resident services.
 
Natural and supernatural representations in nonreligious households: Examining nonreligious parents’ and children’s explicit and implicit beliefs
Funded by: Templeton Foundation via Texas State University
Amount: $70,638
Dates: 1/15/21-1/14/24
Summary: The goal of this project is to systematically explore the development of children’s beliefs in nonreligious households by evaluating the explanations their parents provide about concepts from two domains: science and religion. Little is known about the beliefs of nonreligious parents—a growing U.S. demographic—and even less is known about the mechanisms by which their children develop an understanding of religious concepts. We will also develop a flexible online testing system to secure a geographically-diverse sample and provide a basis for advancing methods in parent-child research.
 
The development of curiosity and relations to STEM learning in childhood
Funded by: Templeton Foundation via University of Virginia
Amount: $21,902
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/23
Summary: Dr. Kathleen Corriveau will supervise a postdoctoral researcher at Boston University who will contribute 25% effort to this work from September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023. The postdoc is Dr. Shoronda Matthews, currently a PhD student with PI Jirout graduating in August, 2022. Dr. Matthews is contributing to ongoing collaborative parts of Dr. Jirout’s Templeton project, and this subaward will support her continued effort toward the project during her postdoctoral position. She will also be engaging in work exploring the impact of intergenerational makerspaces on STEM learning and motivation, as well as engaging in developing new collaborative ideas with Dr. Corriveau.

Researchers Investigating Sociocultural Equity and Race (RISER): Network for Research, Policy, & Practice on Black Child Development & Learning
Funded by: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Amount: $307,000
Dates: 6/1/2020-12/31/2022
Summary: The purpose of the RISER Network is to focus on exploring factors that lead to equitable opportunities for Black/African American children within family, education, and health contexts. Our approach includes examining children within the family context using the inter-generational approach of parents-children as well as within the early care and education (ECE) context using the teacher-child inter-generational approach. The goals/aims of the RISER Network are to establish an inter-disciplinary group of scholars committed to working collaboratively to: (1) Enhance Scholarship on Black/African American children by conducting applied child development research that adopts the philosophies of a health equity framework.
 
Center for the Ecology of Early Development (CEED)
Funded by: Kellogg Foundation
Amount: $300,000
Dates: 12/1/20-12/30/23
Summary: The purpose of this project is to support the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED, bu-ceed.org) in order to facilitate CEED accomplishing its vision, mission, and core beliefs, which are described in Slide 2-3 of the Supplemental Materials. More specifically, the funding will support CEED’s work in Priority foci 2, 3, and 4. (See Slide 4.) CEED is led by Executive Director Dr. Stephanie Curenton who is a national expert in early childhood education, development psychology, and child policy. The other CEED staff are described in Figure 1. Organization Structure (Slide 5). This project would support the Director of Practice and Administrative Coordinator positions charged with activities related to (a) networking and partnership building with cities and (b) program evaluation and professional development around racial equity in early childhood systems.
 
WuYee Head Start ACSES Project
Funded by: Wu Yee Children’s Services
Amount: $93,387
Dates: 5/1/21-4/30/23
Summary: This project works to promote equitable sociocultural interactions and mindsets among early childhood educators in San Francisco. Curenton will provide professional development (e.g., online courses, webinars, or book studies) around racial equity in early childhood classrooms and practices to Wu Yee Children’s Services , Family Childcare Association of San Francisco (FCCASF), Black/African American Child Ad-hoc Committee, and other interested community partners. Curenton and her team will use the information they learn from the observations to revise ACSES for infant-toddler classrooms and for family child care. The tool will also be refined to include aspects of ACSES-Voice, a measure of linguistic equity, and ACSES-Snapshot, a measure of individual children’s experiences in the classroom.
 
Assessing Equitable Classroom Environments
Funded by: Gates Foundation
Amount: $400,000
Dates: 5/25/21-5/31/23
Summary: As part of understanding and ensuring quality early learning environments are experienced by children in our target populations (Black and Latino children, and children experiencing poverty), it is important to consider whether children are receiving equitable learning experiencing within a classroom. Children of color in classrooms with teachers that receive high scores on the Assessing Classroom Sociocultural Equity Scale (ACSES) make larger gains during the Pre-K year than those learning from teachers who do not perform as well. This provides an exciting opportunity to consider what types of teacher behaviors and targeted PD might improve outcomes for Black pre-K aged children. This funding would be to pilot the ACSES tool in varied environments and to ensure that it is efficacious in dual-language environments and varied demographic contexts.
 
CEED Operation and Infrastructure
Funded by: Imaginable Futures
Amount: $450,000
Dates: 5/15/21-4/30/23
Summary: The purpose of this grant is to support the operation and infrastructure of CEED. Revamping of the education system requires the field to re-conceptualize how we view Black children entirely, and this reconceptualization needs to start early and prior to formal school entry. CEED is a university-based early childhood research center specifically focused on the childcare and early education needs of Black children, starting at the prenatal period through elementary school.
 
Capacity Building for the Center on the Ecology of Early Development
Funded by: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Amount: $1,500,000
Dates: 7/1/21-6/30/25
Summary: The purpose of this project is to support the capacity building work of the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED) at Boston University in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Specifically, the grant for this project will support capacity building efforts, such as operation and infrastructure development, to provide funds for these strategic objectives including (1) Personnel, (2) Unencumbered Funds for Research Innovation, (3) Dissemination of Applied Research to Policy Makers and Early Childhood Stakeholders, and (4) Fellowships for Graduate Students to complete a 1-year certificate in Child & Youth Policy.
 
Evaluating projects to advance inclusive state coalitions in advocating equitable access to Head Start and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Funded by: Center for Evaluation Innovation via RWJ
Amount: $150,500
Dates: 2/15/21-8/14/22
Summary: RWJF is funding two projects intended to support state and federal advocacy infrastructure on Early Head Start/Head Start (EHS/HS) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The purpose of this project is to evaluate these two projects in order to determine how these projects support the state advocacy infrastructure to advance equitable access to Early/Head Start and IDEA.
 
Understanding the impact of interpersonal and structural racism on developmental outcomes for infants, toddlers, and preschool children
Funded by: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Amount: $500,000
Dates: 1/15/22-1/14/24
Summary: Members from the RISERNetwork already partner with the scholars for the RAPID-EC project, and to make that work more applicable to this project we will specifically focus on the survey questions related to racism, maternal experiences with pregnancy and delivery. Those partners who agree to be part of the project will engage in the following activities: (1) review the literature across key developmental time periods and research areas, including maternal and child health, infant health and development, and preschool health and development with the underlying assumption being that racism undergirds disparities in health and early education, and (2) participate in a convening to define the topics and organization of the report.
 
Multnomah County Preschool for All Evaluation
Funded by: W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Amount: $800,000
Dates: 1/1/22-12/31/23
Summary: Multnomah County has partnered with community and early learning organizations to develop an affordable and accessible Preschool for All (PFA) program for 3- to 4-year-olds across the county. PFA takes into consideration the W.K. Kellogg’s racial equity and racial healing framework by placing racial equity and culturally responsive practices at the heart of PFA, and it is also a prominent focus of the evaluation. Our objective is to work in partnership with leaders from Multnomah Department of Human Services on a 4-year evaluation investigating the implementation of PFA. The goal of the evaluation is to assess PFA’s efforts to expand access to quality affordable, culturally responsive, and racially equitable early care and education opportunities.
 
Children’s Literacy Initiative – ACCESS
Amount: $100,000
Dates: 5/10/22-3/31/23
Summary: Ximena Franco- Jenkins will conduct an audit tool for pre-K curriculum focused on culturally responsive anti-bias anti-racist philosophy. Ximena will organize the literature review that is needed to support the development of the tool, guide the research assistants who are engaging in the work via weekly meetings in which assignments are given and reviewed, serve as co-author for any report or audit tool that is developed, create the PowerPoint presentation that will describe the work, and collaborate with CEED staff on related work for this project and others within the scope and mission of CEED.

Jumpstart 2022-2023
Funded by: Americorps via Jumpstart
Amount: $8128,302
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/23

Upward Bound
Funded by: US Department of Education
Amount: $2,294,340
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/27
Summary: Upward Bound at Boston University seeks to provide services to 86 low-income, first-generation college-bound students with potential and in need of academic support to enable them to successfully pursue a program of postsecondary education. Program services will include an academically intensive six-week on-campus summer residential program and a 27-week afterschool program that includes tutoring, SAT and MCAS preparation courses, and Senior Workshop that supports students through the college and financial aid application processes, as well as preparing them for the transition the first year of college. The program goals are to support students’ academic and socio-emotional growth so that they meet proficiency on state-wide testing, achieve and sustain the grades in a rigorous high school curriculum necessary for college admission, and demonstrate postsecondary completion.
 
Upward Bound Math and Science
Funded by: US Department of Education
Amount: $1,488,005
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/27
Summary: Upward Bound Math/Science at Boston University seeks to provide services to 50 low-income, first-generation college-bound students with potential and in need of academic support to enable them to successfully pursue a program of postsecondary education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Program services will include an academically intensive six-week on-campus summer residential program and a 27-week afterschool program that includes tutoring, SAT and MCAS preparation courses, and Senior Workshop that supports students through the college and financial aid application processes, as well as preparing them for the transition the first year of college. The goals are to support students so that they meet proficiency on state testing, achieve and sustain the grades in a rigorous high school curriculum necessary for college admission, and demonstrate postsecondary completion.
 
GEAR UP MA-ASA/BU 2022-2025
Funded by: US Department of Education via American Student Assistance
Amount: $1,412,034
Dates: 10/1/22-9/30/25
Summary: This project has been working with Robert Dias, Statewide GEAR UP Director, and Alisa Wilke, Senior Vice President American Student Assistance (ASA), on BU becoming a sub-recipient of the statewide GEAR UP grant that currently has American Student Assistance, as a sub-grantee. Ultimately, the goal is to have Boston University run the GEAR UP program that works with East Boston High School and Umana Academy, because ASA has made the decision not to run precollege programs. Robert has had to seek state and US ED approval (GEAR UP is a federal award with the MA Department of Higher Education as recipient with multiple sub-grantees). Approval was granted for a draft MOU from the state and ED and a budget was developed for the remaining three years of the GEAR UP grant.

Mystery of the Crooked Cell 2.0: CityLab’s Next Generation Socioscientific Approach to Gene Editing
Funded by: NIH
Amount: $1,353,885
Dates: 9/1/22-7/31/27
Summary: Many underrepresented high school students lack exposure to authentic laboratory science experiences that can profoundly influence their academic performance in school and their subsequent career trajectories. CityLab will use well-matched comparison studies with a diverse pre-college student population to determine whether infusing socioscientific reasoning skill development into its new gene editing curriculum supplement can not only teach students important science concepts and practices but also promote continued engagement in the biomedical sciences/STEM.

CAREER: Designing and Enacting Mathematically Captivating Learning Experiences for High School Mathematics
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $898,673
Dates: 2/15/17-1/31/23
Summary: This design and development project explores how secondary mathematics teachers can plan and enact learning experiences that spur student curiosity, captivate students with complex mathematical content, and compel students to engage and persevere (referred to as “mathematically captivating learning experiences” or “MCLEs”). Specifically, this project draws from the curriculum research and design experience of the PI to (a) develop a theory of teacher MCLE design with the Mathematical Story Framework, (b) increase the understanding(s) of the aesthetic nature of mathematics curriculum by both researchers and teachers, and (c) generate 12 detailed MCLE exemplars that demonstrate curricular coherence, cognitive demand, and aesthetic dimensions of mathematical lessons.

Building Communities of Practice to Foster Civic Character in Crew
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $65,376
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/24
Summary: Our Project will engage educators across the EL Education network in professional learning communities designed to provide them with opportunities to access, strengthen, and refine promising practices for nurturing students’ racial identity and critical consciousness in Crew. Professional learning communities are collaborative spaces that offer sustained support for educators to critically analyze and improve their practice.

National Center on Improving Literacy
Funded by: USDoED-OSEP
Amount: $7,475,000
Dates: 10/1/21-9/30/26
Summary: The goals of this priority calls for a focus on five technical elements, which will be developed and operationalized in the context of unique Center objectives focused on students with disabilities at risk for not attaining full literacy skills: (a) identify or develop free or low-cost evidence-based assessment tools; (b) identify evidence-based literacy instruction, strategies, and accommodations, including assistive technology; (c) provide families of students with information; (d) identify or develop evidence-based professional development (PD) for teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, other school leaders, and specialized instructional support personnel; and (e) disseminate the products of the Center to regionally diverse state education agencies (SEAs), regional education agencies (REAs), and local educational agencies (LEAs).
 
Effectiveness Replication of Enhanced Core Reading Instruction
Funded by: RAND Corporation (Elaine Wang, PI)
Amount: $1,668,221
Dates: 9/1/2021 – 8/31/2026
Summary: Boston University (BU) and its subawardee will provide research and implementation support to RAND Corporation in their effort to conduct the Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) effectiveness replication trial. Research support will involve recruitment and coordination of sites, assistance with measure development and/or revision, and consultation regarding parameters of original ECRI research studies that are being replicated in the effectiveness trial. Implementation support will involve professional development and coaching to sites to implement the ECRI model. PD and coaching will focus on Tier I instruction and Tier II intervention, screening and progress monitoring, and infrastructure supports, including leadership, coaching, and data-based decision making.
 
Center on Improving Literacy Through Supporting Elementary School Leaders (Lead for Literacy)
Funded by: USDoED
Amount: $1,867,262
Dates: 11/1/2021- 12/31/2023
Summary: The purpose of the Center on Improving Literacy through Supporting Elementary School Leaders (CISEL) is to “… provide technical assistance (TA) for school leaders on instructional content and leadership skills to improve teacher implementation of evidence-based literacy practices and literacy skills of students with, or at risk for, literacy related disabilities” (Federal Register, Vol. 83, No. 29, p. 6003). This particular priority calls for a focus on two major technical elements that must be based on current research evidence: (a) literacy skills and concepts (e.g. phonemic awareness, accuracy and fluency with connected text, comprehension) and (b) leadership skills (e.g., coaching, effective systems, educational programming, instructional leadership).

BODY IMAGE, LOSS OF CONTROL EATING AND GENDER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIVISION I COLLEGIATE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES WHO COMPETE IN DIFFERING EVENTS
Funded by: Association for Applied Sport Psychology
Amount: $500
Dates: 8/1/22-7/31/23
Summary: This study aims to examine how Division I NCAA track and field athletes that compete in different events (distance, mid distance, sprinter, jumper, vaulter, thrower, and multi) perceive their body image. A secondary aim of this study is to investigate the risk for disordered eating patterns -specifically the loss of control eating behavior- in athletes from different events. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the impact of body comparison across event groups, and how it influences body image experience and risk for disordered eating. We hope to be able to share and apply these findings with universities, to ultimately develop coach education programs and advocate for increased resources for athletes in the future.
 
PERFORMANCE RECOVERY AND OPTIMIZATION FOR WELLNESS (PRO WELLNESS)
Funded by: National Collegiate Athletic Association
Amount: $20,000
Dates: 11/1/21-4/1/23
Summary: Student-athletes face organizational, personal, academic, and performance stressors, and thus need to develop proactive recovery-stress balance strategies. The main purpose of the PRO Wellness project is to examine the influence of an eight-session intervention program on student-athletes’ recovery-stress balance states, as measured through the Recovery-Stress Balance Questionnaire in Sports (RESTQ-Sport). A secondary goal consists of examining the influence of each intervention session on student-athletes’ perceived general well-being levels.

Mission Earth: Fusing GLOBE with NASA Assests to Build Systemic Innovation in STEM Education
Funded by: NASA via University of Toledo
Amount: $4,798,284
Dates: 1/4/16-12/31/25
Summary: The proposed project has the goal of fusing learning modules created by the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Project and NASA learning activities, such as those at the My NASA Data website, into an integrated learning progression over the elementary and secondary years.
 
Preparing Post-Baccalaureate and Undergraduate STEM Majors in the Physical Sciences to be Teachers in High-Need School Districts
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,199,999
Dates: 3/15/17-2/28/24
Summary: The goals of the proposed Physical Science Urban Noyce Scholars Project (Project PSUNS) are to (Goal 1) design and implement a plan to recruit 29 highly qualified physical science teachers (chemistry, physics, and middle school) from post-baccalaureate STEM graduates and career changers, (Goal 2) prepare them to teach in high need school districts and sustain them through their induction years, (Goal 3) to address the need for highly qualified science teachers to teach in under-served schools. The expected outcome is that more STEM professionals will be informed of the Robert Noyce Scholarship opportunities and, when considering career options, may decide to teach. Other outcomes include more science teachers in high need districts, improved retention of these teachers, and improved science education in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth (NEW DAY)
Funded by: SAMHSA via Florida International University
Amount: $245,676
Dates: 9/30/21-9/29/26
Summary: Project NEW DAY brings together a national consortium of leading experts in disaster recovery and children’s mental health to collaborate with disaster-prone regional coalitions and other key stakeholders to expand the scope and reach of evidence-based supports and services for children exposed to disasters, terrorism, and other public health crises. It will broaden the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of high-quality resources, trainings, preparedness, and ongoing consultations and supports for those on the front lines addressing the diverse mental/behavioral health needs of disaster-affected youth. Strategic efforts will also focus on raising overall public awareness about child needs and the impact of trauma in the aftermath of disasters and related public health crises.
 
Project TEAMS: Collaboration to Train Special Education and School Psychology Scholars to Advance Equity in the Study of Mental Health among Students
Funded by: USDoED-OSEP via University of California at Santa Barbara
Amount: $830,285
Dates: 10/1/21-9/30/26
Summary: The Special Education program at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development will recruit and enroll a cohort of three doctoral scholars who will be prepared alongside UCSB doctoral students to advance scholarship in meeting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse students with disabilities. The BU team will attend the OSEP Project Director’s Conference yearly, interface with prospective doctoral scholars, contribute to scholar recruitment, selection, and admission decisions, participate in the Recruitment Weekend, attend Monthly Leadership Team meetings, lead scholars’ Group Mentorship meetings, help plan and attend the biannual meeting, support the development and supervision of internships, and advise scholars as they prepare their dissertations.

Evidence-based Interventions to Enhance Outcomes among Struggling Readers
Funded by: NIH
Amount: $2,954,629
Dates: 5/10/17-3/31/23
Summary: This project represents translational research that directly informs the practice community (schools, clinicians, teachers, parents), by identifying novel instructional practices that can be aggregated to more effectively influence student outcomes and reduce disparities in academic and socioemotional domains. This research is relevant to public health because anxiety is a common problem in childhood that is frequently reported by struggling readers. Further relevance of the project lies in the refinement and evaluation of an innovatively applied, cognitive-behaviorally informed anxiety/stress management intervention that is implemented in conjunction with an evidence-based reading intervention program for upper elementary grade students.

Root Causes of Bias-based Harassment in Schools: Risk and Protective Factors across Multiple Levels of the Social Ecology
Funded by: Dept Justice/NIJ
Amount: $1,290,546
Dates: 1/1/21-12/31/23
Summary: This proposed study fills this gap through two primary aims: (A) To identify rates and outcomes (psychological, school-related) of bias-based harassment (victimization and perpetration related to: gender identity, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity) among adolescents; (B) To determine risk and protective factors at multiple levels of the social ecology that predict bias-based harassment, and buffer or exacerbate outcomes. Findings from this study will inform how to optimally design school safety programs tailored at addressing bias-based harassment. Products will include interim and final reports to NIJ, peer-reviewed conference presentations and publications, and a dataset archived at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.

Collaborative Research: Network Science for All: Positioning Underserved Youth for Success in Pursuing STEM Pathways
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,060,474
Dates: 3/15/20-2/29/24
Summary: The project team will focus on middle school development of skills to solve real-world and highly relevant project-based problems that have meaningful consequences for humankind across social, technical and scientific domains. The project will create novel learning opportunities for middle school students to explore real-world project-based problems addressed through data analysis, data visualization and network modeling. This project will have multiple layers of impact and build on prior work in applying network science to STEM problems as well career readiness and pathways to STEM success.

Promoting Racial Empathy and Anti-racist Practices in ECE
Funded by: Kellogg Foundation
Amount: $778,199
Dates: 9/1/2021-8/31/24
Summary: Several highly publicized incidents of racially motivated violence demonstrate the need to extend our understanding about how various forms of racial discrimination affect the wellbeing of Black children and families. This project aims to develop a 3D virtual environment that helps to foster racial empathy and counter anti-Black sentiments among children 5-8 years of age, and assess the validity of an anti-racist approach to assessing quality sociocultural ECE teacher-child interactions. Developing an understanding of how to promote racial empathy and sociocultural teacher-child interactions is an important area of inquiry that could advance our understanding of how to promote racial equity in ECE.

Collaborative Research: Leveraging Simulations in Preservice Preparation to Improve Mathematics Teaching for Students with Disabilities
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,644,087
Dates: 5/1/20-4/30/24
Summary: The goal of this Design & Development project (Strand III: Teaching) is to develop, pilot, refine, and ultimately test the effectiveness of learning units for general education elementary mathematics methods courses. The persistent low performance of SWDs in mathematics warrants innovative approaches to meeting their educational needs, especially in the context of high-quality mathematics instruction. The proposed research is expected to meet this challenge by integrating high-leverage practices for SWDs into general education elementary mathematics methods courses. The impact of the study depends on whether the tools developed prove useful and relevant to key stakeholders. To that end, the team will leverage the expertise of both current classroom teachers and teacher educators as simulation scenarios and curricular supports are developed.
 
The Impacts of Pre-service Supervised Field Experiences on Elementary Teachers Retention and Effectiveness in Mathematics
Funded by: NSF via University of Delaware
Amount: $175,208
Dates: 7/1/22-6/30/24
Summary: This study aims to examine the transition period from teacher preparation into the first years of teaching, with a specific emphasis on the role of pre-service elementary teachers’ mathematics preparation experiences and teachers’ mental health, burnout, and self-efficacy in impacting teacher and student outcomes.

Development of gaze control for integration of language and visual information in deaf children
Funded by: NIH
Amount: $2,651,063
Dates: 6/1/22-5/31/27
Summary: Deaf children learning American Sign Language (ASL) perceive both language input and information about the world through the visual modality, so they must learn to divide and allocate their visual attention between people and objects in order to learn new words. In the proposed project we will investigate how the timing of parent input relative to child attention supports word learning, and how deaf children learn to divide and allocate their visual attention to learn new words. Findings from this project will inform parents, teachers, and early intervention specialists working with deaf children by documenting optimal strategies to support word learning.

CAREER: Building Productive Uncertainty into Elementary Science Investigations
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $984,646
Dates: 6/1/18-5/31/23
Summary: The proposed project addresses this gap by pursuing the implications of two assertions. The first is that even young students should engage with the empirical investigation as it functions in science: as a set of coordinated practices to define, measure, and relate aspects of the world in order to get a grip on a phenomenon. The second is that, given this framing of investigations, curriculum designers and teachers can design for productive uncertainty to help students develop science practices and understandings. The project will contribute to the field’s understanding of how young students engage around central forms of scientific uncertainty inherent in empirical investigations that are as yet understudied.
 
Understanding How Elementary Teachers Take up Discussion Practices to Promote Disciplinary Learning and Equity
Funded by: McDonnell Foundation via University of Delaware
Amount: $42,746
Dates: 1/1/21-12/31/24
Summary: Dr. Manz will continue her work on the project via a subcontract with the University of Delaware, bringing expertise in elementary education, science education, Research Practice Partnerships, and Design-Based Implementation Research. In collaboration with the PI, Lynsey Gibbons, she will continue to provide expertise and feedback around research questions, design, instruments, and analysis of teachers’ learning and discourse practices.

The Great First Eight Curriculum
Funded by: University of Michigan
Amount: $37,466
Dates: 9/1/22-8/31/23
Summary: The purpose of the project is to develop an interdisciplinary, full day, project-based curriculum for Grades 1 & 2. Dr. Manzand one graduate assistant will support the team in conceptualizing and developing the second-grade curriculum, as well as revising first grade materials after they have been piloted.

Understanding Teacher and Student Learning Outcomes of a Full-Year U.S. History Curriculum Pilot
Funded by: Comm of MA/DESE
Amount: $139,909
Dates: 8/3/21-6/30/23
Summary: The creation of the 2018 History and Social Science Curriculum Framework by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) reflects an important curricular shift toward inquiry-based learning and multicultural content. The benefits of inquiry-based social studies notwithstanding, mandated standards-based curriculum or assessments alone are generally weak levers to changing teachers’ practices, especially in social studies (Grant, 2001; Grant & Salinas, 2008). The outcome-based research questions guiding our study are as follows: In what ways and to what extent, if at all, does this curriculum, its implementation, and the accompanying professional development lead to change in teachers’ beliefs about (and support for) inquiry-based teaching and culturally sustaining pedagogy? In what ways and to what extent, if at all, does this curriculum and the accompanying professional development lead to change in teachers’ instructional practices? In what ways and to what extent, if at all, does formative and summative student work reveal mastery of the content standards and the skills on the seven Standards for History and Social Science Practice? In what ways and to what extent, if at all, do students experience the curriculum as a window unto other cultures and/or a mirror to their own?

Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Reading (MTSS-R) in Early Elementary School
Funded by: USDoED via AIR
Amount: $2,293,274
Dates: 7/1/2021 – 6/30/24
Summary: This project is conducting a national evaluation of MTSS-R in more than 160 elementary schools in eight school districts in seven states across the US. Schools in participating districts are randomly assigned to implement business-as-usual MTSS-R or one of two evidence-based MTSS-R approaches that involve (a) Tier 1 instruction, (b) Tier 2 intervention, (c) screening and progress monitoring, and (d) infrastructure supports (i.e., leadership, coaching, and data-based decision making). Boston University is responsible for implementation of one of the evidence-based MTSS-R approaches – Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) MTSS-R. Results of the study will inform the field about the effect of MTSS-R on teachers’ instruction and student learning, and implementation factors that may enhance or limit its effectiveness.
 
Colorado Dyslexia Pilot Program
Funded by: University of Oregon
Amount: $76,200
Dates: 8/9/22-6/30/23
Summary: The Contractor shall meet virtually with the Dyslexia Working Group up to three times annually to seek ongoing feedback and answer questions on the Contractor’s work in designing, revising, and implementing the protocol and the training Contractor will provide to the pilot sites in using the protocol. The Dyslexia Working Group was created by House Bill 19-1134 and is a working group appointed by the Commissioner of Education to analyze state and national data and practices concerning identification and support of students with dyslexia.
 
The Development and Pilot Testing of a Tier 3 Reading Intervention in the Early Grades
Funded by: USDoED-IES
Amount: $2,000,000
Dates: 8/3/22-6/30/23
Summary: The purpose of this grant is to iteratively develop and pilot test an intensive Tier 3 reading intervention for use with students in kindergarten through second grade (K-2) in the early stages of reading development. Research provides clear direction on effective Tier 2 reading interventions in the early grades, but few studies demonstrate impact with students who require more intense intervention. The Tier 3 intervention will be for students who do not respond adequately to core and supplemental reading instruction or who are otherwise at risk for word-level reading difficulties, including students identified with disabilities and dyslexia.
 
Improving Early Literacy at Scale Through Personalized Diagnosis and Intervention (a.k.a. Reach Every Reader)
Funded by: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative via Florida State University
Amount: $228,547
Dates: 7/1/21-6/30/23
Summary: The objective for the Reach Every Reader Assessment project, which is being conducted by Florida State University (FSU) in collaboration with Harvard University through funds provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is to develop a gamified platform of computer adaptive early literacy skills for children in kindergarten through grade 3. Through a Subaward agreement with FSU, project staff from Boston University will support data collection associated with the development of the assessment.

Young Patients as Innovators: Developing Pediatric Makerspaces to Enhance Chronically Ill Children’s STEM Learning, Self-Agency and Identity
Funded by: NSF via Digital Harbor Foundation, Inc.
Amount: $213,462
Dates: 3/15/21-7/31/23
Summary: A makerspace is a place where participants explore their own interests and learn by creating, tinkering, and inventing artifacts through the use of a rich variety of tools and materials. This project will develop and research a flexible model for makerspaces that can be adapted to local settings to support informal STEM learning for hospitalized, chronically ill patients in pediatric environments who are predominantly youth of color from low-income backgrounds. The project will develop and disseminate several resources: (1) a flexible makerspace model that can be adapted to work in different pediatric settings; (2) research methods for conducting research in highly sensitive environments with and alongside young patients; and (3) professional development resources and a playbook including guidebook and facilitators guide that will articulate principles and processes for designing, implementing and sustaining makerspaces in pediatric settings.

A Peaceful Coexistence or an Inevitable Clash? The Development of Scientific and Religious Thinking across Two Cultures
Funded by: Templeton Religion Trust via University of Birmingham
Amount: $19,921
Dates: 6/1/22-5/31/23
Summary: The study aims to explore how children and adults react when they are presented with two conflicting explanations—one scientific and the other religious or spiritual—of the same phenomenon and how cultural learning colours their reactions. Our overarching goal is to map how natural and supernatural explanations coexist across development and to explore the potential cultural universals and variations in coexistence thinking. We also want to expand the discussion of the relation between science and religion beyond Western culture and Western religions. Our outputs will include peer-reviewed research articles, conference presentations, op-eds for non-academic audiences, and a social-media account dedicated to the project.

Project Civic LeAdS: Enhancing Civic Engagement of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families and Students with Disabilities: Legislative Advocacy in Special Education
Funded by: Spencer
Amount: $500,000
Dates: 1/1/21-12/31/24
Summary: In previous reauthorizations of IDEA, parents provided less than 5% of the public comments for IDEA. Further, many culturally and linguistically diverse families, due to systemic barriers, report not engaging in civic engagement. We tested a civic engagement training with 127 parents of children with disabilities across four states. Results indicate that the training improved civic engagement and special education knowledge. Given the efficacy of the training, it is critical to scale-up the intervention by: a) conducting a multi-site randomized controlled trial with 180 parents in six states, b) teaching Parent Training and Information Centers to offer the program and evaluating their fidelity of implementation in a train-the-trainer model, and c) developing and evaluating the effect of a civic engagement program for students with disabilities.

The Enacting Curriculum Through Engaging Discourse (EnaCTED) Math Project
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,200,000
Dates: 7/1/18-6/30/23
Summary: This project seeks to address the need for preparing mathematics teachers who are able to facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse in high-need secondary classrooms. The goals of the project are to 1) recruit a diverse pool of highly talented STEM majors and STEM professionals to teach secondary mathematics in high-need schools, 2) prepare secondary mathematics teachers who are skilled in using discourse-based teaching strategies and implementing curriculum materials that support the use of those teaching strategies, and 3) support the retention of highly talented secondary mathematics teachers who teach in high-need schools. Lessons learned from the project will support the sustainability and scalability of other teacher preparation programs in meeting the needs of students in high-need districts.

Facilitating Formative Feedback: Using Simulations to Impact the Capability of Novice Mathematics Teachers
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $2,974,545
Dates: 9/1/21-8/31/25
Summary: The proposed four-year early stage design and development project, focused in the assessment strand, will explore the use of simulations for formative assessment in teacher preparation, including associated tools and technologies capable of supporting teacher educators in providing actionable formative feedback to preservice teachers (PSTs). Formative assessment can make a sizable contribution to teacher preparation by providing PSTs and teacher educators with a sense of PSTs’ current abilities to engage in teaching, which enables the shaping of future experiences in productive ways. To enhance the viability of simulations as an option in teacher preparation, we intend to contribute practically, through research supported development of simulations that have routines and tools to support their usability/reliability/validity and scaffolds that support initial ramping into the use of simulations. We also intend to contribute conceptually by studying how simulations function as formative assessments and how participants perceive of their experiences and the information garnered from simulation performance feedback.
 
Teachers as Learners of Equitable Discussion Practices
Funded by: NSF via University of Michigan
Amount: $307,667
Dates: 7/1/20-6/30/25
Summary: This project aims to create opportunities for teachers to notice and understand how normalized practice often reproduces inequity and learn ways to disrupt typical patterns of inequity in their classroom. This project focuses on classroom discussions because they can be a key site for either reproducing or disrupting inequities and they have been established as a powerful instructional practice. Teachers benefit from professional development that addresses both the technical and contextual aspects of teaching practice, including the identities of their students and associated patterns of inequity in schools and society. This research will examine how elementary teachers’ perceptions of professional learning and influences on such learning in combination with professional development on leading discussions, impact their skill with and willingness to take up teaching that disrupts patterns of inequity in classrooms.
 
Preparing Mentors to Support Novices in Eliciting Student Thinking During Mathematics Discussions: Developing and Testing a Simulation-Based PD Program
Funded by: NSF via University of Virginia
Amount: $153,744
Dates: 7/15/22-6/30/26
Summary: This project aims to support mentor teachers in better modeling the effective mathematics teaching practices for candidates in their own teach and providing candidates with actionable feedback on those practices as they learn to teach elementary mathematics. This project also aims to enhance the quality of elementary mathematics teaching by developing mentors who can better support the next generation of teacher candidates. Teaching simulations are used as a cornerstone of the design of the professional learning, providing a low-stakes practice space for mentors to practice and model effective elementary mathematics teaching. This study will provide much-needed causal evidence for the effects of practice-based preparation on the development of both mentors’ and candidates’ teaching in elementary mathematics.

Links between Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Children’s School Readiness Skills and Well Being among Black/African American Families: Early Care and Education as a Protective Resource
Funded by: AERA via NSF
Amount: $35,000
Dates: 3/1/21-8/31/23
Summary: Children’s school readiness skills and well-being are vulnerable to a variety of contextual stressors including maternal depression, which disrupts parenting and children’s development in myriad deleterious, long-lasting ways. However, early care and education (ECE) experiences—particularly quality ones—may buffer against negative associations between maternal depressive symptoms and children’s healthy functioning by compensating for disruptions in healthy parenting. Thus, the proposed study investigates links among maternal depressive symptoms, ECE, and children’s functioning. Results may lead to future policy and practice recommendations regarding ECE, coordination across educators and health practitioners, and the well-being of Black/African American families and children.
 
Elevating Equity: Strengths, Assets and Receipt of Social Services as Protective Factors in the Relationship between Racial Bias and Maternal and Child Health and Development Outcomes
Funded by: Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Amount: $175,000
Dates: 9/1/21-9/30/23
Summary: Social determinants of health (Marmot, 2005) and early learning (Iruka, 2020) frameworks suggest that environmental forces, such as social structures, support or inhibit positive outcomes. Further, cultural-ecological models of development emphasize the macro- and micro-contexts of Black children and their families, and how these contexts contribute to their outcomes and access to enriching environments that support their health and wellbeing. This study considers how environmental racial bias is prospectively linked with (a)maternal physical and mental health and (b) child physical health and behavioral functioning among Black families. Framed from a strengths-based, equity-focused lens of resilience and cultural asset, we seek to identify how family strengths, neighborhood assets, and receipt of social services may moderate relationships between environmental bias and outcomes.

Condition of Career Readiness in the United States
Funded by: CCD Center
Amount: $407,500
Dates: 1/1/21-6/30/23
Summary: As a cofounder of an industry-led national Coalition for Career Development Center, BU Center for Future Readiness is tasked with coordinating a national research agenda supporting state career readiness implementation efforts. Annually, Prof. Solberg will be directing the design and creation of a Condition of Career Readiness Report in the United States as well as highlighting promising state practices.
 
MyCAP Implementation and Evaluation for New Skills Boston
Funded by: EdVestors
Amount: $45,000
Dates: 7/1/22-6/30/23
Summary: The Center for Future Readiness, housed in Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, under the direction of Dr. Scott Solberg, will support Boston Public School implementation of MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan), including designing and testing evidence-based curriculum and interventions, supporting professional development, and project work aligned with district and EdVestors initiatives.

STEM Literacies, Learning, and Identities through Cascading Models of Near-Peer Mentorship
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $1,155,005
Dates: 6/1/20-5/31/23
Summary: STEM Cascades is a three-year track two proposal to the EHR Core Research program aimed at understanding broadening participation through learning environments that serve youth from groups underrepresented in STEM. STEM Cascades takes seriously the idea that young people can be effective leaders in both formal and informal learning contexts and that such mentorship and pedagogy leads to STEM learning and positive identity development with implications for broadening participation among youth of color. As such, STEM Cascades investigates the ways in which young people construct and develop affiliations with STEM in their capacity as mentors, facilitators, and curators of STEM ideas and practices among younger youth. This project aims to explore the role of youth pedagogical development, defined as youth’s ongoing process of learning to be mentors and comprised of learning STEM ideas, literacies, and pedagogical strategies, as well as an understanding of how youth come to identify with STEM and STEM mentoring.
 
Collaborative Research: Using Culturally Sustaining STEM + C Learning Environments to Explore Learning and Identity
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $822,275
Dates: 9/16/19-12/31/23
Summary: This project is a three-year design research project that aims to create and understand a model learning environment for middle school youth that integrates computational making practices, interdisciplinary STEM learning, and cultural and expressive practices from hip-hop. The project aims to engage youth from groups underrepresented in STEM and computing by producing a model learning environment that emphasizes the ubiquity of computing and computational making practices that already exist in young people’s lives and expands youth’s practices and skills in those areas. The focus on culturally sustaining learning environments and assessments expands opportunities for young people from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities to engage meaningfully in interdisciplinary STEM and computing practices.
 
Building Capacity in Computer Science Education and Student Near Peer Classroom Mentorship
Funded by: NSF via Young Peoples Project
Amount: $341,043
Dates: 1/1/21-12/31/23
Summary: The three-year project will serve mathematics and computer science teachers in Boston Public Schools by implementing and studying a designed professional development program in which teachers work with college students to develop greater capacity for integrating culturally sustaining computer science into their classrooms. The program is grounded in an established research base about effective teaching in computer science, competencies required to sustain a culturally sustaining learning environment, and competencies that support and facilitate students’ agency and identities as STEM learners.
 
Reimagining Alternative Education: Designing for Geographies of Care and Responsibility
Funded by: Spencer Foundation
Amount: $978,468
Dates: 7/1/21-6/30/25
Summary: Our project investigates how restorative geographies of care and responsibility can be designed and cultivated in an alternative public high school serving students who have not thrived in traditional school settings and who are coping with ongoing or past histories of trauma. The four-year project focuses on pathways of learning in and across three settings at the school–health and wellness class, STEAM block, and a community garden–that extend into youth teaching opportunities with children at a local elementary school. A multi-stakeholder collaborative design council pursues research questions that focus on: relations of care and responsibility developed in the focal settings, how school community members grow and adapt those relations in and across settings within and outside of the school, and how the ongoing collaborative re-designing of resources for relation-building contributes to the development and disciplinary learning of students.
 
Biogen STAR Network
Funded by: Biogen via Lesley University
Amount: $55,211
Dates: 7/1/21-6/30/23
Summary: In 2018, the Biogen Foundation created the STAR Initiative (Science, Teacher support, Access and Readiness) aimed to catalyze the growth of STEM ecosystems across the Cambridge and Somerville school districts and to address equity in STEM professions. Eli serves as evaluator for one of the grant awardees – Lesley University. He helps to document and assess impact for a multidisciplinary science, math, and STEAM team leading educator professional development.
 
Developing a Network to Coordinate Research on Equity Practices and Cultures in STEM Maker Education
Funded by: NSF
Amount: $499,985
Dates: 9/1/20-8/31/24
Summary: This project is a four-year Advancing Informal Science Learning project that will bring together scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of equity and interdisciplinary making in STEM education. Our driving purpose is to collectively broaden STEM participation in the United States through pursuing common research questions, sharing resources, and incubating emergent inquiry and knowledge across multiple working sites of practice. The research network aims to fill in gaps in current understandings about making and equity, including the many ways different projects define equity and STEM in making. The project seeks to survey the existing research terrain to develop a dynamic and cohesive understanding of making that connects to learners’ STEM ideas, communities, and historical ways of making.

Wheelock Educational Policy Center General Support
Funded by: BARR Foundation
Amount: $500,000
Dates: 3/25/22-3/25/25
Summary: WEPC conducts and disseminates rigorous, policy-relevant research in partnership with local, state, and federal policymakers and stakeholders to improve educational opportunities and holistic outcomes for traditionally marginalized students. With support from the Barr Foundation, WEPC will engage in research practice partnerships that advance education decision-makers ability to improve the quality and diversity of the educator workforce. This includes efforts to: 1) initiate new partnerships with state and district leaders around workforce questions; 2) executing research activities that increase partners and general knowledge about the quality and diversity of the workforce; and 3) producing, disseminating, and communicating about research findings to influence broader discussions and decision-making relative to the teacher workforce.
 
EVALUATING POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR ELS AND SWDS IN INDIANA
Funded by: Joyce Foundation
Amount: $20,000
Dates: 7/26/22-8/31/24
Summary: The grant would support a body of research evaluating policy issues related to policies and practices that improve outcomes and experiences for ELs and SWDs with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). Given significant and mounting workforce challenges in Indiana and other states, particularly in the areas of English as a Second Language and Special Education certification, understanding the full landscape of barriers and effects in this area could provide policymakers with necessary insights to update or evolve policies to increase the supply of educators in the state. Recognizing the potential impact of individual teachers on student achievement and success, in this area of focus we plan to examine the policies, practices or measures that help to influence teacher quality systematically. This includes the ways that teachers work collaboratively or are deployed differently to strategically support the needs of ELs and SWDs. We also examine the effects of state regulations and guidance around instructional practice, and specifically on the initiatives and interventions intended to influence evidenced-based early literacy practices in the state, in order to determine the impact on improving student achievement and experience.

Center for Promise
Funded by: America’s Promise Alliance
Amount: $1,208,518
Dates: 7/1/18-6/30/23
Summary: The Center for Promise, housed at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, is the research center for America’s Promise Alliance, which leads an alliance of more than 400 organizations, communities, and individuals dedicated to making the promise of America real for every child. The mission of the Center is to develop a deep understanding of what is needed to create the conditions so that all young people in America have the opportunity to succeed in school and life. The Center’s work adds to the academic exploration of these issues and helps give communities, organizations, and individuals the practical knowledge and resources to optimize young people’s development.
 
Debate Inspired Classrooms
Funded by: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative via Boston Debate League
Amount: $155,027
Dates: 1/15/20-6/30/23
Summary: The Boston Debate League’s Debate-Inspired Classrooms program is built on the premise that transformative K-12 learning environments require classrooms rooted in student leadership, self-direction, collaboration, and reasoning. Over the next two years, the BDL will partner with the BU Wheelock School of Education and the Henderson Inclusion School to improve and codify the Debate-Inspired Classrooms program through 1) the development of usable and practical vetted tools that can help foster a research-based continuous learning model for teachers, schools, and the Boston Debate League, 2) the documentation and analysis of how coaching and professional development practices connect to growth in teacher instruction and how growth in teacher instruction connects to change in student experience and learning, and 3) clear analysis of implications and next steps for the 3-5 years beyond the end of this grant period.
 
Relationship-Focused Schools Evaluation
Funded by: National Mentoring Partnership
Amount: $379,104
Dates: 1/4/21-1/3/24
Summary: The CERES Institute for Children & Youth will work with MENTOR – The National Mentoring Partnership to develop strategies, tactics, tools, and processes to implement and evaluate a relationship-focused schools initiative. This initiative is being designed to support schools throughout the country in developing strategies that encourage supportive and encouraging relationships within and outside the school building.
 
Vocational Trajectories and Outcomes of DYS connected Youth
Funded by: MA Department of Youth Services
Amount: $100,000
Dates: 11/4/21-6/30/23
Summary: Youth exit the juvenile justice system with either a high school credential or will need to complete a high school credential upon release. Through the integration of DYS and DESE data, for the first time we will be able to examine a variety of factors that are implicated in secondary and post-secondary education enrollment, persistence (i.e., continued enrollment and credit accumulation), and achievement (e.g., GPA and graduation) as well as employment (e.g., rate and wage). Factors include both background characteristics as well as indicators describing their education experience during DYS (e.g., number of credits accumulated prior to entry into DYS, credits accumulated while in DYS custody, whether youth are over-age for their grade, infractions for which they are in custody).
 
EdImpact ESSER District Reviews and Roadmap Development
Funded by: Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
Amount: $37,500
Dates: 5/1/22-6/30/23
Summary: In partnership with the Rennie Center, CERES will support districts as they develop, implement, and continuously improve evidence-based programs for meeting students’ needs. To that end, the partners will jointly lead a pilot in which districts receive facilitated support to reflect on the alignment between their programs and the corresponding evidence base. Districts will ultimately receive an individualized roadmap for improving this alignment, thereby potentially increasing program effectiveness and improving student outcomes.