The School of Education has been awarded over $9 million in funding from the New York State Education Department’s Office of Special Education to provide technical support and professional development in dozens of school districts regionally, over the next five years.
The grant contracts will support the development of the Mid-State Regional Partnership Center and two Family and Community Engagement Centers (early childhood and school aged), and will be housed in the School of Education. The capacity-building projects will bring a community of practitioners together to support teachers, administrators, students and families in 51 school districts to improve graduation rates and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities.
Beth Myers, Christine Ashby, and Alan Foley, School of Education faculty members and directors of research and service centers dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities in schools and the community through inclusion, are the co-principal investigators on the grants.
“There are pockets of work occurring around the state to improve special education outcomes and facilitate better communication between parents, teachers and districts,” says Christy Ashby, associate professor of inclusive special education and disability. “This grant creates a unified strategy to support systems change in all schools,” she adds.“I am thrilled that the School of Education will play a part in developing and delivering that strategy.”