Young children with high-intensity needs face many obstacles to become successful learners. They often begin their school experiences without the requisite emotional, social, behavioral, and academic foundational skills that are necessary for success as young learners. This phenomenon is particularly true for young children with high-intensity needs in urban environments, where many experience poverty or may have limited English proficiency. During the challenging pandemic period, family members, special education teachers, and other service providers have struggled to develop the maximum potential of children who need the most intensive support. As New York State (NYS) and New York City (NYC) schools begin to fully reopen, the school systems are facing unprecedented, large-scale teacher and personnel hiring issues. NYC schools face the greatest need for teachers and school psychologists who have expertise in early childhood, bilingual education, and special education.
Zhang and Ding noted in their grant proposal that the identified personnel shortages and practice gaps that exist for supporting young children with disabilities indicate a strong need for this project. Fordham’s project seeks to fill these gaps by reducing the shortage of personnel and enhancing the quality of personnel who can work more effectively with young children with high-intensity needs. In response to this acute need, Zhang and Ding’s Enhancing Child Outcomes (ECO) project will provide evidence-based instruction, assessment, and intervention approaches to train and mentor scholars using an interdisciplinary training model.
In partnership with the NYS and NYC departments of education and several local schools, the project will integrate an equity focus into the curriculum. It will offer carefully sequenced coursework, mentoring, seminars, practicum, and portfolio development with an emphasis on providing high-quality early childhood environments. These settings will be designed to address challenging behaviors, provide individualized evidence-based intensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, and develop collaborative consultation skills to support families using innovative technology, coaching strategies, and expert seminars, all with the aim to help young children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs develop critical P-12 school readiness skills that lead to better career outcomes. An outcome-based performance assessment approach for scholars and their students will be used to monitor the development of scholars’ knowledge and skills and to document their success and impact on their students.
GSE Dean José Luis Alvarado commented, “I am excited about the possibilities that this funded grant will offer our candidates as well as the students they serve. It is a worthwhile project that is emblematic of our commitment to social justice and to meeting the changing educational needs of children and adults from richly diverse communities.”
This project will prioritize attracting, recruiting, and training additional scholars from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds and/or with disabilities to become ECSE teachers and school psychologists, trainers, and leaders. During the five years of the project, 38 scholars will receive tuition support to be trained as certified Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers or certified school psychologists with specialization in early childhood. An additional 250 ECSE and school psychology students and other participants from partner schools who are not funded by the project (e.g., more than 50 additional students and participants each year) will participate in the monthly project seminar and activities.
* The OSEP provides leadership and support to assist states and local districts in providing a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) to children with disabilities.
