Grant Awards

Sunny Munn, Director of Evaluation and Innovation at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy (CCEC)

Read It Again! (RIA) is a curriculum supplement that promotes language and literacy foundations.  The curriculum focuses on building phonological awareness, print knowledge, vocabulary, and narrative skills.

In this project, the Crane Center will develop and scale the provision of Read It Again training, materials, and technical assistance to all 0-5 early childhood providers in the state of Ohio. The Crane Center will work closely with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) and/or The Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association (OCCRRA) to develop train-the-facilitator materials to facilitate engagement of the ODJFS licensing specialists and/or other support professionals in delivering training and technical assistance during a gradual roll-out during 2022-2023.

Tzu-Jung Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies

In order to rebuild and reimagine our educational systems in the post-COVID era, it is essential that we develop an understanding of how the pandemic influenced students’ academic, social, and emotional development and explore how the effects of the pandemic may have varied across different student populations. Our study seeks to investigate how COVID and COVID-related school policies influenced the academic achievement and social-emotional well-being of 3rd-6th grade students making the challenging transition from elementary to middle school. Our findings are expected to provide invaluable insights to teachers and administrators who are tasked with helping middle school students recover from the challenges of the pandemic.

Rebecca Dore, Senior Research Program Director, The Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy (CCEC)

Summer Success at Home 2022 is pilot program funded by the City of Columbus and in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital Primary Care Network to distribute kindergarten readiness materials and curriculum to families in high need areas. The program provides families with a canvas bag filled with 4 weeks of activities. Each week, 5 activities are described as Watch Together, Read Together and Play Together. Across multiple distribution channels, including 11 Nationwide Children’s Hospital primary care clinics, Volunteers of America, and three community events, we distributed 268 kits to families.

More information: https://sfc.osu.edu/community-programs/summer-success/

Meredith Wellman, Program Manager, CETE

This project entails an evaluation of a Comprehensive Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Program Grant from the federal Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) awarded to The Salvation Army of Central Ohio to enhance the quality and quantity of services available to trafficked persons in Central Ohio through interagency collaboration and a coordinated community response to victims of human trafficking.

Jeff Volek, Professor, Department of Human Sciences

The project is a collaboration with Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology.  The project will examine if a well-formulated ketogenic diet as part of normal university counseling treatment results in reductions of symptoms of depression in OSU students with conformed major depression disorder. It will also explore the effects of metabolic health and other health markers.

Scott Graves, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies

To decrease suspensions, scientists need a better understanding of how perceptions of Black children and adult decision-making combine to impact the number of students subject to disciplinary practices.  This project, which is grounded in attribution and social cognitive theories will include: conducting a review and analysis of research in this area;  developing videos and vignettes of preschool children’s’ behavior; examining the degree and intensity of preschool teachers’ racialized perceptions of students; and implementation of field research with preschool teachers, pre-service teachers, and pre-service school psychologists to understand if they consider the immediate behavior of the child and the long-term outcomes of children when they recommend suspension from preschool.

Matthew Mayhew, Professor, Department of Educational Studies

The EDiCTS Project: Enhancing Diversity in Career and Technical STEM is designed to enhance diverse student recruitment, retention, graduation, and entry in the automotive technical workforce.

For more information: https://u.osu.edu/coil/projects/