Grant Awards

Laura Justice, Professor; Executive Director of the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy (CCEC)

In the first study to use the innovative technology of radio frequency identification and voice recorders to analyze preschoolers’ social networks over time, faculty experts in early childhood development, engineering, physics and psychology from three universities will collaborate to examine a central research question: To what extent do peer social networks — that is, small groups of children — influence children’s language development in inclusive preschool settings over the course of an academic year? Knowledge gained from this study will help create an intervention for use by children’s peers to support more inclusive preschool classrooms, particularly for children with disabilities or language impairment. The researchers will also study how children’s social-emotional development is affected through peer social networks. Leveraging Sensing Systems in Early Education Project Details
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Links to a PDF document.

Barbara Boone, Program Director of Family Engagement

The CETE Family Engagement Program team is partnering with The Ohio Education Leadership Learning Consortium of the greater Cleveland area in the development of an online toolkit of resources for families. For this project, CETE will gather stakeholder input from  families of school age children in the greater Cleveland area along with input from education and organization leaders.  Building upon these insights and incorporating research based practices, the toolkit components will be developed and catalogued. The toolkit will be available to families, the Urban League, area schools and community organizations to equip and empower families as active partners in advocating for their child’s education and for equity and quality in the education system.

Rhodesia McMillian, Postdoctoral Scholar

Believe it or not, the term “education” cannot be found in the United States Constitution. There is, however, an inference of education written in the 14^th Amendment. Education has primarily been the responsibility of the states and litigation relative to student’s right to education has traditionally been remanded to the states and lower courts. On April 23, 2020 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled—in the case of  Gary B. v. Whitmer—that, according to the United States Constitution, students have “a fundamental right” to a “basic minimum education.” This decision sets resounding precedence across other court circuits; inspiring the foundation for states to revise public school funding policies. Similarly, cases such as Cook v. Raimondo and Indigo Williams, et al. v. Phil Bryant et al have also centered the vital query—do American students have a constitutional right to education? This study is significant for examining the shifting jurisprudence toward determining if American students have a constitutional right to education.

Eric Anderman, Professor. Department of Educational Studies

This funding will be used to support a graduate research assistant on a collaborative project between the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State and  Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The goal of the project is to eliminate inequities in adolescent health. The project uses Get Real, a proven effective pregnancy prevention curriculum, while expanding access to school-based and reproductive healthcare to address critical healthcare gaps in high need areas of Franklin County, Ohio. The project will enhance the impact of the interventions through supportive services including peer, parent, and summer programming. The project aims to serve 3,010 middle school students annually.

Donald Fuzer, Early Head Start Principal Investigator

The Ohio State University Early Head Start Child Care Partnership was founded within the Schoenbaum Family Center in 2015 through a renewable five-year $18 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services. In March 2021, the Partnership program was awarded additional expansion funding of a renewable five-year $10 million dollar grant award.  The program provides high-quality early education for eligible children and families and does so through its unique partnership model. The OSU-Early Head Start network is comprised of thirteen childcare centers, eleven family child care providers, numerous community agencies and five OSU colleges and departments. By pulling together these groups, the OSU-EHS Partnership Program maximizes the unique strengths of each group and deploys a “two-generation” approach to poverty alleviation. Partners work together to provide a wide range of services that include high-quality early childhood education (for 263 children from birth to age four); professional development, coaching, and curriculum support for early childhood professionals; parent coaching and home visiting; well-checks and vision screenings for children; and resources for families. The program was recognized by the Bipartisan Policy Center as a top partnership program in the country and continues to impact children and families throughout Franklin County.

Lori Patton Davis, Professor, Department Chair

The research question for this study is ‘How did the implementation of the Missouri Transfer Law (MTL) affect the educational pathways of Black students attending the unaccredited Normandy High School (NHS)?’ The study examines students’ educational pathways and perspectives resulting from MTL implementation, which requires unaccredited districts to pay tuition and transportation for students to attend schools in adjacent districts or approved charter schools. NHS, is located in a predominantly Black, high poverty suburb of St. Louis, MO, the country’s 3rd most multidimensionally-hypersegregated city. Repeated disenfranchisement of Black communities and eruption of racial tensions following Michael Brown’s (a NHS graduate) death meant NHS students experienced schooling at a tumultuous time under MTL implementation. This study is significant for understanding how a seemingly innocuous education policy led to near dismantling of schools, populated by racially, socially and economically disadvantaged children. Despite MTL coverage, voices of Black students are scarce yet critical to understanding the impact of the MTL on their experiences and educational pathways, as some remained at NHS while others transferred to wealthier, white schools. No studies substantively center Black students’ voices, while critically analyzing the MTL during a racially tense time in St. Louis, a gap this study addresses.

Kenyona Walker, Research Specialist

Employed by districts, Parent Mentors collaborate to form strong partnerships between families and schools.  The primary structure for providing supports state-wide are the State Support Teams (SSTs) in 16 regions, and the Parent Mentors work alongside them to provide the families of students with disabilities consistent, strong support. The project team will support the professional development of Parent Mentors from the region through coaching, targeted services and supports in collaboration with ODE. The regional structure will build upon the existing broad system of supports for families and develop new connections between dyad teams and regional organizations and agencies.

Barbara Boone, Program Director of Family Engagement

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is committed to building the capacity of Ohio LEAs to engage and support the families of all students, particularly students with disabilities; English learners; migrant, justice involved and military students; and students experiencing homelessness and foster care. This support is being provided through Family and Community Engagement Liaisons in Ohio’s Educational Service Centers (ESC). The capacity of Liaisons, placed in proximity to LEAs, is being developed to support their provision of accurate and meaningful technical assistance to school administrators and families to improve identification; enrollment and transfers; and increase communication, outreach, and engagement.