Partnerships

School Psychology faculty members Dawn Tysinger, Ph.D., and Jeff Tysinger, Ph.D., worked with Bulloch County Schools to develop a behavior screener and behavior incident report form that will help teachers and administrators focus on behavior intervention and not just discipline. The screener is being piloted at three elementary schools this fall: Langston Chapel, Julia P. Bryant and Mattie Lively. The Tysingers will provide professional development on how to use the screener and incident report form, as well as the use of the data that is generated from the screeners to develop Tier 2 behavior interventions. Additional professional development on designing and facilitating Tier 2 behavior interventions will also be provided.

Trauma-informed Education Symposium

In collaboration with Lizann Roberts from the Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition and under the direction of Regina Rahimi, Ed.D., Delores Liston, Ph.D., and Amee Adkins, Ph.D., from Georgia Southern and Vanessa Keener, Ed.D., from Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) Dept. of Specialized Instruction, a symposium was hosted that brought together regional experts and community resources in trauma informed education. More than 100 teachers and counselors participated in the symposium on August 4. All sessions were recorded and are available to all educators and counselors in SCCPSS.

Leadership teams at Langston Chapel Elementary (LCES) and Langston Chapel Middle (LCMS) Schools were awarded the National Youth-at-Risk Critical Resource Award to support faculty and students at their schools. LCES will be using its funds to support social-emotional learning and literacy development through a series of Saturday workshops for students with concurrent Parent Cafes for their parents. LCMS will be using its funds to support professional development for teachers in culturally relevant pedagogy and restorative discipline practices.

Learning Pod Support for Community Volunteers

Through a collaboration with the United Way and the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), the College of Education developed materials to support community volunteers and other adults who are working with children in learning pods. A guide, titled “Tips and Techniques for Supporting Students in Learning Pods,” and a coordinating powerpoint with hyperlinks to additional resources is available, and Nedra Cossa, Ph.D., and Cynthia Massey, Ph.D., will also provide professional development on an as-needed basis as additional support. The learning pod support materials can also be found on this page. Please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues who are supporting students in learning pods. COE collaborators in the project included: Elizabeth Williams, Ed.S., Nedra Cossa, Ph.D., Kitty Crawford, Ed.D., Stephanie Devine, Ph.D., Kathryn Haughney, Ph.D., Kania Greer, Ed.D., Heather Huling and Mary Thaler

Recognizing that the first year of teaching can be challenging, COE’s Taylor Norman, Ph.D., Alisa Leckie, Ph.D, and Courtney Toledo are mentoring and supporting new teachers at DeRenne Middle, Langston Chapel Middle and Langston Chapel Elementary Schools. Providing an extra set of hands in the classroom, the COE faculty are also assisting with additional ideas for lesson design and implementation. The faculty members are focusing on creating positive and productive classroom environments and allowing the new teachers to take the lead with identifying areas in need of support. Along with spending time in the classroom with teachers, the mentors are providing additional virtual support by sharing resources and ideas. The goal is to help new teachers begin with a solid foundation which will hopefully encourage them to remain in the profession.