BAMA-STOP aims to prevent and decrease school violence in rural West Alabama
The University of Alabama College of Education, College of Human Environmental Sciences, and Division of Community Affairs have come together in partnership with the UA/UWA Regional In-service Education Center to lower school violence in rural West Alabama through a program called BAMA-STOP.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded grant funding to 78 different school safety initiatives across the nation. BAMA-STOP was one of the programs selected, which is a tremendous honor to all involved in the collaborative effort, said Dr. Daniela Susnara, director of Planning and Assessment for Community Engagement at the UA Center for Community Based Partnership.
The BAMA-STOP program will work with 14 high schools across six rural districts to help improve school safety by preventing and reducing student violence. Those six districts include Choctaw, Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Marengo, and Sumter counties, which, combined, serve about 2,037 students in grades 9-12.
“The proactive approach we will deliver depending on the needs of the schools is hopefully going to de-escalate some of these violent situations before they occur and help support the schools, to see where their strengths are, how we can build them up more, and where we can begin to fill the gaps,” Dr. Susnara said.
BAMA-STOP is the joint effort of Dr. Susnara and Dr. Holly Morgan, director of the UA/UWA Inservice Center; the College of Education’s Dr. Heather Fye, assistant professor in counselor education, and Dr. Liza Wilson, professor of social studies education; as well as the College of Human Environmental Sciences’ Dr. Jennifer Humber, assistant professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences and director of the conflict resolution graduate certificate program, and Dr. Blake Berryhill, associate professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies and director of the marriage and family therapy graduate program.
“This is a very passionate team,” Dr. Morgan said. “Everyone is so excited and has new ideas to bring … there is just a lot of enthusiasm about the potential of what this can do.”
The BAMA-STOP team will work with each high school to conduct school safety needs assessments, getting a better sense of what protocols, training, or resources are already in place and where some assistance might be needed.
“What we hope to do early on is gain a better understanding of what is taking place in their high school communities,” Susnara said. “Each is going to vary with the rural communities being different. … We recognize that each of these schools is unique, and we want to make sure that each of their programs and trainings is built to meet their needs.”
Dr. Daniela Susnara and Dr. Holly Morgan
Dr. Daniela Susnara and Dr. Holly Morgan
Each school will curate its own behavior threat assessment team that will work directly with BAMA-STOP and receive training during the program. The high schools will be assisted in developing and implementing school-specific services, which will include educating school personnel, students, and families; improved safety plans; and providing substitute teachers with training so they, too, are prepared if an emergency arises while they are on the job.
“This is providing University faculty and personnel as thinking partners, coaches, and staff support (for these schools),” Morgan said. “We want to be alongside them to say, ‘Here are the assessment results and what your next steps could be,’ and to coach them through the process. That really is the missing link.”
The main goal is for the high schools and their teams to be able to continue these safety efforts and improve the climate within the schools.
“We want to be able to put these schools, these educators, and these teams in a place where we can go in and offer training and offer support but that this will continue once the grant runs out,” Susnara said. “We want to make sure that we are empowering, educating, and providing them with all of the tools that they need.”
BAMA-STOP is a collaborative effort, not just between disciplines at UA but among the school districts and the surrounding communities.
“We genuinely love these schools and these communities,” Susnara said. “I think that is one of the first reasons I am so excited to do this and spend more time in a way that is going to directly impact their students, and I think it goes beyond education. This will influence the community climate, and these are life skills they will keep with them no matter where they go.
“I am so appreciative that our partners trust us to do this. School safety is an important topic, and they are entrusting us with their students and entrusting us to train their teachers," she said. "We don’t take that lightly.”
Dr. Amy Hutchison receives Albert J. Kingston Service Award
Dr. Amy Hutchison received the Albert J. Kingston Service Award recently in Atlanta at the 73rd Annual Conference of the Literacy Research Association (LRA). Hutchison was honored for her distinguished service contributions to the association.
Dr. Hutchison is the Fayard Family Professor of Literacy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is also director of the Digital, Computational, and Data (D.CoaD) Literacies Lab and is dedicated to developing and providing students with equal learning opportunities to increase their digital literacy skills and better prepare them for the future.
Book guides school-based professionals to better support mental health of their students
During a time when adolescents continue to experience a mental health crisis and violent incidents within schools seem to be increasing, it is crucial for educational professionals to be conscious of prevalent issues like these while also having the knowledge needed to address them.
Dr. Michael Sulkowski and Dr. Philip J. Lazarus wrote “Leadership for Safe Schools: The Three Pillar Approach to Supporting Students’ Mental Health” to help school-based professionals do just that and to better support the mental health and well-being of their students.
Through a three-pillar model, the book guides those who work in educational settings through evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies and how they can be implemented. The three pillars represent safety, support, and mental health, and they work collectively to stabilize and improve climate and culture within a school. The framework and techniques give readers a better understanding of how to meet their students' needs.
“The main goal was to take content and topics familiar to the school psychology community and translate that for teachers, special educators, administrators, and other school-based professionals so they have a greater awareness on issues related to student mental health, emotional behavioral concerns, school safety, support initiatives, and intervention and prevention programs,” said Dr. Sulkowski, program coordinator and associate professor of school psychology.
“Leadership for Safe Schools: The Three Pillar Approach to Supporting Students’ Mental Health” serves as an update and extension of his and Dr. Lazarus’ 2016 publication “Creating Safe and Supportive Schools and Fostering Students' Mental Health.”
“We wanted to produce a book that is more accessible for the busy working professionals who are on the front lines dealing with school safety issues, bullying, and other things that are, sadly, somewhat commonplace in school settings these days,” Sulkowski said. “All students should feel safe, secure, and respected in school settings.”
While the book covers some familiar topics, it also features fresh content related to more current issues, including diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as others exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
“Student mental health issues are at an all-time high, particularly depression, anxiety, stress rates, and suicide. Some of this is related to the pandemic, but a lot of it is also related to the increasing interplay of social media and the pressures of cyberspace.”
Sulkowski and Lazarus worked to make the book’s content as practical as possible where a teacher can apply strategies for whatever the topic may be, whether they are managing a situation where someone is being bullied in class or working with a student who has experienced a traumatic event.
The idea is to allow educators to meet students’ needs “across a continuum, from the universal to the more intensive types of needs then the service delivery frameworks” depending on the child, Sulkowski said. Different approaches include social-emotional learning, positive behavior intervention supports, violence prevention programs, and others shown to be effective through research.
“It really marries these respective overlapping areas together by taking what we know in the clinical realm and translating it to the educational realm, and I hope readers find us successful in that regard,” he said.
The book is currently in its first edition and will be featured at annual conferences hosted by the National Association of School Psychologists, the American Psychological Association, and the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists. Though the publication is finalized, the content will continue to evolve as society does and need to be refreshed, Sulkowski said.
“These are topics that must continually be updated,” he said. “The world is changing. Education is changing. Hopefully, within 10 years, everything in this book is outdated and needs to be updated because of improvements in initiatives as far as prevention and intervention. I’m looking forward to subsequent research and scholarship in areas related to the three pillars.”
"Leadership For Safe Schools the Three Pillar Approach to Supporting Students' Mental Health" is available for purchase through Routledge publishing.
Dr. Michael Sulkowski
Dr. Michael Sulkowski
Dr. Stephanie Anne Shelton wins NCTE ELATE 2023 Janet Emig Award
College of Education Director of Diversity and Associate Professor of Qualitative Research Dr. Stephanie Anne Shelton was recently honored with the 2023 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) Janet Emig Award for Exemplary Scholarship in English Education.
Shelton’s excellence is being recognized through her article “‘Communities of Discomfort’: Empowering LGBTQ+ Ally Work in a Southeastern Rural Community,” published in the ELATE journal English Education in April 2022. The article is not only evidence of her outstanding research but of her contributions to the community as well.
The 2023 ELATE Janet Emig Award is presented annually by NCTE and recognizes an author selected for their article published in English Education during the previous calendar year. The accolade was created in honor of Rutgers University Professor Emeritus of English Education Janet Emig and honors her work in the field of English Education.
Faculty & Staff Accomplishments
Dr. David Walker
Dr. David Walker
Dr. David Walker elected to serve on Association for Moral Education Executive Board
Dr. David Walker was recently elected to the Association for Moral Education (AME) Executive Board. His term on the board began Oct. 28, and he will continue serving until 2026.
Walker is a professor of educational psychology, director of the Center for the Study of Ethical Development, and the principal investigator of the center's Leadership For Change project.
The AME is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 that provides professionals interested in moral education and its practice an international and interdisciplinary forum. The association is dedicated to cultivating dialogue, training, resources, and research related to the study and development of moral education.
Forbes article cites the Education Policy Center's report on intercollegiate athletics spending
Earlier this month, Forbes magazine referenced a report by the College of Education's Education Policy Center (EPC) on intercollegiate athletics spending.
The report, The Runaway Train: Intercollegiate Athletics Spending, 2003-4 to 2021-22, was written by EPC Director Dr. Stephen G. Katsinas, Assistant Director Dr. Nathaniel J. Bray, Senior Fellow Dr. F. King Alexander, and Graduate Research Assistant Noel E. Keeney and will be published in the winter edition of the Journal of Education Finance, an imprint of Johns Hopkins University Press and the University of Illinois.
You can read the Forbes article "Power Five Universities Spend Much More Per Athlete Than For Other Students, Finds New Study" here.
For more information on the Education Policy Center, please visit edpolicy.ua.edu.
Dr. Brenda Mendiola and Dr. Yvette Bynum
Dr. Brenda Mendiola and Dr. Yvette Bynum
Drs. Mendiola, Bynum help design state educational leadership development program
Dr. Yvette Bynum and Dr. Brenda Mendiola assisted in the design of an Alabama-wide leadership development program as part of the state senate bill that created the School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act.
The Alabama Principal Leadership Development System will provide new principals and assistant principals with mentoring as well as a continuing professional learning program.
Dr. Mendiola, director of the Alabama Superintendents Academy and clinical professor of educational administration; Dr. Bynum, clinical associate professor of educational administration; and Ellen Reames Hahn, a professor at Auburn University; and Linda Searby, co-editor of The Art and Science of Mentoring, provided their expertise and worked with the Council of Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS) to design the leadership development program for public K-12 education.
Mirielle Erpelding and Hannah Jackson with their presentation poster.
Mirielle Erpelding and Hannah Jackson with their presentation poster.
Crystal Winton with her presentation poster.
Crystal Winton with her presentation poster.
From left, Crystal Winton, Mirielle Erpelding, and Hannah Jackson pose for a photo at the 2023 Alabama Association of School Psychologists Conference in Birmingham.
From left, Crystal Winton, Mirielle Erpelding, and Hannah Jackson pose for a photo at the 2023 Alabama Association of School Psychologists Conference in Birmingham.
School psychology graduate students present posters at AASP Conference
Three students in the UA school psychology graduate program presented poster sessions at the 2023 Alabama Association of School Psychologists (AASP) Conference in Birmingham from Nov. 6-8. Presenters included Hannah Jackson, earning an MA in school psychology; Mirielle Erpelding, an EdS in school psychology; and Crystal J. Winton, an MA in school psychology. Winton, who presented on behalf of herself and Dr. June L. Preast, discussed professional development related to behavior management interventions, and Jackson and Erpelding's presentation focused on delivering trauma-informed care to students who have intellectual disabilities.
IN MEMORY
Dr. Mary Allen Jolley
1928-2023
College of Education graduate extraordinaire
Mary Allen Jolley, born in Kinterbish, Alabama, to Charles Neal Allen and Henrietta Pearson Allen died peacefully December 1, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at age 95. In a fitting public expression of her deep Christian faith, a Mass of Resurrection (funeral mass) will be held for Dr. Jolley at 1:30 PM CST on Friday, January 12, 2024, at Saint Francis Catholic church, 811 5th Ave., Tuscaloosa, followed by a reception at the church.
Dr. Jolley's accomplishments are too numerous to list. She had about forty honors and awards displayed on the walls of her assisted living apartment. Among them were two honorary doctorates, the University of Alabama Distinguished Alumna Award, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Realizing the Dream Founders Award for her civil rights work. These came from a life of service to those in need. It was a standing joke that anyone who visited Mary Jolley should prepare at departure to receive a specific task to make the world a better place.
After earning her bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama, Dr. Jolley served on the staff of Alabama U.S. Congressman Carl Elliott. She played a major role in the passage of the first National student loan program, the National Defense Education Act of 1958. After various posts with the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Dr. Jolley became Vice President for Development at Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina from 1977 to 1984. There, she innovated education for women in non-traditional jobs. From 1984 until her retirement in 1994, she served as the University of Alabama's Director of Economic and Community Affairs. One of her practiced achievements at that post was the initiation of community-based Family Resource Centers, culminating in the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers (ANFRC). Dr. Jolley continue to support its twenty-two centers that serve forty-four Alabama Counties with wise counsel until her death.
As her last great project, Dr. Jolley finished "Accidental Activist," her life story, in which she shares what she had learned during a lifetime of effective work making the lives of others better. To honor her memory and further her life's mission, advanced purchases of her book, "Accidental Activist", scheduled for publication in fall 2024, are available by emailing her editorial assistant Jan Pruitt at pruitt.jan@gmail.com. All proceeds will go to benefit the Alabama Network of Family Resources Center.
To learn more about Jolley: www.al.com/news/2024/01/archibald-mary-allen-jolley-almost-died-and-then-she-was-unstoppable.html.
Digital Literacy for All
Fayard Endowed Chair for Literacy Excited for Partnerships, Resources at UA
By David Miller
At the turn of the century, the internet was no longer in its infancy nor limited to dial-up speeds and wired connections. File-sharing, social media and e-commerce had emerged. Computer technology was rapidly evolving and becoming more affordable.
Schools were eager to leverage new technology to improve learning and instruction, though sometimes without a plan to implement it.
“There was no training for teachers back then,” said Dr. Amy Hutchison, a K-12 teacher in the early 2000s and Fayard Endowed Chair in Literacy Education at The University of Alabama. “Laptops were coming into schools and teachers had no idea what to do. There was no structure or intention, and that drove me crazy.”
The future was then, and the future is now. School curricula and activities are continually developing to help future generations thrive in advanced digital spaces. From coding to artificial intelligence, students as young as 5 years old are learning to think and understand digitally.
But as this evolution continues, today’s students and teachers must keep pace. Hutchison says advancing to complex learning activities such as coding and using AI tools requires a strong footing in digital literacy. And for more than 20 years, Hutchison has worked to ensure both students and teachers are equipped for the future.
Hutchison and Caitlin Renda, first-year graduate student in the collaborative education program at UA, observe a student at Arts ‘n Autism as she completes a computer science task during an after-school program during Fall Semester 2023.
Hutchison and Caitlin Renda, first-year graduate student in the collaborative education program at UA, observe a student at Arts ‘n Autism as she completes a computer science task during an after-school program during Fall Semester 2023.
In August 2022, Hutchison was named Fayard Endowed Chair in Literacy Education at The University of Alabama, a position established through a $2 million gift from Nancy and Gary Fayard.
“Because we live in the world that we do, it’s very uncommon that students are only doing print-based reading and writing,” Hutchison said. “And in the workforce, the use of digital tools for reading and writing is becoming much more common. So, there’s a new type of literacy, and my focus is on preparing students to be literate in a world constantly changed by technologies.”
Since arriving at UA, Hutchison has been awarded a pair of National Science Foundation grants to help area youth improve literacy skills and use them to read and write with technology. This multi-pronged approach includes a partnership with Arts ‘n Autism in Tuscaloosa to offer computer science education to students with autism spectrum disorder. The other NSF-funded project aids in the research and development of Compose with AI, a platform to help young learners evaluate and vet AI-generated content for science-based writing.
“…My focus is on preparing students to be literate in a world constantly changed by technologies.”
Hutchison said some schools have blocked the use of AI tools on their networks to combat plagiarism and misinformation, but students are finding workarounds.
“We’re designing a platform in all the ways one can use AI beyond writing a paper, like for ideation or creating an outline,” she said. “Then, they’re getting the critical evaluation skills and learning how to integrate what they use from AI with appropriate citations.
“We’re excited about this project because there’s a tremendous need in schools right now.”
A focus on community
Hutchison’s research projects are rooted in schools and anchored by strong community partnerships. Some aspects of her research can be done in lab space at the recently renovated UA Literacy Center, but the nature of Hutchison’s work requires consistent access to K-12 classrooms and buy-in from teachers and administrators.
An open door: community partnerships have developed quickly, allowing Hutchison to begin research projects in West Alabama.
An open door: community partnerships have developed quickly, allowing Hutchison to begin research projects in West Alabama.
The benefits of community-based research, especially with a STEM focus, may seem obvious. But there’s no guarantee of an open door for researchers, Hutchison said.
“It’s much different going into schools where the university is seen as a true partner,” she said. “Just being affiliated with UA has created so many new opportunities. For instance, when I wanted to work with Arts ‘n Autism, [the agreement] was done in a day. That’s usually a weeks-long process, sometimes much longer at my previous institutions.”
Hutchison said her “wheels have been spinning” as she identifies more areas to study. She submitted six proposals in her first year at UA, some currently under review.
“I’m working to build a good team of grad students, and I’m beginning to collaborate with other faculty members on both projects,” Hutchison said. “I’m really excited to be here.”
Hutchison has a third NSF grant at UA that she transferred from her previous institution, George Mason University. The project teaches students how to use print-based writing skills to code anything they want, like an animated story or a game. That study involves 100 teachers and 2,500 students, some in Northern Virginia. Hutchison has applied for additional funding to expand the study to include students and teachers in West Alabama.
“We are excited about the energy and expertise Dr. Hutchison is bringing to literacy education at the University,” Nancy Fayard said. “Working within the new literacy center, Dr. Hutchison and staff will ensure future educators are on the leading edge of best practices for building strong literacy education.”
Shared inspirations
Hutchison, Dr. Lucy Barnard-Brak, co-investigator for the project, and Caitlin Renda, a first-year graduate student in the collaborative special education program, visit Arts ‘n Autism twice a week after regular school hours to implement the computer science project.
Renda says the breakthroughs students experience in programming tasks at Arts ‘n Autism validate the need to expand STEM opportunities for all students.
Renda says the breakthroughs students experience in programming tasks at Arts ‘n Autism validate the need to expand STEM opportunities for all students.
There, they teach children with autism spectrum disorder how to code, control and program robots using different types of robotics programs. Each week, they evaluate how the students react to the complexities of the activity and, from there, determine the level of support they need. The end goal, Renda said, is to create a full-time robotics program for the after-school program at Arts ‘n Autism.
Both Renda and Hutchison are motivated to work with students with multiple abilities due to their respective familial connections and experiences; Hutchison has two children who have autism spectrum disorder, and Renda has a cousin with autism spectrum disorder.
For Renda, who began working as a graduate assistant for Hutchison at the start of Fall Semester 2023, each interaction, challenge or breakthrough with students at Arts ‘n Autism affirms her decision to pursue a career as a teacher.
“We had one student who rarely talks, and one day, he’s using this app to play piano and begins talking and telling us what he’s doing,” Renda said. “He then switched to a different robot and was explaining what he was doing and how it worked. It was so cool seeing that happen.
“So, it’s important to give these opportunities to every student — regardless of ability — and reach that child in whatever it is you’re doing,” Renda added. “You should be the teacher who can reach all students in the same capacity.”
Upcoming Events
MARCH 8-17
Spring Holidays
The break begins at 5 p.m. on March 8.
UA will be closed and classes dismissed.
Student Deadlines
FEB. 12
Spring 2 classes start
FEB. 23
Degree application
deadline
Last day that graduate and undergraduate students are able to submit a degree application online.
MARCH 25
Summer and Fall 2024 registration begins
Time assignments for these semesters will be available by March 1.
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