“Teachers and parents often hear about intervention programs through advertising and promotion,” says Devin Kearns, co-author of the article and an associate professor of special education at the Neag School of Education. “However, it can be difficult to judge whether these programs are supported by reliable research – especially for students with dyslexia.”

“Folks are going to be in really different places in terms of their own schedules and situations,” Sarah Woulfin says. “In the spring, a professor from another university posted an adapted syllabus for the COVID era, and one of the points was to have a class where we can get together for ‘intellectual nourishment,’ in his phrasing. I adapted that into my class as pillars for our work together. We’re here to learn, but know that there is a lot of other stuff going on in the world and our lives. So let’s be humane with each other, foster connection, and learn together during our time online.”

The Education Project is excited to welcome two keynote speakers Basiyr Rodney, Ed.D. and Glenn Mitoma, Ph.D. who will both be further engaging with The Education Project’s main focus; educational disparities, equal access to technology, and social justice in education at our official launch event.

“I think the results of our initial study provide confirmation — from a research standpoint — regarding the many news reports that we have seen about the increased expectation, without additional resources, faced by caregivers of children with disabilities,” says Sandra Chafouleas, co-director of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health and a UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor. “The burden is real, and taking not only a toll on their children but caregiver well-being.”

While some families are nervous about sending their children back to school, other parents are working to find ways to keep a teacher’s influence in their lives – even when they are learning remotely.

The University of Connecticut has been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to examine and strengthen gifted education opportunities for underserved populations through four studies. UConn’s National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE) will investigate strategies for recognizing and responding to untapped talent and explore the outcomes of gifted education services.

Education is student-centric. In the conventional education system, schools and universities have set up organizations, policies, and systems to provide students with the things that they need. COVID changed the educational landscape. Today, a larger number of schools in the country are considering online education, a move that raises questions on topics of learning, creating meaningful relationships with students, and the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on education.

In a state that is “massively struggling” to create educational equity, Casey Cobb, a professor of educational policy at UConn’s Neag School of Education, also shared concerns about microschools widening the gap between Connecticut’s “haves and have nots.” If families with political connections and wealth stop using public schools, it can be a disadvantage to those students who have no other options, he said.

I recently read a post from a frustrated parent who attended a back-to-school virtual meeting. The parent wanted practical steps on preparing for school, but instead received a lot of information about mindfulness and social-emotional health. The school perhaps missed an opportunity here to engage families in why social, emotional, and behavioral health is so important, and how it is critical for schools and families to partner as we head into fall.

With a new school year rapidly approaching, there are concerns over COVID-19 and how it may change what this year could look like.