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Teachers and Parents as Partners
Teachers & Parents as Partners

Tele-TAPP

Tele-TAPP uses distance technology to bring the Teachers and Parents as Partners intervention to rural communities. We are seeking partnerships with rural Appalachian families and educators interested in implementing Tele-TAPP.

More about TAPP I’m interested!

About Tele-TAPP

Overview

Tele-TAPP is a research study that uses distance technology to expand access to the Teachers and Parents as Partners (TAPP) intervention in rural communities and supports educators in their efforts to partner with parents. The study is a partnership between East Tennessee State University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Teachers and parents enrolled in the study are paid for their participation.

What is TAPP?

TAPP is a problem-solving approach that builds on student strengths and fosters collaboration among parents and teachers. It has been shown to enhance students’ academic, behavioral and social outcomes, and strengthen parent-teacher relationships. Learn more about TAPP.

Why do we need Tele-TAPP?

Students who struggle with social and behavioral issues are at high risk of developing long-term problems, both at school and in life. By promoting family-school partnerships, TAPP is effective at addressing social-behavioral and mental health challenges that get in the way of student learning. In rural communities that have limited access to services, Tele-TAPP helps bridge the gap by providing support through the use of distance technology.

Scope

Tele-TAPP involves collaboration with dozens of rural elementary schools in rural Appalachia. Trained consultants will deliver TAPP virtually with about 190 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, along with their teachers and parents.

Goals:
  • Enhance parents’ and teachers’ skills to address students’ learning and behavior concerns through Tele-TAPP.
  • Promote students’ learning and behavioral success.
  • Strengthen relationships between students’ families and schools.
  • Gather information about typical services provided by the school.
About TAPP Online man taking training

What to Expect

Your involvement in Tele-TAPP can have a significant positive impact on a child’s success at school and in life. Here is what to expect as a study participant.

How it’s Conducted:
  • Elementary schools agree to participate in the study.
  • Parents and teachers of K-6 students with learning or behavioral concerns are invited to participate.
  • Parents and teachers who sign up are randomly placed in one of two groups:
    • Tele-TAPP services
    • Typical school services
  • All participants complete surveys to assess the student's behaviors, current practices and home-school partnership.
  • Video classroom observations and parent interviews are conducted over approximately 12 weeks.
  • All teachers and parents receive compensation for their participation.
During TAPP services:
  • The teacher and the student’s parents attend approximately four in-person meetings, facilitated by a trained TAPP consultant who will join through distance technology (e.g., Zoom).
  • Together, consultants, teachers and parents co-create student behavior plans that are meaningful and feasible to provide extra help to students.
During typical school services:
  • Students, teachers and parents continue to receive services provided by the school.
  • Information about programs and practices delivered in schools and classrooms is collected.

Participation is voluntary and all information collected is kept confidential.

TAPP Online girl smiling

Handouts

Explore the handouts linked below for additional information about participating in the Tele-TAPP study, including compensation details:

Administrator Handout Teacher Handout Parent Handout Parent Handout (Spanish)

Participant Details

Meet the Team

Amanda Witte

Amanda Witte

  • Principal Investigator

Research Associate Professor, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

awitte2@unl.edu

Biography

Amanda Witte

Amanda Witte's research is focused on family-school partnerships, early learning and rural education. In addition to her role as research assistant professor, she serves as the project manager for Learning Frontiers: Pre-K to Grade 3, a study investigating factors that promote early learning and development as children develop from preschool through third grade.

Witte also serves as a family-school consultant, training supervisor and project manager for Teachers and Parents as Partners (TAPP). She delivers workshops and training in family-school partnerships to parents, educators and service providers throughout North America, and facilitates the ongoing coaching of TAPP consultants.

She has also served as the project coordinator for two federally funded family-school partnership studies. In this role, she managed collaborative teams of consultants, parents and teachers; maintained partnerships with school personnel; and developed working relationships with new schools and communities.

Witte has contributed to numerous research publications and publications relating to family-school partnership research. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Pam Mims

Pam Mims

  • Principal Investigator (ETSU sub-award)

Associate Dean of Research and Grants and Professor, Special Education
East Tennessee State University

mimspj@etsu.edu

Biography

Pam Mims

Dr. Mims is an Associate Professor of Special Education as well as Associate Dean of Research and Grants in the College of Education. She teaches graduate and undergraduate special education courses focused on severe disabilities. She taught middle grades for 7 years in a classroom for students with profound, multiple disabilities and autism. She earned her Undergrad in Special Education at East Carolina University, Masters Degree in Severe Disabilities at Western Carolina University, and PhD in Special Education with a focus on Severe Disabilities at UNC Charlotte. Her research interests include: (a) examining the use of systematic instruction strategies for providing access to the general curriculum for students with low incidence disabilities, (b) examining the use of technology to promote access to the general curriculum, and (c) implementation of data based decisions in the classroom. Dr. Mims has authored several curricula focused on using evidence based practices to promote access to grade aligned ELA and early literacy skills. She is currently the PI of a Phase II IES SBIR research grant with Attainment Company focused on providing access to grade aligned ELA standards for students with significant disabilities via an iPad application.

Sue Sherian

Susan Sheridan, Ph.D.

  • Co-Principal Investigator

Founding Director, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools; George Holmes University Professor of Educational Psychology
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

ssheridan2@unl.edu

Biography

Susan Sheridan

Susan Sheridan is the founding director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, known as CYFS, and the George Holmes University Professor of Educational Psychology. Sheridan joined the faculty at the UNL Department of Educational Psychology in 1998, after several years at the University of Utah.

Sheridan founded CYFS in 2004 — a UNL Program of Excellence that conducts, supports and shares high-quality research in the social, behavioral and educational sciences. For the past 20 years, Sheridan has led the center’s growth to more than 100 faculty, staff and students. Today, CYFS is a leading cross-campus interdisciplinary research center represented by significant productivity and impact. Since its inception, CYFS has housed more than 300 funded research grants, totaling more than $133 million.

During her career, Sheridan has received more than $73 million in grant funding and has authored more than 230 books, chapters and articles, including several award-winning papers. Much of her work aims to understand effective relationships and partnerships for children and youth. She is particularly interested in strengthening relationships between parents and teachers and identifying meaningful ways to establish home–school partnerships.

Sheridan’s primary grant work and research focus is a model of service delivery known as Teachers and Parents as Partners (also known as conjoint behavioral consultation), focused on bringing parents, teachers, and other care providers together to develop positive relationships and address concerns they share for children. Her work has also examined early childhood education and development, children’s social-emotional skills, rural education, and parental engagement.

Sheridan is the first UNL faculty member to be elected to the National Academy of Education, an organization of more than 300 U.S. and international researchers who seek to improve education policy and practice through research. She is also past editor of School Psychology Review, the research journal of the National Association of School Psychologists, and past president of the Society of the Study of School Psychology. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kimberly Hale

Kimberly Hale

  • Project Manager

East Tennessee State University

teletapp@etsu.edu

Laura Escobedo

Laura Escobedo

  • Project Manager

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

lescobedo2@unl.edu

Sara Beth Hitt

Sara Beth Hitt

  • Family-School Consultant

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

sbhitt2@unl.edu

Danielle Elsasser

Danielle Elsasser

  • Family-School Consultant

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

delsasser2@unl.edu

Nicole Adams

Nicole Adams

  • Data Collector

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

nadams4@unl.edu

Daniela Cubas

Daniela Cubas

  • Data Collector

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

dcubas2@unl.edu

Get Started

Hello, and thank you for your interest in Tele-TAPP! My name is Kimberly Hale and I’m the project manager for the study.

To get started, please contact me directly or complete the following form and a member of our team will contact you as soon as possible.

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Kimberly Hale

Kimberly Hale

Tele-TAPP Project Manager
East Tennessee State University
teletapp@etsu.edu

423-262-7607