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TAPP Online brings enhanced support to rural students, families and schools

Research shows rural students are experiencing social-behavioral and mental health challenges at unprecedented rates, placing them at risk for long-term negative outcomes.

With the effectiveness of family-school interventions in addressing social-behavioral and mental health needs at both school and home — especially in rural settings — professional development of rural practitioners is a priority. Full Article

Researchers examine experiences, needs of Nebraska’s special education teachers

Throughout the United States, the number of teachers qualified to support students with special needs is declining. In Nebraska, school leaders are concerned the shortage of special education teachers will put these students at risk for compromised learning and growth. Full Article

Help Me Grow Nebraska streamlines access to children’s health care services, resources

Searching for the right health care resources — and the most efficient way to access them — can be overwhelming.

For families seeking health care for young children, the task can be even more daunting.

Early childhood health systems are often complex, siloed and disconnected, which leads to inadequate supports and services for families. Full Article

Project examines how external, internal controls in schools affect students’ opportunities to learn

When it comes to measuring student outcomes, grading individual schools can be complicated.

Although federal, state and local mandates are continually added to school-based policies and practices used to measure student performance — and hold schools accountable — research indicates that such measures have mixed effects on student achievement, graduation rates and equity in learning. Full Article

Statewide survey finds Nebraska educators can adjust to ‘virtually’ anything, but at what cost?

As the COVID-19 epidemic escalated to a pandemic in early 2020, millions of Americans began working from home — and millions of students left their classrooms to continue their studies remotely.

In March 2020, all 983 Nebraska public schools sat vacant, and all the state’s 330,000 children from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 were learning in out-of-classroom environments. Full Article

Prevention program aims to reduce dating violence, problem drinking among LGBTQ+ youth

For sexual minority youth, dating violence and problem drinking are frequently intertwined, often leading to depression and even suicide.

Katie Edwards, associate professor, CYFS and educational psychology, and Heather Littleton, associate professor and director of research operations at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs, are developing an online initiative for LGBTQ+ youth ages 15 to 18 to prevent dating violence and alcohol use. The program is the first culturally adapted and affirming program designed specifically for sexual minority youth. Full Article

IVRL workshop promotes strategies to prevent teen relationship violence

Preventing interpersonal relationship violence among teens was the focus of the April 28 Dating and Sexual Violence Prevention Workshop, hosted by the Interpersonal Violence Research Laboratory.

The virtual, interactive workshop focused on practical, cost-effective, evidence-based prevention strategies. Katie Edwards, associate professor, CYFS and educational psychology, and Emily Waterman, IVRL faculty affiliate, outlined definitions, statistics, causes and consequences of teen dating violence and sexual violence. Full Article