Project trains rural educators, encourages sustainability

As the school year begins at North Bend Elementary School, preschool teacher Morgan Root is supporting students of all grade levels with an evidence-based model developed by CYFS researchers.
Root is learning to facilitate the model, Teachers and Parents as Partners, as part of a new project focused on training rural school personnel. TAPP supports collaborative relationships between parents and teachers to improve students’ social, behavioral and academic outcomes. It also features a facilitator who guides the problem-solving process.
CYFS team earns $3.5M grant to support Latino students

Though nearly one of every four U.S. students identifies as Latino, the country’s fastest-growing minority demographic faces many disparities in education outcomes.
The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools has earned a $3.5 million grant to explore how to better support Latino students by connecting their experiences at home and school.
Davis leads evaluation of early childhood project

Among mattresses lining the living room floor, a mother of two—recently evicted and living with a friend—shares her parenting story with a CYFS data collection team.
Her story is one of many that will guide an evaluation of the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan, launched last year by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska to close achievement gaps for at-risk children in the Omaha metropolitan area.
Bullying Prevention Conference draws early childhood educators, researchers

Cynthia Germanotta had just buckled into a trans-Atlantic flight back from Paris when her daughter paused and looked at her.
Mom, it’s time, she said.
The 25-year-old singer, Lady Gaga, had just finished another international concert. She had just finished listening to yet more stories from young fans struggling with bullying and mental health issues. And she knew she had to do something about it.
Moen earns dissertation grant to study partnerships

Preschool represents many firsts in a child’s education. For parents, it is often their first interaction with a classroom teacher.
CYFS graduate assistant Amanda Moen is studying preschool teachers’ influence on these early partnerships. With dissertation grant awards from the University of Nebraska’s Buffett Early Childhood Institute and the Society for the Study of School Psychology, Moen will test a measure used to assess teachers’ confidence in promoting family-school partnerships.
CYFS joins UNL-Brazil early childhood partnership

CYFS joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in launching an early childhood research initiative with Brazil during a meeting held May 18-19 in São Paulo.
The working meeting drew 60 early childhood scholars, policymakers and educators from Brazil and UNL with the purpose of forming collaborative teams to conduct future research. UNL’s representation included 13 faculty members from CYFS and the College of Education and Human Sciences.
Study reveals benefits of UNL robotics program

Robots are inspiring the middle school students who may one day engineer them, while also benefitting those who pursue other career paths, according to a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study.
Led by CYFS faculty affiliate Brad Barker and Gwen Nugent, CYFS research professor, the study examined findings from a student robotics project developed at UNL and implemented across the country—including one site in Cuba. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project delivered robotics and geospatial mapping curriculum to after-school clubs and summer camps. The curriculum also supported youth robotics competitions.