• Collaborated to secure $1.7 million federal grant to enhance science learning opportunities for historically marginalized middle school students, by integrating scientific discourse into students’ everyday experiences and leveraging technology for a more-inclusive approach to science education. 
• Secured $12,000 grant from the VCU Foundation and established a STEM Teacher Academy to train middle and high school teachers to prepare students to participate and compete in Science and Engineering Fairs.
• Collaborated with VCU’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center to secure $3m in funding from US Department of Education - Rehabilitation Services Administration - (Oct 2025)
• Established STEM Ambassadors Program for VCU STEM undergraduate students and provided stipends to teach STEM curricula to elementary school students in out of school spaces. 
• Provided consulting and evaluation support to Richmond Institute for Technology and Science in acquiring $25,000 in funding for artificial intelligence camp for high school students STEM Summer Camps in Richmond VA | RITS Robotics & AI in the region.
• Established STEM Faculty Fellows Program to enhance collaborations between VCU faculty participating in educational research. 
• Received Global Partnership grant to collaborate with SOE’s International Education Studies Center to create new course “Education in a Cross-Cultural Context Bridging the U.S. and Brazil and provide study abroad opportunity to VCU education students to the Federal University of Southern Bahia.
• Reported on research funded by the National Science Foundation on Building a Regional Research Ecosystem among Emerging and Minority Serving Universities and Community Partners. Outcomes included benefits of this ecosystem, a research administration conference, a research matchmaking workshop and a journal article.

• Received $25,000 grant to fund a teacher resource room and library, purchase gross motor play equipment, books and curriculum materials.
• Hosted education faculty and students to conduct research and observe meaningful interactions through the Learning Lab opportunity.
• Participated in VQB5 education initiative, which allows for Classroom Assessment Score System observation to enhance teacher-student relationship quality.
• Completed the $1 million gift funded renovation project which included updates to the classrooms and both the toddler and preschool playgrounds.
• Selected for Thrive Birth to Five’s grant-funded PreK Pilot Training Program designed to offer strategies to improve teacher-child exchanges, resulting in higher quality interactions and learning.
• Partnered with VCU Basic Needs Program to support the needs of underserved student populations in order to promote the persistence and graduation rates of students

• Presented at Inaugural Innovation Summit, hosted by ODU’s Center for Educational Innovation and Opportunity, which discussed research and best practices for lab school leaders in Virginia and fostered a culture of innovation in both K-12 and higher education.
• Prepared teachers and school leaders for high-need settings across 20 partner school districts.
• Provided professional learning opportunities to in-service teachers, meeting needs of diverse learners across the state.
• Supported teacher residents and mentors using funds awarded through an Augustus F. Hawkins Center of Excellence federal grant, a Virginia Department of Education Teacher Residency grant and a Virginia Adult Learning Resource grant.
• Provided professional learning opportunities, including ESOL Praxis preparation, to help pre-service and in-service teachers meet classroom needs of multilingual learners.
• Provided stipends to VCU students completing an education degree
• Received over $900,000 in collective funding from the Virginia Department of Education Office of Adult Education and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to support quality instruction and access to training and higher education for adult learners statewide (VALRC).
• Delivered 220 hours of professional development to 2,100 adult educators statewide (VALRC).
• Hosted the National Board pinning ceremony for a regional consortium.

• Partnered with Richmond Public Schools to offer over 200 free sessions of individual and family counseling with RPS students and their families
• Continued to provide free individual, couples, and family counseling to members of the Richmond community
• Prepared and Supervised doctoral-level counselor educators and supervisors as well as masters-level counselors in training for school-based mental health service provision

• Partnered with SOAR Virginia, a statewide network of post secondary Access and Success programs, to start development of a collaborative framework for assessing collective impact.
• Led Schaberg New Teacher Support Program to provide mentorship to teachers transitioning between VCU and early career teaching in Richmond City Public Schools.
• Received Global Partnership Grant to support a series of dialogues with international educators on AI in teacher preparation and development.
• Collaborated with English Empowerment Center, Virginia's oldest and largest adult ESL program, to support student success.

• Developed new global partnerships and hosted delegations from three partner institutions
• Hosted international internship program with National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan
• Resumed Joint Research Symposium, which welcomed over 70 participants from around the world
• Implemented Education in a Cultural Context short-term study abroad series and hosted inaugural program in Shanghai
• Received VCU Global Impact Award to strengthen our partnership with the Federal University of Southern Bahia and support a short-term study abroad program in Brazil

• Received $375,867 from REB Foundation to support student mental health through high fidelity Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in two Metro Richmond high schools.
• Developed research and policy summaries for local school divisions focused on school dropout prevention, career and technical education and block scheduling.
• Launched regional study focused on early implementation and impact of the Virginia Literacy Act.
• Engaged with over 100 research collaborators, including VCU faculty, staff, and students as well as PK-12 school division partners
• Had more than 14,000 downloads of MERC reports, 4,000 plays of the MERC podcast, and 64,000 interactions with MERC dashboards and websites
• Provided more than 2,500 professional learning credit hours

Using photovoice to focus communication for job-seekers with IDD

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Now, School of Education researchers are turning the old adage into a modern tool to empower youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities as they transition from school to the workforce.

The researchers are with Project PEACE, part of the Partnership for People with Disabilities. Standing for Promoting Employment After high school through Community Experience, the project aims to improve job placement for people with IDD and solidify community-based resources to support them.

One way Project PEACE is supporting students is through photovoice, a research approach in which participants use photography to document their experiences and surroundings to express their preferences, needs and strengths - allowing them to convey what they want as employees.

“It’s empowering,” said Seb Prohn, Ph.D., PPD’s assistant director of research and evaluation at and project leader. “When you’re talking about what you did and what you like, you’re reifying that to yourself: ‘This is who I am, and these are my interests and these are my goals.’”

Supported in part by a five-year grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, the initiative helps students who are participating in work-based learning opportunities.

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Additional Updates

• Advanced its mission across community living, early childhood/early intervention, education and health through more than 40 projects supported by $14 million in grants and contracts. 
• Reached thousands of Virginians: over 600 families received one-on-one navigation and emotional support; more than 9,000 professionals engaged in continuing education; and more than 6,000 participants attended community trainings.
• Expanded inclusive employment opportunities through photovoice and post-secondary transition support.
• Provided technical assistance to more than 90 school divisions.
• Endorsed over 120 early intervention professionals.
• Trained over 2,700 health care staff in long-term services and supports screening.
• Distributed 500,000 developmental milestone resources statewide. 
• Incorporated input from self-advocates and families to shape research, policy and product development 

• Awarded $8.8 million in federal funds for research into employment of individuals with disabilities.
  
  

Virginia’s Collaborative Model for Pre-Employment Transition Services

• Provided targeted resources and strategies through Virginia’s Collaborative Model for Pre-Employment Transition Services (funded by DARS) for stakeholders delivering school-based transition services and pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS). In its third year, the project facilitated collaboration, sequenced Pre-ETS and transition services, and enhanced communication and coordination to drive significant increase in number of students served and overall improvement of services. Eight divisions across Virginia participate, with project training materials downloaded 28,164 times.
  
  

Autism Center for Education

• Provided targeted short-term coaching free to Virginia Public School classrooms and aimed to equip educators with the tools and evidence-based practices necessary to effectively address the unique needs of autistic students, with Virginia Department of Education funding.
• Completed coaching with 78 classrooms across Virginia’s 8 educational regions, focusing on classroom structure, visual supports, communication skills, systematic instruction, reinforcement and social skills instruction.
  
  

Regional Autism & Behavior Technical Assistance Network (RABTAN)

• Provided coaching and consultation services to 73 school-based specialists serving students with intensive support needs, with the goal of retaining students in their comprehensive public schools. Across five regions, RABTAN engaged in 371 coaching contacts across five regions to enhance specialists’  positive behavior assessment and intervention skills through job-embedded coaching practices. Our intensive training and technical assistance to both school-based specialists and school teams led to retention of 94% of students at risk for out-of-division placement.
• Received additional VDOE funding ($391, 714.45) to provide intensive coaching to school-based specialists in 33 targeted intensive support classrooms across Virginia Early results show high acceptance and intervention of the training across teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and school-based specialists. We developed a professional development tool that showed a 15-point increase in the use of targeted evidence-based practices.
  
  

Center on Transition Innovations (CTI)

• Launched its second Statewide Transition Leadership Academy (STLA) cohort in partnership with the VDOE. This yearlong professional development program is designed to build leader capacity and promote effective transition practices to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. In 2025, STLA supported 57 participants across all eight VDOE regions.
• Supported implementation of other impactful programs, such as Start on Success, with programs in 15 divisions serving 76 students. In addition to field projects, CTI provided online and in-person professional development and training through courses, webcasts, and presentations to more than 3,760 professionals.
• Maintained a robust publication resource site that generated 799,510 downloads.

Our labs provide opportunities for hands-on, targeted research by faculty and students, often looking at emerging issues in education – allowing our school to be at the leading edge in developing solutions and shaping best practices.

• Arts in Computer Education Lab (ACE): Conducts educational research on combining computer science and the arts to create and implement innovative curriculum, followed with rigorous study to understand the impact of these combined activities on K12, college and adult learners.
• BEST in CLASS: Provides intervention for PK-3 children who demonstrate challenging classroom behaviors, which places them at risk of developing social-emotional learning difficulties.
• Centroid Lab: Advances the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the social sciences in a responsible and ethical manner, with a goal of using it carefully to improve our understanding of human behavior and societal trends.
• Discourse & Learning: Examines how individual differences influence the classroom learning process, addressing topics such as language and social development in early children and motivation, engagement and learning in science.
• Early Science Education: Advances STEM education and public policy by understanding early motivation, interest and educational experiences that influence scientific literacy, science achievement and persistence in science-related career fields, with a focus on underrepresented groups.
• Family and Relationship Stress and Health (FReSH): Promotes strong health by understanding the influence of “how we love” on “those we love,” with an emphasis on mentorship as a key value.
• Leadership Coaching Lab: Supports and provides coaching resources to Educational Leadership alums to continuously develop effective leaders in K12, higher education and other organizational settings.
• Leadership Hub: Equips individuals and organizations with the skills to lead confidently in a rapidly evolving world through innovative, research-based solutions tailored to their unique challenges.
• Motivation in Context: Explores motivation, context and their interactions from elementary school through adulthood.
• Multilingual Learners in School: Studies literacy and language demands and opportunities in learning content areas for multilingual learners and teacher preparation.
• Multilingual Ambassador Program: Serves rural, suburban and urban multilingual (English Language-ELL) students in middle and high schools with direct tutoring, on-campus events that include student panels and campus tours, and college and career access information.
• Socially Transformative Applied Research (STAR): Conducts socially transformative applied research that enhances the well-being and flourishing of historically underserved and marginalized communities through innovative, applied research.