story by Claire Miller
College of Education & Human Development faculty members Sarah Hansen, Christopher Tullis, Daniel Conine and Jennifer Austin received a five-year, $1.23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs to continue preparing educators and behavior analysts who can support young children with high-intensity needs.
Project Behavioral Early Education Scholars (BEES), initially funded by a 2019 U.S. Department of Education grant, recruits, trains and supports graduate students interested in becoming early childhood special education teachers, early interventionists and behavior analysts.
With this new funding, the Project BEES team will be able to continue preparing individuals to work with children with high-intensity needs, but will focus more on how to support children from minority backgrounds in diverse urban and rural settings.
Project BEES students learn to address the academic, behavioral, communication and socioemotional needs of children with high-intensity needs, such as those who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They also receive mentoring and professional development opportunities during and after completing a master’s degree in either applied behavior analysis or early childhood special education.
“There are pervasive shortages in service providers and teachers for young children with the most intensive support needs, and these shortages are more pronounced in minority populations,” said Hansen, the principal investigator on the project. “By training these teachers and behavior analysts in interdisciplinary experiences, we hope to address these shortages with service providers who are uniquely qualified to address the needs of the metro-Atlanta area.”