Kirsten Newell, assistant professor of school psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology, has been awarded $1.25 million by the US Department of Education. The grant is to develop and administer a personnel preparation program to build capacity for culturally and linguistically responsive research-based school psychological services for multilingual learners with and at-risk for learning disabilities.

Project AMPS: Advancing Multilingual Practices and Supports addresses longstanding community needs for more and better supports via intensive recruitment to diversify the field and expanded learning experiences for school psychology graduate students. Project leadership also includes co-PI and co-director Amanda L. Sullivan, Birkmaier Educational Leadership Professor, and Indigenous specialist, Lisa Aguilar, assistant professor of school psychology.

Over the next five years, Project AMPS will leverage a partnership with St. Paul Public Schools in collaboration with the school psychology program and other organizations to develop curriculum, scholarship, and field experiences with the goal of enhancing psychoeducational services for multilingual learners with and at-risk for learning disabilities in K12 schools.