College of Education and Human Development

Department of Educational Psychology

Wackerle-Hollman, IGDILab, SPPS receive IES grant to develop Hmong early literacy tool

Dr. Alisha Wackerle-Hollman, Lori Erickson, CEHD Dean Michael Rodriguez, and Gao Vang
Dr. Alisha Wackerle-Hollman, Lori Erickson, CEHD Dean Michael Rodriguez, and Gao Vang

Alisha Wackerle-Hollman, assistant research professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s school psychology program and co-director of IGDILab, has been awarded an a four-year, $2 million Institute for Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Educational Research (NCER) grant to develop “Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) for Hmong Preschoolers: High Quality Screening Tool for Diverse Learners.” The project is one of only nine early language programs and policies to receive NCER funding for 2021. One hundred percent of this effort will be funded by IES.

Dr. Wackerle-Hollman will be joined by a team of researchers from IGDILab and St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS), including:

  • Lori Erickson, assistant director in the Office of Early Learning for SPPS
  • Michael C. Rodriguez, dean of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), Campbell Leadership Chair in Education and Human Development, professor of educational psychology, IGDILab researcher
  • Gao Vang, educator with SPPS

IGDIs are brief, easy to use measures of early language and literacy designed for use with preschool children (ages three to five). The goal of the project is to create a Hmong-IGDIs assessment suite for screening Hmong language and early literacy development. Once completed, the measures be immediately used in three areas in the U.S. with densely populated Hmong communities: St Paul, MN; Madison, WI and Fresno, CA.