NC State College of Education Awarded $3.9 Million in Grant Funding From April Through June, 2023

Faculty and researchers at the NC State College of Education, including the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, were awarded $3,906,807 to support 12 projects from April 1 through June 30, 2023. 

As of June 30, the college has spent $16,968,008 on research expenditures this academic year.

​​K-12 Cybersecurity Program Support

This $1,950,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will enable the Friday Institute to create, maintain and manage tools that inform and automate cybersecurity program functions and assist the Department of Public Instruction in the enhancement, expansion and optimization of the K-12 cybersecurity program. Director Ray Zeisz is the project’s principal investigator. 

Conference: Conversations Across Boundaries: Bringing PreK-2 Mathematics Experts Together

This project, funded by $673,241 from the National Science Foundation, will bring together experts from mathematics teacher education, cognitive science and special education to work on a common goal through constructive conversations over two two days, followed by virtual meetings. The conference is designed to generate a set of principles and a collaborative research agenda among fields. Dean Paola Sztajn is the project’s principal investigator. Associate Dean for Research and Innovation Karen Hollebrands, Associate Professor Temple Walkowiak and Associate Professor Jessica Hunt are co-principal investigators on the project. 

Developing Mathematics Teachers’ Responsive Pedagogies for Linguistically Marginalized Students

This $459,848 project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will facilitate the investigation of a novel professional development model to support math teachers’ learning of responsive pedagogies for linguistically marginalized students. Assistant Professor Samantha Marshall is the project’s principal investigator. Assistant Professor Sunghwan Byun is the project’s co-principal investigator. 

Gaining Retention and Effectiveness through Advancing Teacher-Centered STEM Professional Learning for STEM Elementary Teachers in Rural Communities

This $254,813 project, funded by the National Science Foundation NOYCE program, will provide teachers in high-need school districts with a professional learning program that includes teacher-identified learning needs and goals, competency-based online microcredentials, microcredential coaching and support, and teacher compensation and recognition for achievements. Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones is a co-principal investigator on the project. 

Institutional Opportunities to Belong: A Playbook for Putting Middle Schoolers’ Policy Insights into Motion

This project, funded by $199,841 from the New Venture Fund, will build on the existing iScholar project to support students in advocating for changes in their school district via school belonging action projects. Students will be positioned as experts on the topic of school belonging and engage with decision makers to improve school policies. This project will culminate in the creation of a playbook of practical strategies for legitimizing, and taking action on, students’ contextualized and equity-focused perspectives on school policies that impact their belonging. Associate Professor DeLeon Gray is the project’s principal investigator. Assistant Professor Shiyan Jiang is the project’s co-principal investigator. 

Improving Early Grades Leadership in North Carolina: Co-Designing and Piloting a Data Dashboard-informed Principal Learning Model

This project, funded by $141,234 from the Belk Foundation, will build on previous work funded by the Belk Foundation to develop a transformation principal learning model for early grades leadership in North Carolina. Assistant Professor Michael Little is the project’s principal investigator. Associate Professor Tim Drake is the project’s co-principal investigator.

The Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative (ECPI)

This $98,000 project, funded by The Wallace Foundation, will allow the NC State College of Education to serve as a partner provider — a college that has successfully redesigned its program to be responsive to on-the-job realities of the principal job — for Columbus City Schools and Ashland University in developing principal pipelines for equity-centered leadership. Associate Professor Tim Drake is the project’s principal investigator.

North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network Pre-College Program

This $50,000 grant from the Intuitive Foundation will provide one year of additional funding for the North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network (NC-MSEN) Pre-College Program focused on engaging middle and high school students from underserved backgrounds in STEM enrichment courses, STEM clubs and STEM competitions. NC-MSEN Director Braska Williams is the project’s principal investigator.

Integration and Immersion: The Potential of Two-Way Dual Language Immersion Programs to Foster Integration

This project, funded by $35,436 from the American Institute for Research, will analyze the extent to which two-way dual language immersion programs facilitate desegregation for students of all racial groups and the way in which these programs achieve desegregation. Assistant Professor Jenn Ayscue is the project’s principal investigator. 

North Carolina New Teacher Support Program I

This $35,594 project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, will cover salary and benefits costs for coaches in the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program who provide weekly support, track teacher progress and examine growth over time. Managing Director Melanie Smith is the project’s principal investigator.

Schools as Transformational Institutions to Create Thriving Communities in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Rural Settings

This project, funded by $8,300 from the Spencer Foundation, will facilitate the development of community relationships to identify rural multilingual student and family needs and identify potential solutions, co-planning of meetings for grant collaborators, support professional development in the area of multilingual learners and education, and develop community engagement and educator tools surrounding multilingual students and families. Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Educational Equity Maria Coady is the project’s principal investigator. 

USAID IREX Host University Agreement – Pre-Service Teacher Education U.S. Study Tour

This $500 project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, will enable the College of Education to assign a host mentor who will arrange meetings and consultations with university faculty and pre-service education staff and administrators who work on education or CAEP accreditation activities or processes. Assistant Dean for Professional Education Erin Horne is the project’s principal investigator.