School of Education Receives $4.8 Million Federal Grant to Support School Psychology

A $4.8M grant from the U.S. Department of Education will allow UW Tacoma's Educational Specialist in School Psychology (EdS) program to prepare school psychologists and community partners to deliver more inclusive mental health support for K-12 students.

"Of course, we're excited for the financial support the grant provides for our UW Tacoma students, but this is also a significant win for local school districts," said Dr. Kathleen Beaudoin, the grant's principal investigator and an associate professor of education at UW Tacoma. "Like the rest of the country, Washington youth are experiencing a mental health crisis. We need more school-based mental health professionals - and those professionals need more resources to help students in a way that is responsive to their unique needs."

The grant funds three priority areas: financial support for School Psychology graduate students, additional resources and professional development for three school district partners, and funding that makes school-based fieldwork and internships more accessible and effective for both community partners and EdS students.

School of Education faculty developed the grant application to support the new EdS degree program and its mission to expand the role of school psychologists in South Sound schools. The project also drew inspiration from a community-based project involving Tacoma Housing Authority and Tacoma Public Schools. At each location, the graduate students held focus groups with parents, caregivers and middle and high school students to learn about the site's unique behavioral and mental health experiences.

"I could see it click for our students: This is why you collaborate with the communities you serve and ask what's going on in their schools and what they really need," said Dr. Laura Feuerborn, EdS program director, professor, and the grant's co-principal investigator. "We must be good community partners to improve the youth mental health crisis."

"This project is critical to providing much-needed culturally relevant support to diverse children being served by our key K-12 district partners in a complex post-2020 world," said Dr. Rachel Endo, Dean and Professor in the School of Education.

The grant will continue and expand these community partnerships. It also includes funding for four student research assistants, every academic year for the grant's five-year duration (2025-2029).

"We're thrilled to provide these fellowships to students. Before they graduate, they'll already have spent a year helping us set up research projects and going into local schools to do beneficial community-based work," Feuerborn said.

The grant arrives at a fortuitous time: statewide, districts are grappling with a desire to improve student mental health and the reality of being under-resourced and overwhelmed.

"We want to expand the role of school psychologists so they can serve as leaders in their schools, supporting students and their families before they're in crisis," Beaudoin said.

In addition to Beaudoin and Feuerborn, School of Education faculty who will support the grant work include Dr. Kawena Begay, Dr. Miranda Kucera and Dr. Belinda Louie.

The UW Tacoma Education Specialist in School Psychology program accepted its first student cohort in (2021). Ten members of the cohort graduated in 2024; all have found jobs in area schools. The program is designed for part-time working students, offering primarily evening courses four days per week. Fifteen students began their studies in autumn 2024, reflecting the intentional growth of the program, which is currently being reviewed for national accreditation by the National Association of School Psychologists.