Project IMPRESS (Interdisciplinary Master’s Preparation of Urban and Rural Educators in Special Education and School Counseling) at Syracuse University responds to the critical need to increase the number of special education (SE) teachers and school counselors (SC) prepared to work with students with disabilities (SWD) with high-intensity needs in high-needs urban and rural schools aligning with Absolute Priority 1, Focus Area B (84.325K). With a focus on culturally responsive-sustaining (CR-S) and inclusive evidence-based practices (EBPs), this cohort-based project will address persistent and critical shortages of highly effective, equity conscious SE and SC scholars with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to meet the needs of SWD who have high-intensity needs in high-needs settings. SE scholars will be eligible for the New York State (NYS) Severe and/or Multiple Disabilities annotation (Annotation), to serve students with high-intensity needs in rural and urban schools. Project personnel will work with partners in two high-needs school districts: LaFayette Central School District (rural, in particular the Onondaga Nation School) and the Syracuse City School District (urban). I am the principal investigator.
