Thriving Learning Communities

Enhancing protective factors and reducing risk factors for substance abuse in Mississippi schools.

Through a grant with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Baylor Center for School Leadership is leading this three-year project in partnership with the William Magee Institute at the University of Mississippi, the National Center for School-University Partnerships, and more than 30 educators from at least six school districts in the state of Mississippi. The project's aim is to support thriving school communities by having education researchers and school practitioners working together to develop contextualized interventions, curriculum, and measurable outcomes for students.

Jonathan Eckert, EdD, the Lynda and Robert Copple Professor of Educational Leadership at the Baylor Center for School Leadership. Dr. Eckert has offered to support David Magee’s efforts in Mississippi by facilitating curriculum design with improvement science tools and a two-year study of the impact in schools.

Grant Morgan, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Research for the School of Education at Baylor University. He is a Professor of Quantitative Methodology and will provide the research support for the cluster randomized design of the study.

Bill Sterrett, PhD, serves as Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership at Baylor. He is a former Title I school principal and has led grant efforts related to professional development. He will support leadership implementation design at the school level.

Marilyn Rhames, PhD, serves as the Postdoctoral Research Associate. She acts as the project manager of a collaborative research study to improve student mental health and drug use prevention in middle and high schools.