SHU Professors Receive $19,000 CEEDAR Grant

Deirdra Preis and Joseph Polizzi will use funding to develop and support equity-driven school and district leaders

Sacred Heart University Professors Deirdra Preis and Joseph Polizzi have received a $19,000 grant from the Collaborative for Effective Educator Development Accountability and Reform Center (CEEDAR) to develop and support equity-driven school leaders.

“This grant is an opportunity to plan and develop a new model for identifying clinical experiences in summer and after-school programs that address the needs of students with disabilities, as well as English learners,” Polizzi said.

Preis and Polizzi work in SHU’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development. They are working with a team of professionals at the national, federal and state levels, including: the University of Florida, where the CEEDAR center is housed; American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C.; the Connecticut Department of Education; the Connecticut Association of Schools; and the State Education Resource Center. Additionally, they are working closely with faculty and staff from Central Connecticut State University.

“I have spent much of my career working on creating inclusive schools, so I am really thrilled for this opportunity to collaborate and provide resources that Connecticut’s PK-12 school leaders need to better provide equitable educational access,” said Preis.

Polizzi and Preis will use the grant funds to plan, support and develop equity-driven school leaders in the advancement of a pilot model of quality clinical internship opportunities in summer and after-school programs. 

“The CEEDAR grant shows how the educational leadership department at Sacred Heart University is committed to preparing school leaders who are skilled and competent in cutting-edge, best educational practices for meeting the needs of all students,” Polizzi said.

Incorporated into the process, SHU students in the principal leadership preparation and other educational leadership programs will have the opportunity to be part of the pilot project, beginning in the spring and summer of 2023. They will have access to resources that can help inform their practices as they assume leadership roles.

“SHU’s department of educational and literacy leadership has worked closely with the state’s Department of Education over the past few years on addressing educational equity through improved school leadership preparation, so this grant work is a natural extension of this relationship. It aligns perfectly with the research and teaching that my colleagues and I do at SHU,” said Preis.

Pictured: Deirdre Preis, left, and Joseph Polizzi