Jill Locke, PhD, an associate professor and former co-director of the SMART Center, has received a grant in the amount of $3,999,987 to conduct a project titled “Testing the Efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) Implementation Strategy.” Led by Dr. Locke and Co-Principal Investigator Aaron Lyon, PhD, the study will examine the efficacy of the HELM implementation strategy for promoting building-level implementation leadership, implementation climate, and high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices. 

Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), this study tests whether HELM improves outcomes when used in conjunction with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), an evidence-based practice. Researchers will compare the effects of PBIS implemented with usual supports and PBIS implemented with HELM. They will also explore for whom, under what conditions, how equitably, and through which processes HELM works to improve student academic outcomes, as well as its cost-effectiveness.