We are proud to announce five new research grants, totaling over $2.8 million, in support of three studies on ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes and two studies on strategies for improving the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people. Approved at the most recent meeting of the Foundation’s Trustees, these grants will help build theory and empirical evidence in our two focus areas.
Among the grants focused on research grants on reducing inequality include studies investigating whether a self-defense program adapted for and by Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, or Questioning Indigenous youth increase empowerment and self-defense skills and reduce sexual violence; how home visits with Latine families might improve family school relationships and teacher classroom practices; and how ongoing professional learning opportunities that center on teacher identity development can support educators in implementing inclusive practices that promote student belonging and engagement.
In the use of research evidence focus area, one study will examine how the Chicago Public Schools’ new boundary-spanning infrastructure can enable school district research leaders to connect with other researchers and community members in ways that improve the use of research to inform equity-minded decision making. The second will study whether a suite of tools can help clinical supervisors use evidence when making decisions about whether, when, and how to culturally adapt mental health treatment for Latine families.
“We are excited by these studies’ aims to examine how to improve academic outcomes and experiences for students of color and reduce sexual violence among Indigenous sexual and gender minority youth. It’s more important now than ever to deepen our knowledge of how to reduce inequality and improve the lives of young people,” said Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons, who oversees grants in the reducing inequality focus area.
“These two studies will illuminate strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that are culturally sensitive and responsive to community’s needs, from incorporating community members into Chicago Public Schools’ decision-making processes to addressing Latine youth mental health. We look forward to seeing how these studies will contribute to our understanding of ways to improve evidence use in policy and practice,” said Kim DuMont, Senior Vice President of Program.
Grants for Research on Reducing Inequality
Empowerment-based Self Defense to Reduce Sexual Violence and Other Inequities among Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ Youth
Katie Edwards and Gayle Beck, School of Social Work, University of Michigan; Lorey Wheeler, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools, University of Nebraska Lincoln
8/1/2025–7/31/2028, $665,000
Youth who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ experience high rates of sexual violence and related negative mental health outcomes. Services that help these young people build resilience may have the potential to improve their outcomes and mitigate harm. IMpower, a feminist empowerment self-defense program, has been found to reduce sexual violence among Indigenous girls and shows early promise for doing the same among 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Guided by an Indigenous advisory board, Edwards and colleagues will use a community-based participatory action research approach to adapt and evaluate IMpower. By integrating Indigenous practices and worldviews with physical and verbal defense education, the program is theorized not only to empower young people to resist violence, but to develop a stronger sense of confidence, critical consciousness, and community connection. After conducting a small pilot study to examine how Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth experience and respond to the adapted program, the team and youth advisory board will refine the program, which will then be tested in a wait-list randomized-controlled trial of 300 Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth. The team will collect immediate pre-, post-, 6-, and 12- month follow-up data on primary and secondary outcomes.
Home Visits: Teachers’ and Latine Families’ Perspectives
Natalia Palacios and Judy Paulick, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia; Amanda Kibler, College of Education, Oregon State University
11/1/2025–10/31/2028, $525,057
Latine students are the fastest growing demographic group in K-12 education, yet they often experience a disconnect between their home lives and school due to linguistic and cultural differences. Further, most teachers do not share the racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds of their Latine students and receive minimal training in family engagement. Asset-based, relationship-centered home visits are a promising strategy to build trust, enhance collaboration, and inform teacher classroom practices to better support Latine academic experiences and outcomes. But home visits can also mirror power dynamics that marginalize family strengths. The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project is a model for home visiting that has been adopted in school districts across the U.S. In Denver Public Schools (DPS), approximately 7,000 visits take place each year. Palacios and colleagues developed a home visiting training for teachers that centers family assets to mitigate the power imbalance between teachers and Latine families, who constitute the majority of home visit families in Denver. The team will use surveys, interviews, and visit and classroom observations to examine how teachers and Latine families and students experience home visits, as well as how visit experiences are reflected in classroom practices.
Using Inquiry to Foster Identity and Inclusion: Developing Teacher Dispositions to Build Belonging in the Classroom
Rachelle Savitz, College of Education, East Carolina University
8/1/2025–7/31/2027, $469,999
Over the past few decades, schools across the U.S. have implemented asset-based instructional approaches to foster classrooms that support student engagement and belonging. Yet, implementation often varies, and many classrooms fall short of reflecting the strengths and needs of all students. Educators’ identities, values, and orientations play a critical role in shaping how inclusive, affirming, and engaging their instruction is, which in turn influences students’ sense of belonging, engagement, and overall well-being. This study seeks to investigate the factors and processes that support teachers in shifting away from exclusionary practices, instruction, and policies toward more inclusive, responsive, and student-centered approaches. It hypothesizes that engaging teachers in critical inquiry, focused on self-critical reflection, examination of instructional policies and practices, and redesign of curriculum and instruction, will strengthen their teacher identity and cultivate critical consciousness. Savitz and colleagues will conduct a randomized-controlled trial with 64 middle and high school English language arts and social studies teachers, randomly divided into treatment and control groups. Classroom observations will be conducted at the beginning and end of the study, with student surveys given at the beginning and end of Fall 2026. Participating teachers will complete interviews at the beginning and after each intervention phase, and teacher surveys will be administered at the start and conclusion of the study.
Grants for Research on Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Boundary Infrastructure and the Democratization of Research Use: The Case of Chicago Public Schools
Angel Xiao Bohannon and Ashani Johnson-Turbes, NORC at the University of Chicago; Caitlin Farrell, University of Colorado Boulder; Samhitha Krishnan, Chicago Public Schools
7/1/2025–6/30/2028, $600,000
Persistent disparities exist in determining who gets to decide what makes research useful, on whose behalf research is used, and who benefits from research use. This problem is particularly vexing in school districts, where parents, teachers, and other community stakeholders do not often have an opportunity to inform how district leaders use research in ways that shape students’ educational experiences. The Chicago Public School (CPS) system recently implemented a strategic plan that has promise for facilitating the involvement of community members in determining what makes research useful and how it is used. Bohannon and colleagues will work with CPS to examine in what ways the district’s new boundary-spanning infrastructure—i.e., routines, tools, and personal interactions—enables school district research leaders to connect with other researchers and community members to use equity-centered research to improve underrepresented student communities’ access to and experiences in STEM courses. The team will conduct interviews and observations to examine how this infrastructure supports the democratization of research use by district staff and in communities. Findings will not only inform Chicago Public Schools but will provide insight into how research use may be improved by making it more relevant to the community.
Developing and Examining a Coordinated Knowledge System for Improving the Use of Research Evidence in Clinical Decisions around Cultural Adaptation
Alayna Park, Dept. of Psychology, University of Oregon
9/1/2025–8/31/2029, $550,000
Most evidence-based treatments fail to reflect the values and experiences of Latine youth, leaving them at greater risk of receiving care that is ineffective and/or culturally insensitive. Although there is a foundational and growing body of research on culturally adapted treatments for Latine youth, this evidence is not organized in a way that facilitates its application in clinical practice. This study will build on prior Foundation-supported work to develop a coordinated knowledge system (CKS) of tools, routines, and packaged research to improve the frequency and quality of research use in clinical decisions about whether, when, and how to adapt treatment for Latine youth ages 7-15. Park and colleagues will interview supervisors, clinicians, and Latine youth to identify additional knowledge that should be incorporated into the CKS. They will refine and examine the usability of tools like decision flowcharts and worksheets that can aid supervisors and clinicians in working with Latine youth. The team will also examine how supervisors and clinicians use the CKS in working with Latine youth. Findings will have direct implications for practice and will lay the groundwork for a study to test the effectiveness of the adapted CKS in improving mental health outcomes for Latine youth.
