Agenda Item
i. Georgia State University Technical Services Agreement (Year 3 of 5 Renewal) (Not to exceed $399,840)
Summary: Presented by: Dr. Yolanda Williamson, Chief of Community Engagement & Innovative Partnerships, Division of Community Engagement & Innovative Partnerships
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve for Georgia State University (GSU) to receive $399,840 to support the recruitment, training, tuition, student health insurance, graduate research assistantships, professional association memberships, conference fees, and other school-related costs for newly incoming school psychology graduate students (6), practicum students (5), and interns (4) who will become school psychologists upon graduation and will work in DeKalb County School District. This cost represents year 3 of the 5-year School-Based Mental Health Services Grant that DeKalb County School District was awarded by the United States Department of Education, in conjunction with Georgia State University. This grant works to alleviate the financial burden of graduate school for school psychology students from underrepresented groups and/or living in communities served by our school district.
$399,840 - Grant amount requested as awarded by the United States Department of Education for School-based Mental Health Services Grant renewal (Year 3 of 5).
Why: DCSD applied for the School-Based Mental Health Services grant with GSU. This is the third year of implementation of the DCSD-RTR grant project. DCSD is the fiscal agent of the grant and is requesting to provide GSU with funds to implement the following technical services as outlined in the grant proposal: Course development to prepare practitioners to work in high-needs districts specifically DCSD; targeted professional development for DCSD school psychologists and/or mental health personnel; enhanced recruitment activities; supplies; conference travel; the support of a graduate research assistant; co-direct support of all project activities including gathering and analyzing annual outcome data to write the annual report for US DOE; coordinate efforts to engage in equity audits in schools and analyze data; and attend all grant and Advisory Board meetings.
Details: The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) partnered with Georgia State University (GSU) and was awarded the United States Department of Education’s School-Based Mental Health Services grant. The grant is designed to hire more school psychologists. The DeKalb County School District - Recruit, Train, and Retain (DCSD-RTR) project will specifically focus on increasing the number of future school psychologists to mitigate the environmental, social, and financial barriers that make it difficult for students to enter graduate school and complete their training.
The Technical Services Agreement includes a total of $1,635,378 over 5 years for implementing the grant as follows: Year 1 - $220,088; Year 2 - $352,808; Year 3 - $399,840; Year 4 - $362,017; and Year 5 - $300,625.
DeKalb County School District (DCSD) was awarded the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) School-Based Mental Health Services grant. The DeKalb County School District - Recruit-Train-Retain (DCSD-RTR) project has the primary goal of addressing mental health services for PreK - 12th grade students by increasing the overall number of school psychologists. The proposal was written in collaboration with Dr. Tamika La Salle, Associate Professor of School Psychology and Director of the Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate & Classroom Management at Georgia State University and Dr. Catherine Perkins, Coordinator of the Educational Specialist Program in School Psychology and School Psychology Internship Program at Georgia State University.
The primary objectives supporting the goal of this grant include (1) recruiting school psychologists who live within the communities served by DCSD; (2) preparing school psychologists to provide mental-health services to student populations within regions across the school district; and (3) retaining school psychologists in DCSD and reducing the ratio of school psychologists to students, particularly those living in communities served by DCSD.
Financial impact: There is no cost to the district to implement the DCSD-RTR grant project. The grant is fully funded by the United States Department of Education’s School-Based Mental Health Services grant. The GSU budget of $399,840 listed in the Technical Services Agreement is based upon year 3 for calendar year 2025 to support the implementation of the grant. GSU requested to include the year 3 budget amount in the Technical Services Agreement.
Contact: Dr. Norman C. Sauce, III, Chief of Student Services, Division of Student Services, 678.676.1079
Mrs. Kiana King, Executive Director, Exceptional Education, Division of Student Services, 678.676.1809
Mrs. Kimberly Franklin, Senior Coordinator Psychological Services, Division of Student Services 678.676.2222
Effective: April 22, 2025-April 21, 2026
Status: Attorney Approval Not Required