Professors honored for outstanding grant acquisition

by Mark McGowan

Two professors from the College of Education are being honored for their outstanding grant acquisition.

Sharon Freagon, director of the NIU Center for Child Welfare and Education and a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, and Deborah Simmons, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, each will receive $2,500 to further their scholarly activities.

The Graduate Council Research and Artistry Committee, composed of nine faculty scholars from nine academic departments in six colleges, selected Freagon and Simmons.

Recipients are those whose grant records over time have been unusually strong for their discipline, whose external funding has materially benefited others and whose funding successes are expected to continue to serve as models for colleagues.

"This commendation … is a tangible recognition of the importance of such funding to the university's research, public service and instructional mission," said Jerrold Zar, vice provost for Graduate Studies and Research and dean of the Graduate School.

Freagon's work is funded through a contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. In 1994, DCFS Director Jess McDonald asked Freagon to chair a task force looking at the educational aspect of children served by the department as part of a reform lawsuit.

The NIU center now houses the DCFS Education Access Project and receives more than $2 million each year in support. The 10-year total exceeds $12 million.

A staff numbering around 30 across the state handle educational interventions, conduct research, work high-profile education cases from DCFS and train DCFS staff, school staff and caregivers.

"Without (the grants), we would not be able to conduct any of the work we're doing. They're essential," Freagon said. "The full resources of the department and the full resources of the university give kids a better chance than they ever would have had without us."

Results include building the capacity of the DCFS to examine and respond to the educational needs of its population, which includes 25,000 children. That number doubles for Freagon and her staff, who continue to serve the needs of those adopted out of the system.

The center also has identified and defined the unique needs of this population, which previously had been mistakenly classified "at-risk." The research allows center staff to revise teacher preparation and change the way these children are regarded at home.

Mostly, however, "we've put a face on kids who are abused and neglected for the school system. This is probably our greatest accomplishment.

"We're producing results for kids. The results are visible," she added. "That's the mood the country is in now: results and outcomes. They want accountability. People are going to the put the money with people who achieve results."

Simmons, who came to NIU in 1987, receives grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She heads the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, a joint project between NIU and the North American Association for Environmental Education, which develops national guidelines and standards for environmental education.

The result is "Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning K-12," an eight-book guide for educators at all levels. Grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pay for its dissemination and for "train the trainer" workshops in West Virginia.

"We're helping people develop the awareness, knowledge and skills concerning the environment to be motivated to prevent environmental problems and protect the environment we have," Simmons said. "We're not telling the children what they should do. It's an educational process so they make good, solid decisions. It has to do with citizenship."

The books — a ninth is in the works with guidelines for development and implementation of sound environmental education programs — were sent to every state superintendent of schools, science specialists, curriculum specialists, educational directors at nature centers, aquariums and zoos and to national resource agencies such as the U.S. Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the EPA Bureau of Land Management.

"The U.S. Forest Service wanted to develop a set of materials for their people, and they modeled their set of standards off of these," Simmons said. "It's exciting."

Meanwhile, Simmons is helping to rewrite the standards in a language used by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. NCATE and the North American Association for Environmental Education are now affiliated.

She also is working with state agencies in Georgia, Kentucky, Texas and Utah and with national agencies to develop an environmental educator certification program, similar to state certificates issued to architects or engineers.