Rebecca Hebner Roppolo, MPH, is an implementation specialist with the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) and lead of the Quality and Outcome Monitoring for Improvement Core for the Impact Center at FPG. As part of our FPG profile series, we recently spoke with Roppolo to learn more about her work here at the Institute.

While the research portfolio of UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) Faculty Fellow Brianne Tomaszewski, PhD, includes a wide range of projects, a focus on supporting the autonomy of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is central to all her work.

The research and translation of empirical findings of FPG Faculty Fellow Dorothy Espelage, PhD—a leading expert on addressing teenage domestic violence, bullying, and student well-being—have resulted in a plethora of interventions, policies and laws protecting young people and making schools safer. Learn more about her work.

With a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), FPG Faculty Fellows Kara Hume, PhD, Brianne Tomaszewski, PhD, will lead research that aims to increase the physical activity of adults with intellectual disabilities in an effort to support their physical and mental health and promote healthy aging.

Early care and education provide a strong foundation for children's academic success and overall well-being. This focus area has been central to the work of the FPG since its founding more than 50 years ago. And that is why we were especially pleased to host a group of participants from Building Bright Futures―a pilot early childhood education pre-apprenticeship-to-apprenticeship program within the NCBCE―for a morning of presentations and an open discussion.

FPG’s Implementation Summer Internship Program, a paid opportunity for masters' and doctoral students, recently wrapped up. The program, which is designed to create a challenging and meaningful professional experience, exposes interns to implementation practice and research across a variety of fields and practice settings. The four interns of this year’s cohort recently took time to reflect on their experiences in the internship program and answer a few questions.

Developing and retaining well-trained teachers and aides is critically important to ensure high quality early childhood education programs, but keeping qualified early childhood educators on staff has always been a challenge. New research—led by FPG Senior Research Scientists Donna Bryant, PhD, and Noreen Yazejian, PhD—investigates the timing of staff turnover and the characteristics associated with this turnover.

In June 2023, researchers from the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute issued, “Longitudinal Study of Georgia's Pre-K Program Final Report: Pre-K Through 4th Grade.” This longitudinal study followed a statewide sample of 1,169 children who attended Georgia’s Pre-K Program in 2013–14 through their 4th grade year in 2018–19.

A few years ago, educators in Wyoming contacted FPG's Sherri Britt Williams and Catasha Williams with the dream to improve outcomes for children with disabilities. Through a series of phone calls, the group determined the outline of that dream, which resulted in state leaders using evidence-based practices (EBPs) with an implementation framework.