Institute Fellows and Researchers

Institute Directors

Jade Wexler, Ph.D.

Jade Wexler is a senior research associate at MCPER and a director of the Dropout Prevention Institute. Dr. Wexler earned her doctoral degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2007 in special education (learning disabilities and behavior disorders) and has extensive experience directing research related to providing high-quality interventions for students with significant reading difficulties and students at risk for dropping out of school. She has developed and implemented several academic interventions for middle and high school students. Dr. Wexler has coordinated large-scale studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, The Meadows Foundation, The Greater Texas Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences. She has also published several papers and chapters on adolescent reading and interventions for struggling readers. Her current research includes:

1. Investigating effective response to intervention practices for older students with reading difficulties/disabilities.
2. Investigating effective methods to decrease dropout rates and increase school engagement for students at risk for dropping out of school.

Sharon Vaughn, Ph.D.

Sharon Vaughn is the executive director of MCPER and a director of the Dropout Prevention Institute. Her bio is available through this link.

Anna-Mari Fall, Ph.D.

Anna-Mari Fall joined MCPER as a research associate in 2009, shortly after completing her doctorate in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in special education and research methods from Virginia Tech. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Fall received a master’s in special education from Virginia Tech. In addition, she was a special education teacher for 2 years in Hungary and Romania. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Fall’s research focused on issues related to educational equity, teacher quality, commitment, and retention. Her current research interests include school dropout, student engagement, interventions that enhance student engagement and decrease dropout, secondary data analysis, and multilevel modeling with latent variables. Currently, she is studying the effect of the school and family contexts on student engagement and dropout using the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) large-scale national database. Dr. Fall is the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious Dissertation Award from the Council of Exceptional Children Teacher Education Division and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the School of Education at Virginia Tech.

Andrea Flower, Ph.D.

Andrea Flower is an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education. Dr. Flower completed her doctorate at the University of Washington in Seattle. Prior to studying at the University of Washington, she taught for several years in Southern California in multiple special education settings across the K–12 continuum. Her current research and teaching focus is on academic and social/behavioral instruction and interventions for students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). More specifically, she is interested in the intersection of academic intervention and secondary- and tertiary-level positive behavior support interventions that promote improved outcomes for these students.

James Patton, Ph.D.

James Patton is an independent consultant and adjunct associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin. He was formerly on the faculty at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Patton has taught students with special needs at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. His primary areas of professional activity are transition assessment and planning, life-skills instruction, adults with learning disabilities, science instruction for students with learning problems, differentiating instruction for students with special needs in inclusive settings, and individuals with disabilities who encounter the criminal justice system. He currently serves as an intellectual disabilities forensics specialist in death penalty cases throughout the country. Dr. Patton grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended St. Louis University High School. He earned his B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and his M.Ed. and Ed.D. from the University of Virginia.

Michael G. Vaughn, Ph.D.

Michael Vaughn received his doctoral degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2005 and is currently an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and holds appointments in Public Policy and the Department of Community Health, Division of Epidemiology, Saint Louis University School of Public Health. His work has appeared in more than 70 publications, and his interdisciplinary research has appeared in such journals as Addictive Behaviors, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Psychiatry, Behavioral and Brain Functions, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Criminology, Social Service Review, and Children and Youth Services Review. His current research includes examining the epidemiology of school disengagement in relation to sociodemographic, personality, and substance use variables; assessing the role of callous-unemotional and related psychopathic features in reading achievement and school academic success; and development and testing of a general biosocial public health model for research and intervention applications on school dropout and educational risk. To contact Dr. Vaughn, visit the Saint Louis University website.

Stephen Ciullo, M.Ed.

Stephen Ciullo is a doctoral student in the Department of Special Education with a concentration in learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. Mr. Ciullo earned his bachelor of arts degree in elementary and special education from SUNY Geneseo. Mr. Ciullo earned his master’s degree in literacy (birth–grade 6) from SUNY Cortland. Mr. Ciullo is a certified special education, elementary, and literacy teacher with 6 years of teaching experience in special education. His research interests include dropout prevention, upper-elementary reading comprehension, and written expression for students with learning disabilities.

Meaghan Edmonds, Ph.D.

Meaghan Edmonds earned a doctorate in educational psychology in 2008. She also holds master’s degrees in curriculum and instruction and program evaluation. Dr. Edmonds began her career as a high school teacher before joining the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts in 1999, and she is currently a research associate at MCPER. She has conducted evaluations of state reading initiatives, coordinated research in the areas of comprehension and content area instruction, and contributed to the development of professional development materials for teachers of reading. Her research interests include content area comprehension instruction, interventions for older students with reading difficulties, and the effect of implementation on program effectiveness.

Cynthia Franklin, Ph.D., LCSW, LMFT

Cynthia Franklin is professor and holder of the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professorship in Mental Health at The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work, where she is also coordinator of the clinical concentration for the Masters in Social Work Program. Dr. Franklin is an internationally known researcher, scholar, and leader in school mental health practice with more than 100 professional publications on topics such as how to prevent high school dropout; how solution-focused, brief therapy works to help at-risk youth succeed in schools; and how to help pregnant and parenting youth stay in school and improve their attendance, academic achievement, and life goals using the Taking Charge Intervention. Dr. Franklin is the author of several books, including The School Services Sourcebook: A Guide for School-Based Professionals (Oxford University Press), Taking Charge: A School-Based Life Skills Program For Adolescent Mothers (Oxford University Press), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in Schools: The 360 Degree View of Practice and Research (Oxford University Press).

Sharon L. Jackson, Ph.D.

Sharon Jackson serves on the Board of Directors of MCPER. Her bio is available through this link.

Nicole Pyle, Ph.D.

Nicole Pyle is the recipient of the 2009 MCPER Postdoctoral Fellowship on Reading Disabilities and Response to Intervention. Dr. Block earned her doctorate of philosophy in education from the joint-doctoral program at Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University, with a concentration on special education. She completed her master of arts degree in secondary curriculum and instruction. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching middle and high school students with disabilities. Her research interests include interventions for struggling adolescent learners, particularly in literacy and dropout prevention, secondary education, peer tutoring, inclusion, and English language learners.

Greg Roberts, Ph.D.

Greg Roberts is the associate director of MCPER. His bio is available through this link.