Sara McDaniel

Degree	Area of Study	University
Ph.D.	Special Education	Georgia State University
M.Ed.	Special Education	Georgia State University; Internship: Vanderbilt University; Internship: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Southeast Division
B.A.	Psychology with a minor in Health Education	Elon University

Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership

Harvard Graduate School

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Year	Award
2024	President’s Mid Career Social Science Researcher Award, University of Alabama
2023	College of Education DEI Faculty Award, University of Alabama
2022-2023	Public Engagement Learning Community Fellow, University of Alabama
2021	School Psychology’s Article of the Year (McIntosh, et al, 2021)
2020	Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Faculty, University of Alabama
2019	Council for Exceptional Children-DR Distinguished Early Career
2019	President’s Faculty Research Award: Emerging Researcher, University of Alabama
2015-2016	APBS E. G. Carr Initial Researcher Award
2014	University of Alabama Research Summer Project Director
2013	Council for Exceptional Children Division of Research Early Career Workshop
2012-2013	University of Alabama Junior Investigators Program
2010-2011	Council for Exceptional Children Division of Research Scholars
2010-2011	Midwest Symposium on Leadership in Behavior Disorders Dissertation Award

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Federal grants:

• McDaniel, S. C. (2023; Co-Investigator). Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach. National Institutes of Health (R01). $3,683,202. University of Oregon, Nese (PI)
• Mehari, K. (2022;  PI of Subaward). Preventing Youth Violence Through Building Equitable Communities: An Evaluation of a Multisystemic Intervention National Institutes of Health, R01; NIMHD
• Gunn, H., Xia, M., Bolland, A., & McDaniel, S. C. (2022; Co-Investigator). Socioecological approach to school start times and sleep health disparities in underrepresented youth. National Institutes of Health, R15.
• McDaniel, S. C., Cohen, D., Watkins, L., Preast, J. & Banard-Brak, L. (2020) Project RIIPL (Rural, Interdisciplinary, Interconnected Practitioner-Leaders). (PI, Office of Special Education Programming, funded) $1,090,453.
• McDaniel, S. C., Lochman, J., Powell, N., McIntosh, K., Mercer, S. & LaSalle, T. (2019).      Reducing Youth Violence and Racism/Discrimination: The Efficacy of Comprehensive   Prevention Strategies (CPS). National Institutes of Health, R01 (PI, funded). $2,400,000.
• McIntosh, K., Girvan, E., Smolkowski, K., Nese, R., Falcon, S., & McDaniel, S. C. (2019).   Project ReACT. Institute of Education Sciences, Goal 2 (Co-Investigator, funded).

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1. McDaniel, S. C., Bruhn, A. L. & Estrapala, S. E. (2024). Social, Emotional, Behavioral Supports in Schools. Guilford Publishing.
2. Cohen, D., McDaniel, S. C., Lochman, J. L. (2024). Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Middle School Students with Aggression: Examining the Role of Pandemic Exposure and Perceived Discrimination. School Psychology.
3. McDaniel, S. C., Mahatmya, D., & Bruhn, A. (2023). Educator Burnout in the Age of COVID-19: A Mediation Analysis of Perceived Stressors, Work Sense of Coherence, and Sociodemographic Characteristics. Teaching and Teacher Education
4. *McDaniel, S. C., Coogler, C., & Guyotte, K. (2023). “It’s a Process”: Preliminary Stakeholder Perceptions of Tier 2 Implementation Barriers, Facilitators, and Attitudes. Journal of Applied School Psychology.
5. McDaniel, S. C., Watkins, L., & Chow, J. (2023). 30 Years of Coping Power research: Systematic literature review of research quality and implementation and study variables. Journal of Applied School Psychology.
6. Brady, L., McDaniel, S. C., & Choi, Y. (2022). Teacher Stress and Burnout: The Role of Psychological Work Resources and Implications for Practitioners. Psychology in the Schools, 60(6), 1706-1726
7. McDaniel, S. C., Nese, R., Tomek, S. & Jiang, S. (2022). District-wide outcomes from bullying prevention programming embedded within schoolwide PBIS. Preventing School Failure
8. McDaniel, S. C., Bardhoshi, G., Kivlinghan, D. M. (2022). Preliminary Evaluation of Open Circle Social Emotional Learning Program and the Open Circle Scales. School and Community Journal
9. Bruhn, A. L., Choi, Y., McDaniel, S. C., Stephens, H, & Hirsch, S. (2022) Meeting the needs of students with emotional and behavioral disorders during the COVID-19 school closures. Behavioral Disorders (47), 4 10.1177/01987429211067472
10. Harbour, K., McDaniel, S. C., & Preast, J.  (2022). Integrating targeted academic and behavioral interventions for students with challenging behavior. Teaching    Exceptional   Children
11. *McIntosh, K., Girvan, E. J., Fairbanks, S. Falcon, S., McDaniel, S. C., Smolkowski, K., Bastable, E., Santiago-Rosario, M. R., Izzard, S., Austin, S. C., Nese, R. N. T., & Baldy, T. S. (2021). Equity-focused PBIS approach reduces racial inequities in school discipline: A randomized controlled trial. School Psychology, 36(6), 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000466

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Dr. Sara McDaniel is a professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Alabama and is the director of the Center for Interconnected Behavioral and Mental Health Systems (CIBMHS). The CIBMHS is a research center that engages in rigorous research in schools and focuses on supporting schools and districts in implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and school-based mental health services, as well as regular programing offered to the University of Alabama faculty, staff, and students. Dr. McDaniel conducts collaborative research and teaches in the areas of: (a) PBIS and multitiered systems of support, (b) positive classroom practices, (c) Systems, practices, and policies that improve equity and disproportionate discipline, and (d) practices to improve educator and student well-being in schools. Specifically, Dr. McDaniel examines implementation science and systems mechanisms across these research areas as well as the translation of research to practice and practice to research.