Brittany Zakszeski
Assistant Professor University of Delaware
- Newark DE
Prof. Zakszeski’s research centers on promoting students’ mental and behavioral health through multi-tiered support systems.
Media
Social
Biography
Dr. Zakszeski’s research centers on promoting students’ and personnel’s mental and behavioral health through multi-tiered systems of support in schools. Her work leverages advances in implementation science to address barriers to schools’ adoption, high-fidelity implementation, and sustained use of evidence-based assessment and intervention practices, at the universal (system-wide), targeted, and individual levels. In recognition of limited school resources and workforce shortages, Dr. Zakszeski prioritizes refining accessible, efficient, and scalable practices. Given the persistence of vast educational and health disparities, she is particularly committed to promoting equitable outcomes for minoritized students, families, and communities.
Dr. Zakszeski directs Project GROW (Growing Resilience, Opportunities, and Wellness in Delaware Schools), a project funded by the United States Department of Education and Delaware Department of Education. Project GROW seeks to integrate and evaluate state-wide, cross-university efforts to advance school mental health service professional recruitment, preparation, practice, and retention in high-need schools across Delaware. Concurrently, this project targets the adoption and sustained use of inclusive practices and equity-focused data-based decision-making within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in Delaware schools.
Dr. Zakszeski teaches courses in behavioral and systems consultation and supervises fieldwork in school psychology. She has held various leadership roles in the National Association of School Psychologists and serves on the editorial boards for Journal of School Psychology and School Psychology Review.
Areas of Expertise
Media Appearances
Building A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Framework for Mental Health
Tech & Learning online
2022-03-22
To address these mental health challenges, schools need to implement a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), say psychologists Laura E. Rutherford and Brittany Zakszeski. Rutherford is director of training and a research psychologist at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Consulting, a behavioral healthcare nonprofit, while Zakszeski is a training and consulting specialist at Devereux Center for Effective Schools.
Articles
In pursuit of equity: Discipline disproportionality and SWPBIS implementation in urban schools.
School Psychology2021
School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) frameworks have been suggested as a promising approach to reducing disproportionality in school discipline practices; however, few studies have tested this potential, and findings have been mixed. In our sample of 27 urban schools and approximately 15,000 students, risk difference and ratio trajectories for office discipline referrals (ODRs) across 3 years of Tier I implementation evidenced sustained or, in some cases, heightened disproportionality for students identified as Black/African American or Latinx/Hispanic (relative to White; in a study subsample), identified as male (relative to a female), enrolled in each school’s upper three grades (relative to lowest three grades), and not participating in special education (relative to participating in special education).
Mind the gap: A systematic review of research on restorative practices in schools
School Psychology Review2021
Restorative justice approaches in schools have gained popularity given their potential to build safer and more positive school communities, offer alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and promote equity in school outcomes. Historically, research in this area has been lacking, but recent increases in publications point to the need for research syntheses. A systematic literature review was undertaken to describe the state of the literature on restorative practices in schools. Review findings indicate shortcomings of current research in informing practice and the likelihood of a sustained “practice-to-research” gap.
Targeted intervention for elementary students with internalizing behaviors: A pilot evaluation
School Psychology Review2023
The Calm Cat Program was developed in response to the need for intervention approaches that target internalizing symptoms, are developmentally appropriate for early elementary students, and are feasible for school-based implementation by staff without specialized training. The Calm Cat Program is a brief Tier 2 intervention combining behavioral skills training and mentor-based coaching. In this initial study, the Calm Cat Program was evaluated in a cluster-randomized controlled trial of 72 student participants in nine elementary schools. Over a 5-week period, school counselors implemented small-group skills training sessions, and classroom teachers provided daily coaching on targeted relaxation skills.
Informant discrepancies in universal screening as a function of student and teacher characteristics
School Psychology Review2023
Despite the widespread use of school-based universal screening systems for social, emotional, and behavioral risk, limited research has examined discrepancies in ratings provided by teachers and their secondary students. Using the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS; teacher report) and mySAEBRS (student report) scores from a middle school sample, we examined the magnitudes and prevalence of informant discrepancies as well as associated student and teacher factors. Analyses revealed discrepancies consistently in the direction of teachers reporting lower levels of risk than students and were starkest for the Emotional Behavior Risk subscale.
Pilot Evaluation of the POWER Program: Positive Outcomes with Emotion Regulation
School Mental Health2024
The Positive Outcomes With Emotion Regulation (POWER) Program is a transdiagnostic intervention for adolescents at risk of developing emotional disorders. The POWER Program was designed to be implemented in secondary schools, by school personnel with or without specialized mental health training, as a Tier 2 intervention. In this pilot study, the POWER Program was implemented by school psychologists and school psychologists-in-training and evaluated across four focal student participants using a multiple-baseline-across-participants single-case design.
Research Grants
Efficacy of a Targeted Intervention for Elementary Students with Internalizing Behaviors
American Psychological Foundation, John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance
2021–2022
Pilot Evaluation of a Targeted Mental Health Intervention for High School Students
Society for the Study of School Psychology, Early Career Research Awards Program
2022–2023
School-Based Mental Health Promotion in the First State: Building Capacity with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
United States Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Safe and Supportive Schools: Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program
2023–2027
Accomplishments
Lehigh University College of Education Nominee, Distinguished Dissertation Award in Social Sciences, U.S. Council of Graduate Schools & University Microfilms International
2020
Paul H. Henkin Memorial Scholarship Award, National Association of School Psychologists
2020
Early Career Scholar, School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference, Society for the Study of School Psychology
2021–2022
Servant Leadership Award, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
2022
Honorable Mention, School Psychology 2021 Article of the Year, American Psychological Association Division 16
2022
Education
Loyola University Maryland
BA
Psychology and Writing
2013
Leigh University
MEd
Human Development
2015
Lehigh University
Certificate
Behavior Analysis
2018
Lehigh University
PhD
School Psychology
2019
Affiliations
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS)
- Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania (ASPP)
- Delaware Association of School Psychologists (DASP)
- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
Event Appearances
Targeted high school mental health support: Introducing the POWER Program
(2024) National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention New Orleans, LA
Designing and supporting Tier 2 mental health systems in high schools
(2024) 21st International Conference on Positive Behavior Support Chicago, IL
A scoping review of classroom management assessment tools
(2024) American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Philadelphia, PA
Patterns of youth adversity and relations with behavioral health during the COVID-19 pandemic
(2024) American Psychological Association Convention Seattle, WA
Youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: An intersectional analytic approach
(2024) American Psychological Association Convention Seattle, WA
