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Educational Services of America Establishes Institutional Review Board for Research
Source: Educational Services of America News Release
Date: November 21, 2011
Author: Educational Services of America
Release
Highlights:
- Educational Services of America (ESA) has established a federally registered Institutional Review Board
(IRB) to review proposed research studies involving ESA schools and
programs.
- ESA’s Research and
Analytics Department will explore a variety of topics, including those
related to student achievement, post-secondary goals and public school
district partner satisfaction with ESA programs.
- The IRB will help ensure ethical
treatment of all students, teachers, parents and public school district
partners involved in the research.
For
Immediate Release Nashville, Tenn. (Monday, Nov. 21) – Educational Services of America (ESA)
has established a federally registered Institutional Review Board (IRB) to
review proposed research studies involving ESA schools and programs. ESA’s
Research and Analytics Department will explore a variety of topics, including
those related to student achievement, post-secondary goals and public school
district partner satisfaction with ESA programs.
The
rigorous IRB review process for research projects conducted in association with
ESA and its two strategic service divisions, Ombudsman
Educational Services and Spectrum Center Schools and Programs, helps ensure all research is conducted in a manner that protects students,
teachers, parents and public school district partners.
“Research is increasingly important to ESA’s mission to educate
non-traditional learners,” Mark Claypool, ESA president and CEO, said. “The
information and insight we gain through evaluation of the effectiveness
of ESA programs helps ensure all students receive the educational and
behavioral tools to learn, graduate and create better lives for themselves,
their families and their communities.”
Members of the ESA executive and leadership teams who serve on the
Institutional Review Board include:
- John McLaughlin, Ph.D.,
Executive Vice President and Director of Research and Analytics
- Shirley Hanback,
Executive Vice President for Human Resources
- Don Whitfield,
Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
- Allison O’Neill, Chief
Operating Officer, Ombudsman Educational Services
- Gail Henderson, Chief
Operating Officer, Spectrum Center Schools and Programs
- Eva Gut, Ph.D.,
Research Associate
- Lisa Britton, Ph.D.,
BCBA (Board Certified Behavioral Analyst), Vice President of Clinical
Services and Integrity Assurance, Spectrum Center Schools and Programs
Lauren Lunsford, Ph.D., an associate professor of literacy at Belmont
University in Nashville, serves as the external member of the IRB, which is
chaired by McLaughlin.
We are committed to sharing our best practices with other organizations
and individuals who work with young people,” McLaughlin said. “Establishing the
Institutional Review Board ensures we do this in a manner that safeguards the
health, privacy and integrity of our students.”
Institutional Review Board registration is obtained through the Office for Human Research Protections
(OHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OHRP provides
leadership in the protection of the rights, welfare, and well-being of research
participants by offering guidance, developing educational programs and
materials, maintaining regulatory oversight, and providing advice on ethical
and regulatory issues in biomedical and social-behavioral research.
About ESA
ESA’s
mission is to provide personalized, evidence-based educational services for
non-traditional learners in collaboration with families and public school districts.
To fulfill this mission, ESA operates
two strategic service divisions:
Ombudsman Educational Services, which partners with public school districts to
provide alternative education to non-traditional learners and students who are
at risk of dropping out of school, and Spectrum Center Schools and Programs,
which partners with
public schools to provide individualized services for students with challenging
educational and behavioral needs such as autism, emotional disturbance and
developmental delay. ESA partners with 260 public school districts in 22 states
and the District of Columbia to serve 12,000 students each year in more than 170
schools and programs. For more information, visit www.esa-education.com.
# # #
Resource
Links
Educational
Services of America
Corporate: www.esa-education.com
Ombudsman: www.ombudsman.com
Spectrum: www.spectrumschools.com
HHS
Office for Human Research Protections
Website:
www.hhs.gov/ohrp For
more information:
Educational Services of America
Dana Coleman
Lovell Communications
(615) 297-7766
dana@lovell.com
Category: News Release
Tags:
Lauren Lunsford, Ph.D.
John McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Research and Analytics Department
HHS Office for Human Research Protections
Institutional Review Board
Educational Services of America
Spectrum Center Schools and Programs
Ombudsman Educational Services
