We conduct research aimed to promote student learning by utilizing efficient, effective, and culturally affirming behavioral supports for youth and vested partners. Our scholarship is primarily applied and behavior analytic in nature, aligned with the UMB College of Education and Human Development commitment to anti-racism and community-engaged research.
UMB Supports and Intervention for Learning (SAIL) Lab
Lab Holiday Brunch in December 2025
Project Beacon was featured in NASP's Communiqué in the November 2025 Issue!
Emily and Ray at the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Conference February 2025
Winter 2025
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The lab has some new publications out! (*denotes student co-author)
Fallon, L. M., Luh, H., & Lawson, T. K. (2026). Behavioral consultation: Research and implications for promoting practice. In A. Garbacz, D. Newman, W. Erchul, & S. Sheridan (Eds.). Handbook of Research in School Consultation (3rd Edition). Taylor and Francis Group. - Check out the book here!
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Fallon, L. M., La Salle-Finley, T., *Norman, G. N., *Laenen, D., *Romero, E., *Adams, J., *Clay, K., *Wollin, T., *Anderson, M., *Sunda, R., & Ervin, A. (2025). “We all can learn from one another”: Student, caregiver, and educator perspectives to strengthen culturally responsive practice within multi-tiered systems of support for behavior (MTSS-b). School Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2025.2601508 - Read it here!​
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Fallon, L. M., *Laenen, D. P., *Kausel, J., *Sunda, R., *Palacios Molina, A. V., & *Romero, E. D. (2025). Prompting implementation of culturally responsive teaching in a therapeutic setting. School Psychology, 40(3), 404–409. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000638 - Read it here!
Fallon, L. M., *Laenen, D. P., & *Romero, E. D. (2025). ​​Advancing racial equity with MTSS-B in self-contained classrooms. Beyond Behavior, 34(3) 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/10742956251340597 - Read it here!​
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New grant alert! First-year lab member, Abby Furey, supported Dr. Fallon and the Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) with a successful proposal to the American Camp Association's Character at Camp Initiative. The Center was funded with a $207,808 grant for their project, Character+ at Camp Shriver! The project started in January 2026 and will go through December 2027, incorporating explicit character education at Camp Shriver, CSDE's fully inclusive, free summer camp for youth in the Boston area.
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Calling all teachers! If you are an in-service or pre-service educator, please consider participating in our Advancing Equity Module Trial. Please email project manager, Alexis Ervin, with your interest and we will share more details!
CSDE's Camp Shriver was awarded $20k from Arbella Insurance at the $20k for 20 Non-Profits Luncheon in November 2025
Current and Past Projects
This four-year study is a Development and Innovation (Pilot) project to develop Advancing Equity (AE), a training and coaching intervention to center equity in the design and implementation of Tier 1 multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) health. AE will consist of four components: Team Coaching Protocol, a series of online Staff Training Modules, an Observation and Feedback Form, and a Procedural Fidelity Inventory.
This project is to develop and validate a teacher self-assessment, the Assessment of Culturally and Contextually Relevant Supports (ACCReS). The ACCReS assesses the extent to which educators use evidence-based culturally and contextually relevant academic and behavioral practices, make data-based educational decisions, and have access to training/support systems to promote the use of these practices. (Please note that this project ended in 2024, however manuscripts related to data collection continue to be disseminated.)
Project Beacon is an innovative training partnership between the Brockton, Lawrence, and Quincy Public Schools (three high-need local education agencies) and University of Massachusetts Boston (UMASS Boston; a minority serving institution [MSI]). This partnership was designed to prepare 50 mental health service providers to work in high-need schools.
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Project BAMH and BAMHS will support efforts to recruit, retain, train, and place over 240 students in behavioral health positions in the City of Boston. Transforming BAMH/BAMHS will prioritize preparing youth-facing practitioners with cultural, linguistic, racial, and other minoritized identities to serve Boston communities.
Managing Resistance
The purpose of this project is to understand how Faculty of Color engaged in racial justice work at urban serving institutions to navigate institutional- and individual-level resistance to anti-racism efforts. Qualitative interviews are currently being coded for dissemenation.
Resources
Thanks for your interest in the lab's work! To share a bit about my mentorship style, I value a collaborative, supportive approach that endeavors to build students' skills and carve out a clear path for them moving forward. I try to have clear guidance and expectations while being available to answer questions and problem-solve when barriers arise. I strive to encourage my mentees to find balance between personal and professional responsibilities and goals. I appreciate that the lab is fantastic at encouraging one another and being there to support each other.
A Message from Dr. Fallon
