FSU—s Rebound Recovery expands in Leon County with $2 million federal grant

Florida State University—s Rebound Recovery team told the Leon County School Board on Sept. 23 that its cognitive-behavioral resilience curriculum has shown measurable gains in early learners and is expanding after receiving a $2,000,000 federal grant.

Ty Cole, Associate Director of the Stoop Center for Communities, Families and Children at FSU, and Reagan Hamilton described Rebound Recovery—s three-year partnership with Leon County Schools. Cole said the program has reached 862 children in pre-K classrooms and related supports across 26 schools and 56 classrooms, and reported a 56% improvement in the social-emotional domain in its first year and an 80% improvement in year two as measured by the district—s Teaching Strategies GOLD assessments. "Rebound Recovery is not only changing the classroom culture, but it's changing the way the students interact with each other," Cole said.

The presenters announced a $2,000,000 award from the Health Resources and Services Administration to support a Pathways to Paraprofessionals program. The grant will underwrite training, internships and supports for high-school seniors and recent graduates who pursue certification as behavioral health technicians; Cole said $1,000,000 of the grant will go directly to student supports and that the program includes a $3,000 stipend for participating students.

Board members and the superintendent framed the grant as both an early-intervention and workforce-development win. Superintendent Hannah noted the district—s focus on early learning and how interventions at ages 3 and 4 can affect long-term outcomes. Board Member Jones commended the program—s focus on sustaining teacher capacity: "When brick and mortar leave us, the intellectual capacity that you've now poured into our teachers ... will be able to be sustained beyond the present time," he said.

FSU presenters described Rebound Recovery—s classroom supports for teachers—one-on-one coaching, in-person training, monthly meetings and online resources—and said they will expand caregiver outreach (including text-based reminders and a 24/7 messaging line) and move into kindergarten classrooms this year. The board applauded the partnership and the Children—s Services Council for funding that supported initial implementation.

Next steps: presenters said they will begin recruitment and workforce development activities immediately, including outreach at the district—s World of Work events and local recruiting activities.