Academic Title:
Assistant Professor
Primary Appointment:
Psychiatry
Additional Title:
Licensed Special in School Psychology (Texas; 2006 - present)
Location:
737 West Lombard Street, 4th Floor
Phone (Primary):
(410) 706-6544
Fax:
(410) 706-0984
Education and Training
Post-Doctoral Fellow, National Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine (2017-2019)
Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin (2017)
Pre-Doctoral Internship: Travis County Juvenile Services Psychology Inernship Program, Austin, Texas (2016-2017)
Biosketch
Dr. Scardamalia's research builds on her extensive experience as a school psychologist working with high needs youth and their families. In addition to providing services for traditional public school campuses, Dr. Scardamalia has worked as a school psychologist in juvenile justice settings including juvenile detention and post-adjudication residential treatment. Dr. Scardamalia has conducted research on factors influencing determinations of special education eligibility under the disability category of emotional disturbance. Her current research focuses on the intersection of the public education, juvenile justice, and mental health systems and their contribution to the disproportionate number of minorities impacted by the school to prison pipeline. Dr. Scardamalia’s research addresses universal prevention and intervention through her work on the development of a modularized, classroom based, social emotional learning curriculum and through her research on district-wide strategies to reduce exclusionary discipline practices. In addition to conducting school-based research, she provides training, technical assistance, and consultation support to school districts and educational leaders at local, state and national levels.
Research/Clinical Keywords
Special education, assessment, emotional disturbance, juvenile justice, exclusionary discipline, social-emotional learning, school mental health
Highlighted Publications
Scardamalia, K., Bentley-Edwards, K. L., & Grasty, K. (2018). Consistently inconsistent: An Examination of the Variability in the Identification of Emotional Disturbance. Psychology in the Schools, Advance online publication. doi:10.1002/pits.22213
Wildeman, C., Scardamalia, K., Walsh, E. G., O’Brien, R. L., & Brew, B. (2017). Paternal Incarceration and Teachers’ Expectations of Students. Socius (3), 1-14