An Award to Honor Excellence
The Dr. Joseph P. Barankin Wing Award
The Joseph P. Barankin Wing Award recognizes and honors excellence in the field of evidence-based education. The award is presented to an individual(s) for outstanding achievement in the area of advocacy, research, services, teaching, dissemination, implementation and or monitoring.
The Wing Award is named after Joseph P. Barankin in recognition and remembrance of his life-long commitment and contributions to evidence-based education on behalf of all children through his work in boys and girls clubs, education, disabilities, and juvenile justice. He was a teacher, a professor, advocate, state director, and Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction with the California Department of Education. His commitment, intelligence, leadership and passion had a real impact at all levels of education.
Previous Wing Award Winners
2015 Wing Award
Janet Twyman , Ph.D.- Dissemination and Advocacy of Evidenced-Based Educational Practices
Janet Twyman is recognized for her lifelong work disseminating and promoting evidence-based education across all levels of the education landscape in a wide range of careers: teacher, school principal, education administrator, university professor, program designer, author, speaker, and researcher. She is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert on evaluating and supporting effective instructional practices and program innovations. She recently presented at the United Nations on technology and education for learners in developing countries. She was the president of the Association of Behavior Analysis International where she organized two conferences on Evidence-based Education. As Vice-President of “Headsprout”, she led the design, development, and dissemination of the company’s award winning Internet-based reading programs and oversaw their implementation in over 1,500 public and private schools. And she is currently the Director of Innovation and Technology at the Center on Innovations in Learning. Her contributions to the field of evidence based education have been numerous, innovative and impactful. (155)
2014 Wing Award
Timothy Slocum , Ph.D. - Educator Training
Timothy A. Slocum is recognized for his work in supporting evidence-based school improvement through his work as a researcher, faculty member and chair at Utah State University (USU) in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation. He has done significant and extensive research on phonological skills, vocabulary, school-wide implementation of research-based reading instruction, and evidence-based practice. As an instructor, he teaches courses at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels on topics including evidence-based reading instruction, research methods and statistics, advanced topics in behavior analysis, and language. Dr. Slocum was recognized as 2011 Teacher of the Year by the USU College of Education. He received the 2011 Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. Many of his graduate students have gone on to make significant contributions of their own to the field of evidence based education. (142)
2012 Wing Award
Sam Redding, Ph.D. - School Improvement
Sam Redding is recognized for his lifetime achievements in the area of evidenced-based school improvement. He is currently the Director of the Center on Innovation & Improvement (CII), a federally funded organization providing technical assistance to federal, state and local education agencies and schools. He has been executive editor of the School Community Journal since 1991 and was a senior research associate of the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) at Temple University from 1995 to 2005. He has edited and written numerous books, articles, and chapters in the areas of school management, school improvement, and factors affecting school learning. He has served on a variety of state committees, including the standards-writing committee for the Illinois State Board of Education; the Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) Leadership Team and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Parent Leadership Team; and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. He also served on the IES expert panel on school turnarounds and co-authored its 2008 report: Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools. His contributions to the field of evidence-based education have been significant. (180)
2011 Wing Award
Susan Wilczynski, Ph.D. - National (Autism) Standards Project
Susan Wilczynski is recognized for her leadership as Executive Director of the National Autism Center and Chair of the National Standards Project. The National Standards Project was created to address a significant challenge in services related to individuals with Autism: the lack of a systematic review process for identifying and disseminating evidence-based treatment approaches. The National Standards Project created (1) an atmosphere of collaboration among a large, diverse, and energetic group of professionals and lay members of the autism community, 2) a professional review organization that included over 130 professionals serving as document reviewers, expert panelists, conceptual model reviewers, and article reviewers, 3) a conceptual model framework (review process) for evaluating complex and diverse research, including single-subject designs, 4) a review process that is a model for transparency, 5) a systematic review of Autism Spectrum Disorder research from 1957 to 2007, 6) a heuristic that displays the reviews for individual treatments in a manner that is clear and effective for professionals and lay people; and 6) a framework for future editions of the National Standards Project and comparable initiatives in a wide range of practice. The National Standards Report represents an extraordinary accomplishment. While reflecting the contributions of a great many people, it required a leader with extraordinary ability, integrity, and strength to accomplish its mission. That leader was Susan Wilczynski. (221)
2010 Wing Award
Hill Walker, Ph.D. - Evidence-based Solutions for Children w/ Behavior Disorders
Hill Walker is recognized for his contributions to the field of Behavior Disorders, playing a significant role in defining how problems are addressed. He was one of the first to apply a public health service model to children’s social emotional development. He has written extensively on the need to use evidence-based interventions to address to social and academic development of children, becoming an outspoken advocate of relying on empirical evidence to guide conduct rather than ideology and turf wars. In addition to his overall contributions, Dr. Walker developed the Systematic Screening of Behavior Disorders (SSBD)--an empirical approach to identifying those students who are at risk for behavior disorders. The SSBD is very widely used in both practice and research. He also developed First Step to Success, which has been empirically validated through rigorous research as an effective approach for improving the social behavior of early elementary grade students. Dr. Walker is currently the Co-Director of the Institute for Violence and Destructive Behavior, and Co-Editor of Interventions for Academic and Behavior Problems--one of the most influential works in the field of school psychology. (184)
2009 Wing Award
Suzanne Fitch, Ph.D. - Data-Based Decision Making Organization
Susanne Fitch and Ken Traupmann are jointly recognized for their achievement as co-founders and co-directors of The Institute for Effective Education (IEE). IEE is a world-class educational program, achieving unparalleled outcomes with student performance, staff development, and applied research. Through their experience, expertise, and commitment, Fitch and Traupmann have demonstrated that all students can learn, and that an educational culture can be built that is reinforcing, learner-centered, data based, and inclusive. They have continually exhibited a commitment to the community and dissemination of best practices through partnering with public schools, universities, and other community agencies. Their positive impact on student lives and their community has been dramatic. As much as this award recognizes the excellence of the Institute for Effective Education, it also highlights the sustainability of their efforts, outcomes and success over the past 25 years. Their commitment to performance based outcomes, continuous improvement, and the advancement of the science of effective education has built a culture whose success will continue well into the future. Fitch and Traupmann have truly created a unique and exceptional organization! (177)
2009 Wing Award
Ken Traupmann, Ph.D. - Data-Based Decision Making Organization
Ken Traupmann and Susanne Fitch are jointly recognized for their achievement as co-founders and co-directors of The Institute for Effective Education (IEE). IEE is a world-class educational program, achieving unparalleled outcomes with student performance, staff development, and applied research. Through their experience, expertise, and commitment, Traupmann and Fitch have demonstrated that all students can learn, and that an educational culture can be built that is reinforcing, learner-centered, data based, and inclusive. They have continually exhibited a commitment to the community and dissemination of best practices through partnering with public schools, universities, and other community agencies. Their positive impact on student lives and their community has been dramatic. As much as this award recognizes the excellence of the Institute for Effective Education, it also highlights the sustainability of their efforts, outcomes and success over the past 25 years. Their commitment to performance based outcomes, continuous improvement, and the advancement of the science of effective education has built a culture whose success will continue well into the future. Traupmann and Fitch have truly created a unique and exceptional organization! (177)
2009 Wing Award
Kent Johnson, Ph.D. - Data-Based Decision Making Organization
Kent Johnson is recognized for his achievement as founder and director of Morningside Academy, a world-class educational program that achieves unparalleled outcomes with student performance, staff development, and applied research. He has continually exhibited a commitment to the community and dissemination of best evidence-based practices through partnering with over 100 public schools, universities, and other community agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Indian Reservations in Montana. He created the Partnerships for Educational Excellence and Research (P.E.E.R.), a collaborative project with schools in South Africa. He also created and operates sophisticated training programs to teach educators
Direct instruction, precision teaching, TAPS, and SAFMEDS.v His commitment to performance based outcomes, continuous improvement, and the advancement of the science of effective education has built a culture whose success will continue well into the future. (131)
2008 Wing Award
George Sugai, Ph.D. - Positive Behavior Support
George Sugai and Rob Hoerner are jointly recognized for their work in researching, developing, implementing, and taking to scale Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a proactive, systems-level approach that enables schools to effectively and efficiently support student (and staff) behavior. SWPBS specifically asks schools to select outcomes, data, practices, and systems— the four critical elements previously mentioned—that are contextually appropriate and meaningful for the school. When schools implement SWPBS, they typically experience decreases in inappropriate behaviors (as measured by decreases in discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions). In addition, schools that implement SWPBS often find that students’ academic performance improves, as teachers are able to return to teaching academics after stabilizing the social behavior. Unlike typical school practices, which often wait for a student to fail before providing support, SWPBS employs a three-tier approach to behavior support to (a) proactively address the social behavior needs of all students and (b) prevent social and academic failure. The program is a model of best practices and, at the time of this award, is currently being implemented in 7,557 schools implementing PBIS across 45 states. (185)
2008 Wing Award
Rob Horner, Ph.D. - Positive Behavior Support
Rob Hoerner and George Sugai are jointly recognized for their work in researching, developing, implementing, and taking to scale Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a proactive, systems-level approach that enables schools to effectively and efficiently support student (and staff) behavior. SWPBS specifically asks schools to select outcomes, data, practices, and systems— the four critical elements previously mentioned—that are contextually appropriate and meaningful for the school. When schools implement SWPBS, they typically experience decreases in inappropriate behaviors (as measured by decreases in discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions). In addition, schools that implement SWPBS often find that students’ academic performance improves, as teachers are able to return to teaching academics after stabilizing the social behavior. Unlike typical school practices, which often wait for a student to fail before providing support, SWPBS employs a three-tier approach to behavior support to (a) proactively address the social behavior needs of all students and (b) prevent social and academic failure. The program is a model of best practices and, at the time of this award, is currently being implemented in 7,557 schools implementing PBIS across 45 states. (185)
2007 Wing Award
Marty Cavanaugh, Ph.D. - Neverstreaming
Martin Javanaugh, Deputy Superintendent Sacramento County Office of Education, was given the prestigious 2007 Ernie Wing Award for Excellence in Evidence-based Education at the Wing Institute’s Second Annual Summit on Evidence-based Special Education. The award was in recognition of Cavanaugh’s work in the development, implementation and dissemination of “Neverstreaming” in public schools.
Under Cavanaugh’s leadership, Neverstreaming became one of the of the earliest school system-wide models for early intervention, research-based curriculum, and data-guided teaching, becoming a predecessor of the nationally recognized Response to Intervention (RtI) model. His major accomplishment was in bringing about a true “culture change”, bridging general and special education and breaking the “fail first” cycle for at-risk children. His success at implementing a “sustainable” system was extraordinary. (121)