Our Lab in the Media
Dr. Cixin Wang was awarded the PROGRESS grant for her project "Empower Youth
Academy: Building Skills, Character & Resilience"
This project will establish the Empower Youth Academy (EYA), and test its feasibility and preliminary effectiveness through a school- and community-embedded prevention initiative targeting racially and ethnically diverse youth. EYA directly responds to the need for establishing a youth academy for high-risk youth by creating a school-community prevention model that combines mentoring, AI/media literacy, conflict resolution, character development, and trauma-informed skill-building. EYA integrates: (1) the Bullying Literature Project, a classroom-based bullying prevention intervention developed by PI Wang currently being implemented in Prince George’s County Public Schools to reduce bullying perpetration, positive bystander action, empathy, and emotional regulation; and (2) Trauma-Informed Social-Emotional Learning Workshops, a structured skills-building program for middle and high school students, designed to create psychological safety and stability before and alongside cultivating life skills, building character, and fostering resilience through collaboration with local organizations.
Read the full announcement here
Bullying Literature Project
Led by Dr. Wang and in collaboration with Prince George's County Public Schools, the lab has been working on the Bullying Literature Project, which aims to integrate a bullying prevention program directly into elementary language arts instruction through storytelling. Dr. Wang, along with postdoctoral fellow Wenxi and graduate students Romy, Ja'Kala, Kayla, and William, recently completed delivery of this intervention at a PGCPS elementary school and are undergoing evaluation of the program, with the long-term goal of sustainably expanding the project. As quoted in an article about the BLP in the College of Education newsletter, Dr. Wang describes the long-term goal: "We want to equip educators with the tools they need to foster safe, inclusive environments for all students.
Read the article in the College of Education newsletter here
Teen Mental Health First Aid
Dr. Cixin Wang, graduate students (Romy, Elyssa, William), and postdoctoral fellow (Wenxi) worked with the Chinese American Parents Association of Montgomery County (CAPA-MC) to offer Teen Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to 15 high school students in Maryland in February 2026.
High school students shared very positive feedback, noting that the Teen MHFA program helped them better understand mental health issues and gave them the confidence to support friends who may be experiencing emotional or psychological difficulties.
Read the article about our Teen MHFA training here
BARTV Interview
Dr. Wang was interviewed by BARTV, a Chinese station in Boston. Watch her interview here!
Sea My Culture
Doctoral student Xinyi Zhang created Sea My Culture, a multicultural board game to prevent bullying and promote empathy in schools, as her dissertation project. Read more here and learn more about Sea My Culture here!
NASP Podcast
Dr. Wang recently took part in a podcast for the National Association of School Psychologists. Listen to “Social Justice Perspective on Bullying Prevention” here.