Faculty and Staff

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D., Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1969
• M.A., Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1967
• B.A., Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1963

Specializations

Response to intervention, research on tertiary interventions, inclusion, schoolwide positive behavior support, and comprehensive school reform using the Schoolwide Applications Model (SAM).

Awards/Honors

• The Arc's Distinguished Research Award (2007)
• University of Kansas, School of Education, Research Achievement Award (2007)
• CALTASH Robert Gaylor-Ross Memorial Scholarship Award (2006)
• TASH Positive Approaches Award (2005)
• American Association of Mental Retardation Century Project Award (2003)

Books

• Sailor, W., Dunlap, G., Sugai, G., Horner, R. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of Positive Behavior Supports. In. M. Roberts (Series Ed.), Handbook of Clinical Child Psychology. New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W., Dunlap, G., Sugai, G., & Horner, R. (Eds.) (2009). Handbook of positive behavior support. New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W. (2009). Making RTI work: How smart schools are reforming education through schoolwide RTI. New York: Jossey-Bass.
• Sailor, W. (Ed.) (2002). Whole-school success and inclusive education: Building partnerships for learning, achievement, and accountability. Teachers College Press.

Book Chapters

• Sailor, W., Doolittle, J., Bradley, R., & Danielson, L. (2009). Response to intervention and positive behavior support. In W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner (Eds), Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 729-754). New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W., Wolf, N., Choi, J.H., & Roger, B. (2009). Sustaining positive behavior support in a context of comprehensive school reform. In W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner (Eds.), Handbook of positive behavior support (pp.3-16). New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W. (2008). Overview. In T. M. Skrtic, E. M. Horn, & G. M. Clark (Eds.) Taking stock of special education policy & practice. A retrospective commentary. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
• Dunlap, G., Sailor, W., Horner, R., & Sugai, G. (2008). Overview and history of positive behavior support. W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner, (Vol. Eds.), Issues in clinical child psychology. Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 3-16). New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W. (2008). Reflection. In T. M. Skrtic, E. M. Horn, & G. M. Clark (Eds.). Taking stock of special education policy & practice. A retrospective commentary. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
• Sailor, W., Doolittle, J., Bradley, R., & Danielson, L. (2008). Response to intervention and positive behavior support. W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner (Vol. Eds.), Issues in clinical child psychology. Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 729-754). New York: Springer.
• Sailor, W. (2008). Special education in the restructured school. In T. M. Skrtic, E. M. Horn, & G. M. Clark (Eds.). Taking stock of special education policy & practice. A retrospective commentary. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
• Sailor, W., Wolf, N., Choi, J. H., & Roger, B. (2008). Sustaining positive behavior support in a context of comprehensive school reform. W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner (Vol. Eds.), Issues in clinical child psychology. Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 3-16). New York: Springer.
• Lawson, H. A., & Sailor, W. (2005). Integrating Services, Collaborating, and Developing Connections with Schools. In Skrtic, T.M., Harris, K.R., & Shriner, J.G. (Eds.) Special Education Policy and Practice (pp. 526-558). Denver, London, Sydney: Love Publishing Company.
• Horner, R., Dunlap, G., Beasley, J., Fox, L., Bambara, L., Brown, F., Butkus, S., Carr, E., Finn, C., Fletcher, R., Fox, S., Halle, J., Harris, J., Insel, T., Long, E., McGill-Smitth, P., Sailor, W., Titgemeyer, R., Velasco, L., Wacker, D., & Walker, H. (2005). Positive support for behavioral, mental health, communication, and crisis needs. In K. C. Lakin & A. Turnbull (Eds.) National goals & research for people with intellectual & developmental disabilities (pp. 93-107). Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.
• Sugai, G., Horner, R. H., Dunlap, G., Heineman, M., Lewis, T.J., Nelson, C. M., Scott, T., Liaupsin, C., Sailor, W., Turnbull, A.P., Turnbull III, H. R., Wickham, D., Wilcox, B., & Ruef, M. (2004). Applying Positive Behavior Support and Functional Behavioral Assessment in Schools. In Bambara, L., Dunlap, G. & Schwartz, E. (Eds.) Positive behavior support: Critical articles on improving practice for individuals with severe disabilities (pp. 356-368). Pro-ed and TASH.
• Wehmeyer, M.L., & Sailor, W. (2004). High school. In C. Kennedy & E. Horn (Eds.) Including students with severe disabilities, (pp. 259 - 281). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Carr, E., Dunlap, G., Horner, R.H., Koegel, R.L., Turnbull, A.P., Sailor, W., Anderson, J.L., Albin, R.W., Koegel, L.K. , & Fox, Lise. (2004). Positive behavior support: Evolution of an applied science. In Bambara, L., Dunlap, G. & Schwartz, E. (Eds.). Positive behavior support: Critical articles on improving practice for individuals with severe disabilities (pp. 45-58). Pro-Ed and TASH.
• Sailor, W. (2004). Positive behavior supports. In S. W. Lee, & P. A. Lowe (Eds.), Encyclopedia of school psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Horner, R.H., Dunlap, G., Koegel, R.L., Carr, E.G., Sailor, W., Anderson, J., Albin, R.W., & O'Neill, R.E. (2004). Toward a technology of "nonaversive" behavioral support. In Bambara, L., Dunlap, G. & Schwartz, E. (Eds.). Positive behavior support: Critical articles on improving practice for individuals with severe disabilities (pp. 3-10). Pro-Ed and TASH.
• Warren, J. S., Edmonsen, H. M., Griggs, P, Lassen, S. R., McCart, A., Turnbull, A. P., Sailor, W. (2004). Urban applications of schoolwide positive behavior support: Critical issues and lessons learned. In Bambara, L., Dunlap, G. & Schwartz, E. (Eds.). Positive Behavior Support: Critical Articles on Improving Practice for Individuals with Severe Disabilities (pp. 376-387). Pro-Ed and TASH.
• Skrtic, T. M., Sailor, W. & Gee, K. (2004). Voice, collaboration and inclusion: Democratic themes in educational and social reform initiatives. In D. Mitchell (Ed.), Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education (Vol. 2, pp. 214-246). London: Routlegde-Falmer.

Grant Projects

• Turnbull, A.P., Sailor, W., Turnbull, H.R., & Wehmeyer, M.L. (2006-2010). Leadership and Outcomes in Education and Famliy Policy for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities. U.S. Department of Education, OSERS, OSEP Special Education Personnel Preparation to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities Program. $800,000. This USDOE four-year leadership training grant focuses on preparing five national leaders to make substantial and sustainable improvements in long-term outcomes for students with significant cognitive disabilities and their families. Students will have a special emphasis in assessment quality, instructional quality, family support, and policy. Students will enroll in School of Education and Department of Special Education core courses, as well as complete a research minor. They will also engage in leadership practica associated with strategic roles at local, state, and national levels. To learn more, link to the Beach Center's Graduate Studies site. For further information contact Dr. Ann Turnbull (turnbull@ku.edu).
• Sailor, W., & McCart, A. (2007-2010). Tertiary Intervention: The K-I Center. Office of Special Education Programs - U.S. Department of Education. $1,597,794. This demonstration project funded by OSEP establishes a model center that works with schools in Kansas and Illinois to show a) how and when resources and systems are organized to ensure the success of all students in accordance with a response to intervention (RtI) logic model, and b) how individual supports and interventions for students with complex needs can be more effectively/efficiently provided. Specifically, the Center proposes to strategically apply validated approaches using a problem-solving rubric that fully encompasses and integrates school-wide positive behavior support and wraparound, a school mental health approach developed in Illinois and replicated widely in other states. Center resources will be strategically applied to ensure implementation of tertiary systems in demonstration sites already implementing school-wide approaches but struggling with the shift from categorical approaches into RtI logic driven integrated systems.
• McCart, A., & Sailor, W. (2004-2008). Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Supports. U.S. Department of Education. $675,000.
• Sailor, W., Roberts, S. L., & Wehmeyer, M. (2002-2008). KLIPP (Kansas Low-Incidence Personnel). U.S. Department of Education. $1,499,995. This grant addresses the attrition of personnel providing appropriate education for students meeting the low-incidence definition (e.g. severe multiple disabilities, deafness, blindness, severe mental retardation). KLIPP attempts to enhance opportunities for low-incidence instructional education at state teacher-preparation facilities, while extending professional development and guidance. This project allows in-service personnel to become certified without leaving their area within the state of Kansas.
• Sailor, W., & McCart, A. (2008-2012). The University of Kansas Response to Intervention (RtI) Leadership Preparation Program: Improving School Outcomes for Students with Significant Disabilities in Urban Settings. Office of Special Education Programs, Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities. $800,000. This University of Kansas Beach Center on Disability and University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning collaborative project will: (a) recruit five doctoral students with diverse backgrounds and talents, including those with disabilities; (b) provide a doctoral leadership program focused on specialized curricula, extensive urban field experiences, ongoing research application grounded in RtI pedagogy and science; and (c) ensure fidelity of core doctoral training components thorough formative and summative evaluation procedures. Upon completion of this comprehensive professional effort, the five students upon receiving their Doctorate of Philosophy in Special Education will emerge as national leaders, prepared specifically to secure positions that will enable them to prepare highly qualified teachers skilled in RtI applications in urban-core, multicultural schools and to conduct rigorous high quality research directed to applications of RtI methods to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
• Sailor, W., & McCart, A. (2008-2009). The University of Kansas national response to intervention (RTI) leadership preparation program: Improving school outcomes for students with significant disabilities in urban settings. USDE CFDA 84.325D. $193,914. The University of Kansas Department of Special Education proposes a Leadership Preparation Project under CRFA 84.325D that will train five new Ph.D.s in special education to become fully competent as skilled researchers, teacher educators, direct service providers and/or administrators in the field of special education. The KU Department of Special Education has long been a national leader in the preparation of new Ph.D.s as evidenced by the Department's annual ranking as the Nationa's number 1 public university department of special educaiton according to U.S. New and World Report. With this application; a new and highly specialized program of leadership preparation is proposed as a collaborative effort of the Department's two affiliated research centers: the Beach Center on Disability and the Center for Research on Learning (CRL). This collaborative effort is directed to the emerging national need to prepare educators to fully understand and contribute to school-wide response to intervention (RTI) systems; and to focus research training efforts on multicultural schools in urban-core areas where low student achievement at all levels is a major national concern.

Journal Articles

• Sailor, W. (2008). Foreward for TASH special issue publication When Everyone is Included, 7.
• Sailor, W., Stowe, M. J., Turnbull, H.R., & Kleinhammer-Tramill, J. (2007). A case for adding a social/behavioral standard to standards-based education with school-wide positive behavioral support as its basis. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 366-376.
• Sailor, W., Zuna, N., Choi, J., Thomas, J., McCart, A., & Roger, B. (2006). Anchoring schoolwide positive behavior support in structural school reform. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 31(1), 18-30.
• Sailor, W. (2006). Broader potential of response to intervention. (Invited commentary of Special Issue of Early Childhood Education of the Harvard Education Letter in response to an article published in Education Week Nov. 8, 2006).
• Sailor, W., & Roger, B. (2006). PBS in the urban core. TASH Connections 32(1/2), 23-24.
• Dunlap, G., Strain, P.S., Fox, L., Carta, J.J., Conroy, M., Smith, B., Kern, L., Hemmeter, M. L., Timm, M. L., McCart, A., Sailor, W., Markey, U., Markey, D.J., Lardieri, S., & Sowell, C. (2006). Prevention and intervention with young children's challenging behavior: A summary and perspective regarding current knowledge. Behavioral Disorders, 32, 29-45.
• Warren, J. S., Bohannon-Edmonson, H. M., Turnbull, A. P., Sailor, W., Wickham, D., Griggs, P., & Beech, S. E. (2006). School-wide positive behavior support: Addressing behavior problems that impede student learning. Educational Psychology Review.
• Bonhanon, H., Fenning, P., Carney, K.L., Minnis-Kim, M.J., Anderson-Harriss, S., Moroz, K.B., Hhicks, K. J., Kasper, B.B., Culos, C., Sailor, W., & Pigott, T.D. (2006). Schoolwide application of positive behavior support in an urban high school: A case study. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 8(3), 131-145.
• Lassen, S., Steele, M., Sailor, W. (2006). The relationship of school-wide positive behavior support to academic achievement in an urban middle school. Psychology in Schools 43(6), 701-712
• Sailor, W. & Roger, B. (2005). Rethinking inclusion: Schoolwide applications. Phi Delta Kappan 86(7), 503-509
• Sailor, W. (2005). What is schoolwide PBS and why is it important? Jayhawk Educator (summer): 4-5.
• Sailor, W., & Paul, J. L. (2004). Framing positive behavior support in the ongoing discourse concerning the politics of knowledge. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 6(1), 37-49.

Multimedia

• Sailor, W., & McCart, A. (2004). Creating a unified system integrating general and special education for the benefit of all students [Video]. Produced by Leonard Burrello, Chair of Leadership Studies Department, Indiana University. This video features the School-wide Applications Model (SAM) and Positive Behavior Support (PBS) at White Church Elementary School in Kansas City, KS.

Other Resources

• Sailor, W. (2007). (Preface for a book by J.L Paul, J. Kleinhammer-Tramil and K. Fowler Qualitative Research Methods in Special Education).

Presentation(s)

• Sailor, W. (2008, June). Response to intervention (RTI) guided teaching in a community of practice. Presented at the School of Education NCLB Conference, Lawrence, Kansas.

Website(s)

• http://www.beachcenter.org/
• http://www.pbis.org
• http://www.lsi.ku.edu/
• http://www.tash.org/ADAanniversary.htm