Melissa Stoffers

Melissa Stoffers is a fourth year doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. She is an alumna of Rowan University where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Collaborative Education. Prior to pursuing her doctoral degree, Melissa served as a special education teacher in New Jersey and Pennsylvania public schools. Melissa’s educational and work experiences have led her to pursue research studying the challenges and inequities that exist in supporting individuals with disabilities to engage and be included in healthy and meaningful relationships with family, friends, and communities.

Recent Publications

• Barnes, T. N., Brown, J. E., Stoffers, M., Jackson, J., Xia, Y., Wells, A. G., & Bryant, A. (2023). Increasing equity in SEL for students from marginalized populations. In S. Rimm-Kaufman, M. J. Strambler, & K. Schonert-Reichl (Eds.), Social and emotional learning in action: Creating systemic change in schools (pp. 35-52). Guildford Press.
• Curtiss, S., Myers, K., D’Avella, M., Garner, S., Kelly, C., Stoffers, M., & Durante, S. (2023). Sex.Ed.Agram: Co-created inclusive sex education on Instagram. Sexuality and Disability, 41, 483-502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-023-09794-y
• Curtiss, S., & Stoffers, M. (2023). Service models for providing sex education to individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295231164662
• Naples, L. H., Cipriano, C., Eveleigh, A., Stoffers, M., & Barnes, T. N. (2023). Unpacking the social emotional health of education support professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology in the Schools, 60(5), 1415-1441. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22842
• Slicker, G., Hustedt, J. T., & Stoffers, M. (2023). Participation of early care and education centers in the child care subsidy system: A statewide mixed methods investigation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 65, 317-331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.07.009
• Stoffers, M., Barnes, T. N., Xia, Y., & Jackson, J. (2023). A scoping review of school-based sexuality education interventions for children with disabilities. Journal of Special Education, 57(2), 94-105. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669221134532
• Curtiss, S., & Stoffers, M. (2021). Disseminating online resources for teaching sex education to people with developmental disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 39(4), 751-760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-021-09703-1

Recent Presentations

• Barnes, T. N., Easley Brown, J., Stoffers, M., Jackson, J., Xia, Y., Wells, A. G., Bryant, A. (Accepted – 2023, April 13-17). Increasing equity in SEL for students from marginalized populations [Symposium]. American Education Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.
• Curtiss, S., & Stoffers, M. (Accepted – 2023, April 13-17). The effects of universal design for learning on puberty sex education [Roundtable presentation]. American Education Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.
• Stoffers, M., & Slicker, G. (Accepted – 2023, April 13-17). Early childhood providers’ decision-making for serving children with disabilities: A mixed methods study [Roundtable presentation]. American Education Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.
• Stoffers, M., Kelly, C. L., Whitaker, A., & Barnes, T. N. (Accepted – 2023, April 13-17). Examining classroom quality and academic and behavioral outcomes for children with and without disabilities [Paper presentation]. American Education Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.
• Hustedt, J. T., Slicker, G., Stoffers, M., & Kelly, C. L. (Accepted – 2023, March 23-25). Enrollment practices and child diversity in state pre-k, Head Start, and other early childhood centers. [Poster presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2023 Biennial Meeting.
• Kelly, C. L., Stoffers, M., Whitaker, A., Barnes, T., & Rutherford, T. (Accepted – 2023, March 23-25). Relationship Between Classroom Quality and Children With and Without Disabilities’ Academic and Behavioral Outcomes. . [Flash talk paper presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2023 Biennial Meeting.
• Stoffers, M., & Slicker, G. (Accepted – 2023, March 23-25). Association between characteristics of Arkansas’ early childhood programs and serving children with disabilities. [Flash talk paper presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2023 Biennial Meeting.
• Whitaker, A., Watts, T., Bailey, D., Duncan, G., Jenkins, J., Lipsey, M., Amaya, J. C., Botvin, C., Cordero, T., Kelly, C., & Stoffers, M. (2022, September 21-24). A systematic review of research methods used to evaluate state and local pre-kindergarten programs [Paper presentation]. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness [SREE] Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA.
• Slicker, G., Hustedt, J.T., & Stoffers, M. (2022, June 22-24). A statewide mixed methods study of provider subsidy system participation [Poster presentation]. The Administration for Children and Families’ National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC), Arlington, VA.
• Stoffers, M., Kelly, C. L., Hustedt, J.T., & Francis, J. (2022, June 22-24). Demographic trends on access to professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic [Poster presentation]. The Administration for Children and Families’ National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC), Arlington, VA.
• Kelly, C., Stoffers, M., Whittaker, A., & Barnes, T. N. (2022, April 22-25). Understanding the relationship between parental warmth and social-emotional well-being for children with and without disabilities [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
• Naples, L. H., Cipriano, C., Eveleigh, A., Stoffers, M. & Barnes, T. N. (2022, April 22-25). The social emotional health of paraeducators early in the COVID-19 pandemic. In Cipriano, C. (Chair), How did SEL support educators of students with learning differences during the 2020-21 school year? [Symposium]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
• Slicker, G., Hustedt, J.T., & Stoffers, M. (2022, April 22-25). A national portrait of ECE center and community characteristics that predict subsidy density [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
• Brown, A., Curtiss, S., Mindler, P., Congo, K., & Stoffers, M. (2022, March 31-April 1). Universally designed puberty instruction [Asynchronous presentation]. UDL-IRN International Summit, asynchronous conference.
• Naples, L. H., Cipriano, C., Eveleigh, A., Stoffers, M., & Barnes, T. (2022, January 16–19). Unpacking the social emotional health of education support professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic [Paper presentation]. Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention, Orlando, FL.
• Stoffers, M. (2022, January 16-19). Educators’ practices: Teaching sex education to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities [1-hour Concurrent Session]. Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention, Orlando, FL.
• Stoffers, M., Barnes, T. N., & Xia, Y. (2022, January 16-19). Systematic review of school-based sex education for students with disabilities [Poster presentation]. Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention, Orlando, FL.
• Curtiss, S., & Stoffers, M. (2021, May 3-7). Board Certified Behavior Analysts’ experiences teaching sex education [Poster presentation]. International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting.
• Curtiss, S., & Stoffers, M. (2021, April 8-12). Teaching sex education to individuals with intellectual disabilities: Understanding instructional practices [Poster presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.
• Xia, Y., Barnes, T. N., & Stoffers, M. (2021, April 7-9). Relationship between pre-service teachers’ emotional and cultural intelligence and self-efficacy and outcome expectancy [Poster presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting.

Professional Experiences

• Graduate Research Assistant, Dr. Tia N. Barnes, 2022-present
• Student Teaching Field Instructor, 2022
• Course Instructor, HDFS 270 – Families and Developmental Disabilities (online), 2021
• Graduate Research Assistant, Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC), 2020-2022
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Human Development and Family Sciences, 2019-2020
• Special Education Teacher, Cherry Hill Public Schools, Cherry Hill, NJ, 2012-2019

Honors and Awards

• Candace S. Bos Innovative Project Grant, Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children, 2023
• Graduate Student Travel Grant, University of Delaware, 2022 & 2023
• Division for Research Doctoral Student – Outstanding Scholar, Council for Exceptional Children, 2022
• HDFS Dissertation Support Grant, 2022
• Kappa Omicron Nu National Honor Society Inductee, 2021
• New Jersey Distinguished Student Teacher, 2011

Professional Memberships

• American Education Research Association (AERA)
• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
• Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)

Past Education

• MST Collaborative Education, Rowan University, 2011
• B.A. Collaborative Education, Rowan University, 2010
• B.A. American Studies, Rowan University, 2010