Dr. Amanda Hardin shows off resources now available to rural school districts at the Rural Assessment Intervention Library
photo by Angela Foster/UTC
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of School Psychology has launched the Rural Assessment Intervention Library (RAIL), a new program expanding access to student services in rural communities across Tennessee.
RAIL offers dozens of test kits and resources that school districts can check out to evaluate and support children’s educational needs. The program was developed as part of the UT System Grand Challenges initiative—a systemwide effort to advance health, strengthen rural communities and drive economic development through education, research and outreach.
“This is a win-win for our rural school districts,” said Dr.
Amanda Hardin, the creator of RAIL and director of the UTC School Psychology program. “We’re able to provide them with mental health resources and assessment kits for school psychologists, school counselors, social workers—and even for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. We’re really trying to bring the resources to where they’re needed and harder to get to.”
Other members of the RAIL team include a pair of UTC School Psychology co-investigators—Dr. Patrick Morin and Dr. Heather Nudd—and Dr. Alexandra Frank from the UTC Counselor Education program.
Dr. Hardin conceived the idea for RAIL in 2024 and has led its development with support from Project Raise, a grant funding school psychology, counseling and social work internships in rural counties. Since receiving funding earlier this year, Dr. Hardin and her team have purchased assessments, built a dedicated space in UTC’s Hunter Hall and developed a website to serve more than 50 rural school districts statewide.
While designed for school psychologists, RAIL is also available to school counselors, social workers, special education teachers and other qualified staff.
UTC students will benefit as well, gaining hands-on experience with a wide range of assessments as they prepare for careers in education and mental health.
“This whole idea would not have come to fruition without the phenomenal work of my colleagues and the supportive leadership I’ve had within UTC,” Dr. Hardin said. “I’ve always felt encouraged to pursue these kinds of ideas, and that support has made all the difference.”
The RAIL library is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with resources available through the UTC School Psychology webpage at go.utc.edu/rail.