Kyena Cornelius
Clinical Associate Professor & Special Education Ed.D. Program Coordinator
About
Dr. Kyena Cornelius is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida. Her scholarship focuses on strengthening special education as a profession by building coherence across educator preparation, professional practice, and educational systems.
Dr. Cornelius coordinates UF’s online EdD in Special Education, preparing scholarly practitioners to use research to address problems of practice and lead systems improvement. As a CEEDAR Center staff member, she leads systems change work in Minnesota and Wisconsin to strengthen educator preparation and evidence-based practice implementation.
Dr. Cornelius is deeply involved in the High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) for Students with Disabilities, which she views as a common language of pedagogy that can strengthen implementation of evidence-based practices. Her research also examines shared definitions of IEP services and educational continuity, using military-connected students as a lens for understanding fragmentation across educational systems.
Prior to higher education, Dr. Cornelius taught special education for 12 years in multiple locations. She is a Past President of CEC’s Teacher Education Division and currently a co-editor of TEACHING Exceptional Children.
Dr. Cornelius coordinates UF’s online EdD in Special Education, preparing scholarly practitioners to use research to address problems of practice and lead systems improvement. As a CEEDAR Center staff member, she leads systems change work in Minnesota and Wisconsin to strengthen educator preparation and evidence-based practice implementation.
Dr. Cornelius is deeply involved in the High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) for Students with Disabilities, which she views as a common language of pedagogy that can strengthen implementation of evidence-based practices. Her research also examines shared definitions of IEP services and educational continuity, using military-connected students as a lens for understanding fragmentation across educational systems.
Prior to higher education, Dr. Cornelius taught special education for 12 years in multiple locations. She is a Past President of CEC’s Teacher Education Division and currently a co-editor of TEACHING Exceptional Children.
Affiliations
- School of Special Education School Psychology and Early Childhood Studies
- Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
- Teacher Education Division (TED) of CEC
- Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of CEC
- Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learning (DDEL) of CEC
Research Interests
Curriculum Development, Inclusive Education, Professional Development
Education
- Ed.D. – Johns Hopkins University, Special Education
- M.S. – Old Dominion University, Special Education
- B.S. – University of Maryland, Family and Community Development
Professional Appointments
- Clinical Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Florida, School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, 2023-Present
- Associate Professor of Special Education, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2015-2023
- Accreditation Coordinator, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2019 – 2022
Activities and Honors
- Past President, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children
- Co-Editor – TEACHING Exceptional Children, 2023 - Present
- Award for Excellence in Teaching, Minnesota State College and Universities Board of Trustees - 2019-2020 MNSU, Mankato
- National Board Certified Teacher, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood
Selected Publications
Articles
- Cornelius, K. E, & Owiny, R. L. (2026) Preparing special education candidates to collect and use data in rural settings. Rural Special Education Quarterly.
- Cormier, C. J., Scott, L. A., Cornelius, K. E., & Rosenberg, M. S. (2023). Cooperative planning for a more diverse special education teacher workforce: Guiding questions for researchers and policymakers. Multicultural Teaching and Learning.
- Cornelius, K. E., & Gustafson, J. A. (2021). Relationships with school administrators: Leveraging knowledge and data to self-advocate. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 53(3), 206-214.
- Cornelius, K. E., & Murawski, W. W. (2021). Special educator self-advocacy: Support your students and yourself. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 53(3), 176-177.
- Cornelius, K. E., Rosenberg, M. S., & Sandmel, K. N. (2020). Examining the impact of professional development and coaching on mentoring of novice special educators, Action in Teacher Education.
Books
- Jenkins, M. C., Cornelius, K. E., Hensley, K. A. & Wagner, D. L., (2025) Assessment in Special Education: A Practical Guide, Plural Publishing.
- Owiny, R. L, & Cornelius, K. E. (2023). The Practical Guide to High-Leverage Practices in Special Education: The Purposeful "How" to Enhance Classroom Rigor. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Publishing.
Invited Book Chapters
- Benedict, A. E., Cornelius, K. E., Acosta, K., & Ray, J. (2022). Using multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs. In McLeskey, J., Maheady, L., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M. T., & Lewis, T. J. (Eds.). High Leverage Practices for Inclusive Classrooms 2nd Ed. New York, New York: Routledge.
- Johnson K. M., & Cornelius, K. E. (2019). UDL and Implementation Fidelity: Providing consistency within Flexibility. In Murawski, W. W., & Scott, K. L. (Eds.). What Really Works with Universal Design for Learning. (pp 173-187). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin