Directory » SARA CASTRO-OLIVO
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 s.castro-olivo@tamu.edu
 704J EDCT
 845-9722
SARA CASTRO-OLIVO
Associate Professor
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Castro-Olivo is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She received her doctorate in School Psychology from the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on the development and validation of culturally responsive social-emotional and behavioral interventions for Latino ELL youth and families.
Dr. Castro-Olivo has over 15 years of experience working as an interventionist for Spanish-speaking populations in Texas, California and Oregon. She has worked as a bilingual community health educator, social skills trainer, parent trainer, school psychologist, and mental health care provider.

COURSES TAUGHT
EPSY491. RESEARCH
2018C,2018A,2017C
EPSY605. EFF CULTR DIV POV CHILD
2020A,2017C
SPSY611. LEGAL ETHIC CREDENT SPSY
2020C,2020B,2020A,2019C
SPSY627. CULTURALLY RESPONSVE INTERVENT
2020B,2019B
SPSY638. SYS CONSULT & PREV SCI
2020C,2019C
SPSY642. BEHAVIOR ASSESS & INTN
2019A,2018A,2017A
SPSY643. ACAD ASSESS & INTRVNTN
2017C
SPSY683. FIELD EXPER/EXTERN IN SPSY
2020C,2020B
FORMER DOCTORAL STUDENTS
Ileana Yasmin Umana, Ph.D. (Summer 2022)
Sarah kathleen Ura, Ph.D. (Summer 2022)
Dorothy Yee Lok Pang, Ph.D. (Summer 2021)
Samantha Marie Meek, Ph.D. (Summer 2021)
Zhiqing Zhou, Ph.D. (Summer 2021)
Maria Jose Castro Aviles (Summer 2020)
Ana Carina Dabreu (Summer 2020)
Oscar Widales-Benitez (Summer 2019)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Books and Monographs
Pham, A., Castro-Olivo, S., Chun, H., Goforth, A. (2017). Cognitive abilities in bilinguals when tested in L1 and L2. In A. Ardilla, A. B., Cieslicka, R. R. Heredia, and M. Rosselli, (Eds). Psychology of Bilingualism: The Cognitive World of Bilinguals. Springers Publications.
Castro-Olivo, S., Cramer, K.*, & Garcia, N. *(2016). Manualized school-based intervention curricula for ethnic minorty populations. In S. L. Graves and J. Blake (Eds). Psychoeducational Assessment and Intervention for Ethnic Minority Children: Evidence Based Appraoches. APA Publications.
Journal Articles
DAbreu, A., & Castro-Olivo, S., & Ura, S. (2019). Understanding the role of acculturative stress on refugee youth mental health: An ecological approach to assessment and intervention. School Psychology International 40 (2), 107-127. (Impact Factor= N/A).
Ura, S. , Castro-Olivo, S & d[48]19Abrue, A. (2019). Outcome measurement of school-based SEL interventions: Current trends and future directions. Journal of Assessment for Effective Intervention. (Impact Factor= .73).
Castro-Olivo, S., Preciado, J., Sprague, J., Le, L., Marciante, M.*, & Garcia, M.* (2018). The effects of a combined culturally responsive behavioral and academic intervention in Latino ELs enrolled in Kindergarten and First grade. Psychology in the Schools, 55(1), 36-49.
Graves, S. & Castro-Olivo, S. (2018). Introduction: Incorporating culture in school-based interventions. Psychology in the Schools, 55(1), 5-7
* Castro-Olivo, S. M. (2017). Introduction to special issue: Culturally responsive school-based mental health interventions. Journal of Contemporary School Psychology, 21(3), 177-180.
Goforth, A. N., Pham, A., V., Chun, H., Castro-Olivo, S. (2017). Introduction to the Special Issue: Acculturation and Sociocultural Factors in Children[48]19s Mental Health Services: Applying Multicultural Consultation Frameworks. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, (27) 3, 239-244
* Graves, S. & Castro-Olivo, S. (2017). Introduction: Incorporating culture in school-based interventions. Psychology in the Schools.
Pham, A. V., Goforth, A. N., Chun, H., Castro-Olivo, S.M, & Costa, A. (2017). Cultural variations in consultation participation process: A sociocultural framework for mental health services. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, (27) 3, 277-281
Chung, H., Merranda, M., Schwartz, J., Pham, A., & Castro-Olivo, S. (2016). Psychosociocultural Structural Models of College Success among Latino Students in Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9 (4). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039881
Goforth, A.N., Pham, A.V., Chun, H., Castro-Olivo, S. M., & Yosai, E.R. (2016). The role of acculturative stress and religious practices on Arab American Adolescents' internalizing symptoms. School Psychology Quarterly, 31(2), 198-212. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000135
Kramer, C. * & Castro-Olivo, S. (2016). Social-Emotional Learning Intervention Outcomes of Culturally Diverse High School Students. Contemporary School Psychology Journal, 20 (2), 118- 129.
Other Publications and Presentations
Castro-Olivo, S. (2018). School-based researcher responsding to the death of a collaborating ELD teacher at a high school. In J. Roth and Fernandez (Eds). Perspectives on School Crisis Response: Reflections from the Field.
D'Abreu, A., & Castro-Olivo, S. (In Press). Understanding the role of acculturative stress on refugee youth mental health: An ecological approach to assessment and intervention.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Evaluating the Effect of Acculturative Stress and Resilience on Resettled Syrian Refugee Children in California and Texas
PI. Spencer Foundation (Private)
2019-07-01 — 2020-06-30
Evaluating the Social-Emotional and Academic Realities of Migrant Mexican Children: From Assessment to Intervention
PI. TAMU Office of the Vice President for Research - CONACYT (State)
2017-09-04 — 2018-08-31
PESCA: Technology-Delivered Emergent Literacy Assessment for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Co-PI (). TAMU Office of the Vice President for Research - PESCA (State)
2017-05-01 — 2018-04-30
Catapult Round 3 - Improving Quality of Life through a Culturally Responsive Lens: Developing Social-Emotional and Behavioral Supports for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students At-Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders ($30,000)
Co-PI (). TAMU College of Education & Human Development (State)
2016-12-01 — 2018-05-31
EDITORSHIPS
Editorial Board Member. Journal of Contemporary School Psychology (2013 - 2017)
Editorial Board Member. Journal of School Psychology (2014)