News
School of Education Receives $2.4 Million in Grants for Special Education Preparation
Portland State’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) has received almost $2.4 million in federal grants for special education projects and scholarships for special education graduate students.
The GSE’s Research Center on Inclusive and Effective Educational Practices (RCIEP) and faculty in the Special Education program received funding for three new personnel preparation projects from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Each project is funded for approximately $800,000 over four years, a total of almost $2.4 million dollars. Sixty-five percent of these funds go to scholarships. PSU submitted three proposals to this national competition and all three were funded.
“These grant awards are a reflection of the good work of the faculty of the Graduate School of Education but, most importantly, the grants will enable us to address some very important educational needs in Oregon,” said Randy Hitz, dean of the Graduate School of Education.
“PSU Special Education faculty are national leaders in developing innovative programs of personnel preparation to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, their families and the schools and other programs that employ our graduates,” said Ruth Falco, director of the RCIEP. “Each of these programs addresses a critical national need. More than 135 graduate students will receive substantial tuition support from these programs over the next four years.”
The funded projects are:
* The Pathways Project, which will prepare culturally responsive personnel for young children with special needs. This project will increase the cultural and linguistic diversity of licensed personnel serving young children with special needs. Professor Leslie Munson is project director and Professor Julie Esparza-Brown is co-director.
* BRAILLE-USA prepares teachers for children who have visual impairments or are blind, through an innovative distance education program with participants from throughout the nation. Professor James Bickford is project director and Professor Cheryl Grindol is a faculty contributor to this project.
* Inclusive Elementary Educators Program prepares educators with both general and special education licenses to teach in elementary schools. This project focuses on preparing elementary teachers to use evidence-based educational practices to improve the education of all children. Professor Paula Stanovich is project director.
For more information on the RCIEP grants, please contact Ruth Falco, director of the RCIEP in the Department of Special and Counselor Education, at 503-725-4486 or falcor@pdx.edu.
In addition to the RCIEP grants, the GSE also recently received a $100,000 Carnegie Corporation grant for the project “Adolescent Literacy Preservice Initiative Toward Reading Texts to Learn Content.” PSU Professors Micki Caskey, Susan Lenski, Swapna Mukhopadhyay and Ron Narode were awarded the Carnegie Corporation grant. This grant will focus on redesigning the preparation of science and math teacher candidates so that they incorporate literacy strategies in their teaching of adolescents.
Located in the heart of Portland, Oregon, the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University offers students a rich opportunity to learn and do research in an urban setting. Through outreach to communities across Oregon, the GSE provides quality educational programs that are convenient and responsive. The GSE prepares professionals to be leaders in a variety of settings: public schools, libraries, counseling clinics, social service agencies, institutions of higher education, and adult education programs. The GSE also influences practice and informs policy development through faculty and student research, program development, and problem solving. The mission of the School is to help meet the lifelong educational needs of diverse communities while encouraging democracy and social justice.
# # #
Source:
Ruth Falco (503-725-4486)
Graduate School of Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#06-128)
The GSE’s Research Center on Inclusive and Effective Educational Practices (RCIEP) and faculty in the Special Education program received funding for three new personnel preparation projects from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Each project is funded for approximately $800,000 over four years, a total of almost $2.4 million dollars. Sixty-five percent of these funds go to scholarships. PSU submitted three proposals to this national competition and all three were funded.
“These grant awards are a reflection of the good work of the faculty of the Graduate School of Education but, most importantly, the grants will enable us to address some very important educational needs in Oregon,” said Randy Hitz, dean of the Graduate School of Education.
“PSU Special Education faculty are national leaders in developing innovative programs of personnel preparation to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, their families and the schools and other programs that employ our graduates,” said Ruth Falco, director of the RCIEP. “Each of these programs addresses a critical national need. More than 135 graduate students will receive substantial tuition support from these programs over the next four years.”
The funded projects are:
* The Pathways Project, which will prepare culturally responsive personnel for young children with special needs. This project will increase the cultural and linguistic diversity of licensed personnel serving young children with special needs. Professor Leslie Munson is project director and Professor Julie Esparza-Brown is co-director.
* BRAILLE-USA prepares teachers for children who have visual impairments or are blind, through an innovative distance education program with participants from throughout the nation. Professor James Bickford is project director and Professor Cheryl Grindol is a faculty contributor to this project.
* Inclusive Elementary Educators Program prepares educators with both general and special education licenses to teach in elementary schools. This project focuses on preparing elementary teachers to use evidence-based educational practices to improve the education of all children. Professor Paula Stanovich is project director.
For more information on the RCIEP grants, please contact Ruth Falco, director of the RCIEP in the Department of Special and Counselor Education, at 503-725-4486 or falcor@pdx.edu.
In addition to the RCIEP grants, the GSE also recently received a $100,000 Carnegie Corporation grant for the project “Adolescent Literacy Preservice Initiative Toward Reading Texts to Learn Content.” PSU Professors Micki Caskey, Susan Lenski, Swapna Mukhopadhyay and Ron Narode were awarded the Carnegie Corporation grant. This grant will focus on redesigning the preparation of science and math teacher candidates so that they incorporate literacy strategies in their teaching of adolescents.
Located in the heart of Portland, Oregon, the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University offers students a rich opportunity to learn and do research in an urban setting. Through outreach to communities across Oregon, the GSE provides quality educational programs that are convenient and responsive. The GSE prepares professionals to be leaders in a variety of settings: public schools, libraries, counseling clinics, social service agencies, institutions of higher education, and adult education programs. The GSE also influences practice and informs policy development through faculty and student research, program development, and problem solving. The mission of the School is to help meet the lifelong educational needs of diverse communities while encouraging democracy and social justice.
# # #
Source:
Ruth Falco (503-725-4486)
Graduate School of Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#06-128)
