The new grant was awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Dept. of Education
Portland State University’s College of Education is pleased to announce the award of a new $812,500 grant from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), part of the U.S. Department of Education. The Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Preparation program at PSU will collaborate with PSU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and Columbia Regional Program (CRP).
This important grant will fund two cohorts of students including 14 speech language pathologists (SLPs) and 20 in Early Childhood Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (ECI/ECSE). PSU’s Dr. Amy Donaldson, Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Dr. Hollie Hix-Small, Early Childhood Intervention Program Coordinator, will co-lead the grant-funded Project KITE, Knowledge through Interdisciplinary Training and Experience.
Applications are currently being accepted. Please email askcoe@pdx.edu or visit PSU’s College of Education website for the Early Childhood Intervention Program. [ https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/psuecip/program-overview ]
PSU anticipates this project will result in up to 2,000 additional children and families in Oregon receiving adequate, high-quality EI/ECSE support over the next five years. Another 2,450 children and families in Oregon will receive adequate, high-quality EI/ECSE speech language pathology (SLP).
Specifically, the grant supports preparing professionals to work with children with elevated service needs and their families, focusing on those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds from high poverty, rural and urban areas.
“This is truly a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. Jose Coll, interim dean of the College of Education. “It is an opportunity to make a strong, positive impact in the lives of young students and their families across our diverse community in Oregon,” he added.
Project KITE students will develop their knowledge and skills through 480 hours of shared coursework, seminars, and joint experiences delivered by OHSU’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) training program. CRP will deliver 10 case-based seminars regarding children with high-intensity, low-incidence needs. CRP is one of eight statewide regional programs established by the Oregon Department of Education, working in collaboration with local districts and EI/ECSE programs to support service delivery.
Students at PSU will also participate in a four-week inclusive summer experience for children with high-intensity needs at CRP, which will enable them to deepen their implementation of evidence-based interventions that improve outcomes for children and families. These authentic, experiential activities designed for Project KITE will complement already rigorous field-based requirements for the respective programs at PSU’s College of Education.