University of Houston Receives $1.25 Million Federal Grant to Train 42 Special Education Teachers Over Five Years; Applications Due November 15
The University of Houston College of Education, in Houston, Harris County, Texas, has secured a $1.25 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs to launch Project BRIDGE (Building Reading Instruction and Dyslexia Guidance Expertise). The program will train 42 special educators from Houston-area school districts over five years, with the first cohort starting in January 2027; applications for the first cohort close on November 15, 2026.
The grant covers full tuition and some associated costs for participants earning an online Master of Education in Special Education along with the BRIDGE Certificate in structured literacy intervention. Eligible applicants must hold a bachelor's degree, a valid teaching certificate and at least two years of classroom experience. The initiative targets both the shortage of certified special education teachers and student reading deficits — studies show around half of Texas students are not reading on grade level by third grade.
"The goal is to get more teachers trained in the science of reading, to earn their national certification so they can become reading specialists in their own districts," said Kristi Santi, professor and principal investigator. "By training 42 teachers, the idea is to have that knowledge spread and impact students in the general education population and in special education." Co-principal investigator Hope Rigby-Wills leads the structured literacy curriculum, and co-investigator Heather Dulas taught high school special education for 21 years in Texas and Minnesota.
The award number is H325K260091. Project BRIDGE will run through 2031, and the application deadline for the fall 2027 cohort is April 1, 2027.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：休斯顿大学校园内的 Fertitta Center（资料图）。照片：Michael Barera，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: The Fertitta Center on the University of Houston campus (file photo). Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
