The 91视频鈥檚 College of Education has secured a $1.25 million federal grant to launch Project BRIDGE. (Credit Getty Images)
Key Takeaways
- The 91视频鈥檚 College of Education has secured a $1.25 million federal grant to launch Project BRIDGE, fully funding master鈥檚 degrees in special education and a structured literacy certificate for 42 Houston-area teachers.
- Targeting critical Texas educator shortages and student reading deficits, the initiative prepares teachers in the science of reading and dyslexia intervention to improve literacy outcomes across local K-12 classrooms.
- Practicing Houston-area educators with at least two years of classroom experience have until Nov. 15 to apply for the tuition-covered, online graduate program launching in January 2027.
Schools in Texas and across the country have struggled for years to improve students鈥� reading proficiency and address shortages of special education teachers. The University of Houston College of Education is tackling both challenges through a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office of Special Education Programs.
The grant for Project BRIDGE (Building Reading Instruction and Dyslexia Guidance Expertise) will train 42 special educators from Houston-area school districts over five years, with participants earning a Master of Education in Special Education along with the BRIDGE Certificate in structured literacy intervention. This covers full tuition and some associated program costs for participants.
Offered online, the program is currently accepting applications through Nov. 15, 2026, for the first cohort to launch in January 2027. Eligible applicants must have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, a valid teaching certificate and at least two years of classroom experience.
Kristi Santi, professor of special populations in the UH Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and principal investigator on the grant, said the impact will go far beyond the individual educators enrolled in Project BRIDGE.
鈥淭he 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,鈥� Santi said. 鈥淏y training 42 teachers, the idea is to have that knowledge spread and impact students in the general education population and in special education.鈥�
Studies show that around half of Texas students are not reading on grade level by third grade. Advancing the reading skills of elementary school students has a long-lasting effect 鈥� 鈥渋mproving both their lives and their economic futures,鈥� Santi said.
In addition, she said, the grant will help address the issue of schools not having enough certified special education teachers.
鈥淭hat is a national problem, and it has not gone anywhere, unfortunately,鈥� Santi said.
Co-principal investigator Hope Rigby-Wills, a clinical assistant professor specializing in literacy development and dyslexia, will lead the curriculum鈥檚 structured literacy instruction. Her work focuses on equipping general and special education teachers with evidence-based strategies that help students connect letters to the sounds they represent to read and spell words while building comprehension skills.
鈥淭he short-term goal is to train more teachers in these instructional strategies in an effort to improve the literacy of the students they teach,鈥� Rigby-Wills said. 鈥淯ltimately, I would love to see the UH BRIDGE participants sharing these strategies with their colleagues, supporting fellow teachers and improving the literacy skills of exponentially more students.鈥�
Assistant Professor Heather Dulas, also a co-principal investigator, experienced the need first-hand as a high school special education teacher for 21 years, working in both Texas and Minnesota.
鈥淒uring that time, we experienced a shortage of special education teachers even as an increasing number of students needed reading intervention in order to meet grade level standards,鈥� Dulas said.
Preparing teachers to address that gap through increased expertise in structured literacy and dyslexia intervention will help, Santi said.
鈥淭he goal is to have our participants in Project BRIDGE be currently practicing in the field of K-12 education, seeking to make the lives of the students they teach better through data-based decision making and instruction,鈥� Santi said.
The program included in this press release is supported by the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office of Special Education Programs under award number H325K260091.
Project Leadership & Collaboration
The Project BRIDGE initiative brings together a multidisciplinary team from the College of Education鈥檚 Special Populations program and the Department of Psychology at the 91视频:
- Kristi Santi, professor and principal investigator
- Heather Dulas, assistant professor and co-principal investigator
- Hope Rigby-Wills, clinical assistant professor and co-principal investigator
- Charlotte Carp, clinical associate professor and co-investigator
- Kristen Hassett, clinical professor and co-investigator
- Coleen Carlson, research associate professor in the Department of Psychology and external evaluator
Calling the Future Special Education Workforce
What: Project BRIDGE, funded by a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, will cover tuition and some associated program costs for up to 42 educators enrolled in the 91视频 College of Education online master鈥檚 degree in special education and the BRIDGE Certificate in dyslexia identification and structured literacy intervention.
Who: Applicants must have a bachelor鈥檚 degree, 3.0 GPA, a teaching certificate and at least two years of teaching experience. A statement of intent and three letters of recommendation, including one from their current supervisor, are also required.
Deadline: Project BRIDGE will run through 2031, with the first cohort starting in January 2027. The deadline for applications for the first cohort is Nov. 15, 2026. The deadline for the cohort starting in fall 2027 is April 1, 2027.
Apply for the Special Populations M.Ed.