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San Diego State University

COE Awarded $4.8m in Grants from US Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs - Only College in Nation to Receive Four Grants

The College of Education at SDSU is proud to announce it will be the recipient of four grants that will provide direct support for SDSU students who pursue careers in Special Education and Counseling and School Psychology. The nation-wide competition offered five different ‘focus competitions’ for submission. SDSU, the only university in the nation to receive four grants, applied for and won the grants in three of the focus areas, as follows:

Focus: Training Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Low Incidence Disabilities

  • Number of grants awarded in the nation: 11.
  • SDSU COE submitted one & received one.
  • Facilitating Education and Empowerment of Adolescents with Autism for a Smooth Transition (FEAST): Preparing M.A. Degree Special Educators (Bonnie Kraemer & Laura J. Hall). Preparation of middle and high school special educators working with diverse learners with ASD that includes practicum experiences in partner school districts (Sweetwater Union High School District & San Diego Unified School District) and partner employment agencies supervised by mentors who are program graduates. The program embeds a transition certificate, and approved course work for Board Certification as a Behavior Analyst.
  • Awarded $1.2 million.

Focus: Training Personnel to Provide Related Services to Children, Including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities

  • Number of grants awarded in the nation: 9.
  • SDSU COE submitted one & received one.
  • Transdisciplinary Approaches to Autism Spectrum Disorders (TAASD Project) (Vera Gutierrez-Clellen & Valerie Cook-Morales). Preparation of speech-language pathologists and school psychologists in transdisciplinary approaches for services to children and youth with ASD, their families, and their teachers. Field experiences in partnership with San Diego City Schools.
  • Awarded $1.2 million.

Focus: Training Personnel in Minority Institutions to Serve Children, Including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities

  • Number of grants awarded in the nation: 9.
  • SDSU COE submitted two & received two.
  • Collaborative Interventions to Improve English Learners' Outcomes (Project CI2ELO) (Valerie Cook-Morales & Vera Gutierrez-Clellen). Preparation of school psychologists and speech-language pathologists to collaborate with each other and classroom teachers to provide classroom based literacy interventions for young English-learners at risk or identified with disabilities. Partnership with a multilingual elementary school in San Diego City Schools.
  • Awarded $1.2 million.
  • The SDSU Native American Collaborative Project (SDSU NACP). (Carol Robinson-Zañartu). Prepares school counselors and psychologists to work with indigenous populations in the context of diverse rural high need and poverty districts, and to differentiate disability and difference. Scholars learn in-depth culturally competent practice through seminars, institutes, professional development, and specialized field experience with partner districts Mt. Empire and Valley Center.
  • Awarded $1.2 million.