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Volgenau College of Education receives KDE special education grant funds

Morehead State’s Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education will benefit from a grant awarded to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to support special education programs.  

The funding comes from the KDE's Office of Special Education and Early Learning, which was awarded a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. The Kentucky LEADS (Leading, Educating, Advocating for Directors of Special Education) Academy is a five-year, $1 million federal grant designed to facilitate system change by increasing the number and capacity of certified directors of special education (DoSEs) and early intervention service leaders to improve services and results for children with disabilities.

“It is a great opportunity for MSU to be involved in the Kentucky LEADS Academy. We look forward to assisting more students to go into leadership roles for Special Education and Early Intervention,” said Dr. April Miller, professor of education and chair of the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education.

In partnership with Kentucky’s Part C Early Intervention Services, Morehead State University, Western Kentucky University, Murray State University and the Kentucky Parent Training and Information Center, the Kentucky LEADS Academy will work toward achieving three goals: to recruit more students to earn the director of special education certification; to increase the number of people whose job description includes supervising, directing, administering or coordinating special education programs who have attained the certification, and; to expand and enhance the existing state network to ensure that state, regional and local leaders have the knowledge, skills and access necessary to improve early childhood and educational outcomes for children with disabilities and their families through the systems that serve them.  

"We in the Volgenau College of Education are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with our university and state education partners as we seek to support P-12 schools' ability to serve their students with special needs,” said Dr. Tony Norman, dean of the Volgenau College of Education. “Although each of us may be doing well in our own sphere, all of us, and certainly our P-12 partners, will benefit as we share our knowledge and expertise to better prepare and increase the number of directors of special education."  

For more information about programs in the Volgenau College of Education, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/education, email Norman at adnorman@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2162.