Mount St. Joseph University Awarded $2 Million Grant to Advance Early Literacy Curriculum Development

Mount St. Joseph University is proud to announce the receipt of a $2 million grant to create an open-source, comprehensive English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for early elementary education. This transformative grant will enable the MSJ Center for Reading Science to develop high-quality, accessible instructional materials grounded in the Science of Reading. Initially, the work will focus on kindergarten and 1st grade and eventually extend through 5^th grade.

The grant, from an anonymous family foundation, comes in response to national data revealing that only 33% of fourth graders read proficiently. This funding will support the development of a user-friendly curriculum designed to equip educators with the tools they need to help young children achieve the literacy skills that are essential for lifelong success. Over the next two years, the K-1 curriculum will be developed and piloted in collaboration with partner schools, marking a significant contribution to literacy education.

Dr. Amy Murdoch, Assistant Dean of Reading Science, expressed her gratitude: "We are incredibly grateful to the Foundation for this generous grant, which empowers us to make a substantial impact in early literacy education. This project is a remarkable opportunity to bridge research and practice in literacy education. We have assembled a dynamic team of national experts to both create and advise our work. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive, accessible curriculum that supports teachers in addressing the needs of students at a critical stage in their literacy development."

This multi-year grant from the Foundation is a testament to Mount St. Joseph's national reputation in Reading Science, the early success of its Center for Reading Science, and the excellence of its master's and doctoral programs in Reading Science. The university looks forward to making a lasting impact on literacy education across the nation.

About The Center for Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University

The Center for Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University was founded to empower educators with the tools and resources needed to apply the Science of Reading in classrooms and communities. The center is dedicated to offering reliable information and support to bridge the gap between research and practice, enabling educators to implement evidence-based literacy practices effectively.

About our Reading Science Doctoral Program

Built on the success of the Reading Science Program's fully online, IDA accredited graduate programs, the reading science doctoral program aims to prepare the next generation of educator preparation faculty in literacy. The program's mission is to prepare leaders in the science of reading to effect social justice through impacting educational systems, enabling these systems to provide effective, research-based literacy instruction for all. Designed for the working professional, the Mount's doctoral program is convenient to an educator's schedule, available online during the academic year with on-campus summer institutes.

About our Reading Science Programs

Reading science graduate programs have been successful since their start 15 years ago at Mount St. Joseph University. Programs include the Reading Science Certificate, Ohio Reading Endorsement, Dyslexia Certificate, Master of Arts (M.A.) degree, and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree. Programs are recognized at the Accredited Plus level by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Programs are fully online and designed for working educators. Coursework utilizes a scientifically based reading research model and includes an Orton-Gillingham Structured Literacy practicum. Through our programs, students learn instructional approaches to teach reading, writing, and spelling using an explicit, sequential, structured language approach.

About The School of Education

Mount St. Joseph University's School of Education prepares future educators to change lives, impact communities, and transform the world. The school does this by ensuring that all future educators are trained according to research-based teaching strategies from the fields of education and cognitive science. For more than 100 years, the School of Education has been the institution of choice for many current and prospective educators. Both becoming a teacher and advancing one's teaching credentials at the Mount are engaging processes of high-quality coursework, practical experience, and personalized attention from faculty and staff dedicated to student success.

About Mount St. Joseph University

Grounded in the vision of its founders, the Sisters of Charity, an MSJ education is based on interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional curricula emphasizing values, integrity, and social responsibility. We consistently live a culture of ethics and service in everything we do, and we are here to help serve our students' personal journeys in an interconnected world. Nestled atop one of Cincinnati's iconic seven hills just 15 minutes from downtown and offering 30+ undergraduate programs, Mount St. Joseph University delivers high-quality academics, hands-on experiential learning, and personalized attention from faculty and staff dedicated to student success in transforming knowledge into action.