Trine University receives $750,000 from Lilly Endowment

Trine University has once again received a sum of $750,000 from Lilly Endowment, one of 30 schools in the state of Indiana to have received support from the organization to help prepare future teachers for the Science of Reading principles that have been put into place in elementary schools statewide by the Indiana Department of Education.

According to an article on Trine University’s website, Alecia Pfefferkorn, who is an assistant professor within Trine University’s Franks School of Education, was quoted as saying of the necessity of Science of Reading, “With national studies showing that more than a third of fourth-graders lack reading proficiency, it’s critical for us to provide training to current and future educators on best practices for reading instruction. We’re grateful that Lilly Endowment shares this concern and a vision for improving the teaching of reading in Indiana.”

The funding provided by Lilly Endowment will allow Trine University to offer programming to its education students that will prepare and certify them to teach Science of Reading-aligned principles when they are working in elementary school classrooms. Among the initiatives the Franks School of Education will take on with the grant funding is Orton Gillingham International (OGI) training and the subsequent certification for elementary education and special education majors, making these students the first in the state who will graduate with this particular certification. OGI training was developed to teach teachers how to instruct students in reading, even those who are struggling with literacy, including those who have dyslexia.

Trine University has formed a partnership with nine local school districts, and these partner school districts will also benefit from the grant funding from Lilly Endowment. Trine University will host sessions that provide professional development opportunities for educators and administrators. In addition, the university will also purchase Science of Reading tools and materials used in the classrooms of these local districts to use in its own School of Education to give future teachers the opportunity to utilize the same materials already in use in schools.

Last year, Trine University also received funding from Lilly Endowment to support the Science of Reading initiative. That funding was put to use to host workshops that helped current teachers and school districts figure out how to implement Science of Reading principles into classrooms.

Ted Maple, who serves as Lilly Endowment’s vice president for education, discussed the organization’s continued donations toward Science of Reading initiatives, saying, “It is imperative that more of Indiana’s elementary students learn to read proficiently, and it is essential that current teachers and the next generation of teachers are prepared to use proven principles to teach reading in their classrooms. We are pleased therefore to help Indiana colleges and universities strengthen the use of these research-based principles to teach reading in their teacher preparation programs.”

For more information about Trine University, visit the school’s website.