Database of Federally Funded Technical Assistance and Research Centers

Bookshare

Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.

Bookshare is an ebook library that makes reading easier. Members can access a huge collection of ebooks and read their way with the most customizable ebooks for people with reading barriers.

The library has 1,233,523 titles and is the most extensive collection of accessible ebooks in the world. It includes books for school, career, and reading pleasure, as well as titles in over 34 languages. The collection is supported by a dedicated volunteer community and partnerships with over 1000 US and international publishers.

Director(s): Ayan Kishore, CEO

Specialty Area

  • Accessible Education Materials

Primary Audience

  • Families
  • Schools
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information

IRIS Center

The IRIS Center is a national center dedicated to improving education outcomes for all children, especially those with disabilities, by developing free, online resources about effective evidence-based practices and interventions.

IRIS Modules, our center's signature resource, are developed using adult learning theory and translate the latest research findings into easily understandable, practitioner-friendly language in an interactive, engaging format. Other wraparound resources--case studies, information briefs, fundamental skill sheets, video vignettes--allow learners to delve into module topics in more depth.

Director(s): Naomi Tyler

Specialty Area

  • Early Childhood Educators
  • Educator Effectiveness
  • Educator Preparation
  • Educator Retention
  • Effective Instruction
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Intensive Supports
  • Measuring Student Growth
  • Multi-tiered Systems of Support
  • Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
  • Response to Intervention
  • Teacher Mentoring and Induction
  • Translating Research to Practice

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • School Counselors
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise
  • Research

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Universal

Additional Information

Other Audiences: College and university faculty; professional development providers

Other Services Provided: Free; online; interactive resources

Other Specialty Areas: Accommodations; assessment; assistive technology; collaboration; content instruction; differentiated instruction; disability; diversity; juvenile corrections; learning strategies; mathematics; reading/literacy/language arts; related services; school improvement/leadership; secondary transition

National Center for Homeless Education

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) operates the Department's technical assistance center for the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program.

In this role, NCHE works with schools, service providers, parents, and other interested stakeholders to ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness can enroll and succeed in school.

Director(s): Eric Grebing, Co-Director, Karla Lewis, Co-Director

Specialty Area

  • Supporting Parents and Families

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders
  • Facilitation
  • Research

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Universal

Additional Information

Other Specialty Areas: Education of Homeless Children and Youth

National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL)

The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education, is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from the University of Oregon, Florida State University, and RMC Research Corporation.

NCILs mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.  They also work to build individual and organizational capacity to assess students’ literacy-related skill, identify students with disabilities or those at risk of disabilities, and fully implement evidence-based literacy programs and professional development.

Director(s): Hank Fien, Ph.D., Director, Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Sarah Sayko, Ed.D., Deputy Director, Nancy J. Nelson Fien, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Specialty Area

  • Dyslexia
  • Effective Literacy Instruction
  • Supporting Parents and Families

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Additional Information

National Instructional Materials Access Center

Created by IDEA 2004, the NIMAC is a federally-funded, searchable online repository of source files for K-12 instructional materials. We receive files in the XML-based NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard) format, and states use these materials in the production of accessible formats such as braille, large print, and digital text. The NIMAC currently has over 74,000 files from more than 160 publishers.

Director(s): Rebecca Sheffield, U.S. Dept. of Education OSEP Project Officer for NIMAC

Specialty Area

  • Accessible Education Materials
  • Educational Technology

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information

The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC)

The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) assists states to build Comprehensive Systems of Personnel Development (CSPD)to improve outcomes for infants and young children with disabilities and their families.

The center is focused on building awareness that an integrated, comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) for the early childhood (EC) workforce in every state – one that is cohesive with state and national personnel standards, competencies, and recommended practices, will produce the most successful outcomes for children and families with disabilities.

Director(s): Mary Beth Bruder, Director

Specialty Area

  • Supporting Parents and Families

Primary Audience

  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information