The University of Houston has announced a $1 million gift from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous in support of research to address pandemic-related learning loss and vaccine hesitancy.

The gift will expand a reading intervention and health literacy research project being conducted by the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, which includes six middle schools in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. The project will recruit as many as eight hundred students, including those who experienced a significant lack of access to schooling throughout the pandemic and those whose teachers or test scores indicate reading is a problem. Half the eligible students will receive a one-year reading intervention with an emphasis on word reading, fluency, and comprehension and the other half will receive what represents standard practice in the schools.

In addition, to better understand why some students improve their reading skills while others do not, researchers will collect information through brain imaging and genetic and cognitive testing. As part of the reading intervention, a health literacy curriculum will be embedded that addresses COVID-19 knowledge and vaccination.

"This important research project will help many children who, by no fault of their own, have struggled to keep up with their academics during the pandemic. If the intervention is successful, and we are optimistic it will be, then many more young students across our state can get the help they need," said UH president Renu Khator. "We are incredibly grateful to the generous donor for seeing value in research that will truly touch lives during this challenging time."