
Heather Haynes Smith, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor , Education
Heather Haynes Smith, Ph.D. is a native Texan. She has worked as an elementary teacher, K-12 literacy coach, state level reading technical assistance specialist, reading and teacher preparation program coordinator on research and dissemination grants at The University of Texas, Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts, and was a doctoral fellow at The University of Kansas, Beach Center on Disabilities.
Smith’s scholarship is focused on student supports, systems level instructional design, and the preparation of inclusive educators. Her research interests, more specifically, are on the integration of academic and behavioral supports including response to intervention (RTI) and multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS), social and emotional learning, disability studies in education, inclusive education, general education and special education collaboration, school reform, social justice, experiential learning, service-learning, community partnership, feedback, and inclusive teacher preparation.
Smith is a faculty lead on the Trinity Empatico grant, providing technical assistance to educators implementing Empatico in district in Bexar County. She is also coordinates the Trinity Department of Education participation in the Learning Policy Institute’s EdPrepLab Inquiry Group Grant with University of Colorado, Denver and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill focused on Deeper Learning in Teacher Education.