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License Only: Specialist Teacher of Reading

Initial Licensure Program—Massachusetts Only

Gain expanded and up-to-date knowledge of language and approaches to reading and writing instruction, and create a literacy-rich environment for all students.

Obtain Your Reading Specialist License and Gain New Skills

You have a passion for reading, and your goal is to meet the literacy needs of all students. Prepare to do just that with this license-only Specialist Teacher in Reading program. For educators with an appropriate existing license (Early Childhood, Elementary, or Special Education), you will not only obtain an Initial MA Specialist Teacher of Reading license for all grade levels, but the program also allows you to move your current Initial license to a Professional. 

In the program, you will learn to:

  • Choose, administer, and analyze results from a range of assessment tools
  • Use assessment data to plan for effective instruction by the specialist and the classroom teacher
  • Foster the use of both traditional and digital text to enhance literacy across the curriculum
  • Collaborate with classroom teachers, other specialists, and administrators
Program of study and course descriptions for License-Only Specialist Teacher in Reading program.

Key program information for the Specialist Teacher in Reading License Only: 

  • Program consists of 18-36 credits, including a practicum. Some coursework may be waived based on previous coursework or experience.
  • Program prerequisites include a Master’s degree and Initial or Professional license for classroom teacher or special education teacher and at least one year of teaching under that license
  • Courses are offered at Lesley’s Cambridge campus
  • Program can be used to move an Initial license in Early Childhood, Elementary, or Special Education to the Professional level
  • Program is subject to the US government’s Gainful Employment Program regulations, which provide students with information about total program costs, loan repayment rates, and career outlooks
  • Program is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • IRA Standards: Program meets International Reading Association (IRA) standards

    SAMPLE PROGRAM COURSE

    EEDUC 6101 Content Area Literacy

    This course explores the ways in which content knowledge is accessed through specific disciplinary literacies. The course examines schema-based and text-based reading comprehension strategies, including vocabulary strategies, and investigates how a wide range of text types and genres support content area learning. Teaching tools and formative assessments are constructed, analyzed, and used to shape future instruction and meet diverse language needs. Writing is examined as a means of developing and demonstrating content area knowledge. Critical literacy is explored as a mechanism for disciplinary understanding.

    Faculty Spotlight

    Faculty Grace Enriquez

    Grace Enriquez
    Assistant Professor

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    Faculty Erika Dawes

    Erika Thulin Dawes
    Associate Professor

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