How Can I Advance My Teaching Career with Literacy Education?

Want to add advanced literacy credentials to your teaching toolkit? Here are three paths that lead to career opportunities.

If you’re a teacher, you’ve likely investigated the various certifications and degrees that can help you best teach your students and move up the ladder to becoming a leader in your school. Literacy certification can prepare teachers for specialized roles, such as reading interventionists, literacy coaches, reading teachers and reading curriculum developers.

Such certifications can help teachers better understand their students’ needs, select appropriate texts and develop personalized teaching practices for helping their students thrive and succeed.

Sacred Heart University offers several paths to literacy specialization in Connecticut. Each meets a student where they are in their teaching journey and provides the strategies they need.

Master of Education in Literacy

Sacred Heart University’s 30-credit Master of Education degree program is intended for licensed educators interested in earning a master’s degree to build the skills needed for career advancement. The literacy endorsement positions graduates to influence reading programs and literacy curriculum in elevated teaching roles, in addition to careers in remedial reading and language arts specialization.

Graduates address the individual needs of students across all populations and those with a 102 certification can provide interpretation of student assessment data across all aspects of literacy, skill and grade level. Additionally, certified teachers are an invaluable resource to school districts and institutions, having the ability to utilize data to create schoolwide improvement plans and to deliver professional development in how data can inform instruction.

Sixth-Year Degree in Literacy

At SHU, the sixth-year degree in literacy is a 33-credit, state-approved, nationally recognized program preparing prospective literacy professionals for CT literacy certification, which include the 102 Remedial Reading and Language Arts Specialist certification, and the 097 Reading and Language Arts Consultant certification. Courses are delivered completely online and include a combination of synchronous and asynchronous meetings. Classes are scheduled for late afternoon and evenings to accommodate the work schedules of full-time teachers.

Clinical experiences include authentic opportunities for reading candidates to hone their practice through one-on-one tutoring, mentoring, coaching and leading professional learning experiences. Candidates learn to administer and interpret assessments and use results to design instruction and intervention that will enhance student learning.

Dyslexia Graduate Certificate

The fully online, 18-credit dyslexia graduate certificate program, offered in partnership with The Southport School and the Southport CoLab, is led by faculty experienced in the field and research. You will benefit from an emphasis on reading science-aligned practice to improve individual reading and writing development. Through challenging and engaging coursework, candidates, who must have a bachelor’s degree with initial teaching certification, will implement and analyze evidence-based assessments using screening and tools as well as progress monitoring.

Want to learn more about Sacred Heart University’s teacher education programs?

To learn more about SHU’s graduate programs and certificates in literacy and education, contact Whitney Kolwicz, director of graduate admissions and recruitment, at kolwiczw@sacredheart.edu or schedule an appointment today!