Customized Literacy Professional Development

Policies About Fees & Participation

• Fees are determined by the number of participants and the duration of the training. 
• If the number of participants exceeds the maximum, another trainer may be needed. This will increase training cost. 
• Travel expenses for each trainer (airfare, car rental, tolls, parking, ground transportation, lodging, and meals) are an additional cost to be paid by the district. 
• On-site professional learning that requires extensive travel or overnight stays will require an additional surcharge. 
• The school/district will be asked to provide a complete list of attendees to the Center Team to share communications and track attendance.
• Graduate credit is available for specific trainings and includes a separate fee and registration process.
• If applicable, school districts in the same geographic area may combine their resources to meet participant minimums for a training. Payment must be on one district’s purchase order. 

Policies About Professional Texts & Materials

• Fees do not include the cost of any required professional texts or materials, unless otherwise specified. The faculty trainer and the district will select the texts/materials based on the topics and the district’s needs.
• There may be additional electronic materials that require printing. Participants must be able to print necessary handouts at home/school. The Center Team will provide these electronic materials ahead of time. 

Professional learning can be delivered on-site at your school or virtually/online.

Virtual Professional Learning Structure

• One full day of virtual professional learning equals two half-day virtual sessions (2-2.5 hours).
• Exact timing is determined by the school/district and Center team for all in-person and virtual requests.

Virtual Learning Platform

• The virtual platforms used for virtual trainings are either the university’s online meeting tool, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, or Zoom.
• The Center Team will provide information about how to access the platform within one to two weeks before the training. The school/district point-person will relay this information to the participants, unless otherwise specified.

Our ultimate goal is to start a conversation with you and design a customized solution that suits your specific needs.

Alternatively, we can deliver any of our regular trainings in your school district, for a group of educators. Some of the more popular requests include:

District and School Leaders

• Leading for Literacy: A professional development training for school principals and administrators on supporting literacy teaching in grades K-6.
• Literacy Leadership Team Institute: An institute for school leadership teams where we’ll work together to create effective literacy programs.

Literacy Coaches and Teacher Leaders

• The Effective Literacy Coaching Training: A 10-day training that will help you understand your role as a literacy coach and prepare you to coach teachers at your school.
• Teacher Leaders for Literacy: A 10-day training for teacher leaders and coaches who want to expand their knowledge on reading and writing instruction to help their colleagues.

Classroom Teachers, Interventionists, and Specialists

• Benchmark Assessment Systems 1 & 2 Seminar: A 2-day literacy assessment training for groups of K-2 or grades 3-8 teachers.
• Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) Training: Learn how to give small-group, supplementary literacy intervention to boost literacy for the lowest-achieving students in grades K-2 or grades 3-8.
• The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Continuum Institute: A 4-day institute for teachers where you’ll learn how to use The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Continuum as a resource to teach reading and writing in grades K–2 or 3–8.
• Introduction to Fountas & Pinnell Classroom™: This training introduces the system of teaching students that creates authentic experiences in reading, thinking, talking, writing, and reflecting and is customized to meet the needs of your school.
• Guided Reading: Responsive Teaching: A graduate course for teachers and literacy educators on how to plan and teach effective Guided Reading lessons in grades K-2 or grades 3-8.
• Introduction to Genre Study: A 2-day workshop for grades K-2 or 3-8 teachers on how to study genre in their classrooms.
• Introduction to Teaching in a Readers’ Workshop: A 2-day introductory training where you’ll learn how to create and facilitate readers’ workshops to create a community of active, engaged readers.
• Introduction to Teaching in a Writers’ Workshop: A 2-day introductory training where you’ll learn how to create and facilitate writers’ workshops to create a community of active, engaged readers.
• Literacy Beginnings—A Pre-Kindergarten Continuum to Guide Teaching: A 3-day training on literacy teaching for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers.
• Word Study—Teaching Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling: A graduate course for teachers on the role that phonics, phonological awareness, vocabulary, spelling, and word study play in learning to read and write in grades K-3 or grades 3-8.
• When Readers Struggle—Teaching that Works: A 3-day training for teachers who work with young students who find reading and writing difficult.