New Teacher Academy
Don’t just survive, learn the essentials to thrive in teaching reading, writing, and word solving in your first years.
Gain practical skills so you can teach effectively, manage the classroom learning environment, and build competent and confident readers and writers.
- Classroom Teachers & Interventionists
The New Teacher Academy is designed to help you gain practical knowledge and skills you need to teach literacy effectively and thrive professionally in the beginning years of your career.
Along with four full days of professional learning, you will participate in monthly, hour-long problem-solving sessions to provide you with ongoing, just-in-time support you need to address the daily instructional and logistical challenges you face.
Course Topics:
- Building an inclusive classroom community of literacy learners
- Creating classroom environments that supports students’ agency and independence
- Teaching reading, writing, and phonics through whole group, small group, and individual instruction
- Understanding the importance of using a variety of text types and genres
- Knowing how to carefully observe and assess reading, writing, and language behaviors
- Facilitating productive student talk in the classroom
- Opportunities to ask questions and get support from others
Academy Days – 9:00am-3:30pm EST (In Person at Lesley University or Virtual)
- October 2, 2024
- November 13, 2024
- December 11, 2024
- January 15, 2025
Meet-ups – 3:30-4:30pm EST (Virtual)
- October 16, 2024
- November 20, 2024
- December 4, 2024
- January 8, 2025
You will earn 28 professional development hours in this training.
Nikki Drury, Literacy Trainer
Nikki worked as a literacy coach and teacher in public school for many years before joining the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative as an Intermediate Trainer. She has experience as a primary and intermediate classroom teacher and literacy instructional coach at the intermediate level. Over the years, she has worked with students, educators, and administrators to improve literacy outcomes.
Heather Rodman, Literacy Trainer
Prior to joining the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative as a Primary Trainer, Heather was a Kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade classroom teacher in Middletown, CT for 16 years. She was also a Primary Literacy Coordinator for five years where she provided literacy training and coaching to K-5 teachers. In addition, she was a member of the Connecticut Department of Education Common Core State Standards Curriculum Design Team for English Language Arts.
You may choose to attend this training in-person at Lesley University or virtually in real time. Should any of the conditions change and it is determined the training will be offered virtually only, you will be notified as soon as possible. We recommend that you contact us before reserving travel and lodging.
If you choose to attend in-person, the training room will have Lesley University’s HyFlex Classroom Technology to support an engaging learning environment for in-person and virtual participants. If you have questions about in-person or virtual attendance, please email us at CRRLC@lesley.edu.
In-person participants are required to follow the Lesley safety protocols noted on the Policies & Graduate Credit Option tab.
Required Materials
As part of your registration, you will receive the following required texts:
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2017). Guided reading: Responsive teaching across the grades. Heinemann.
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2018). The literacy quick guide: A reference tool for responsive literacy teaching. Heinemann.
Cancellation Deadline & Refund Policies
Non-credit
You must cancel your registration no later than two weeks before the first day of training to get a full refund. If you cancel your registration within the two weeks prior to the first day of training, you will be charged a $50 processing fee. Email CRRLC@lesley.edu if you have a cancellation or substitution request. Regardless of weather conditions, if the event is held but you cannot attend, you will be billed for the full amount.
Graduate Credit
Review the university’s cancellation and refund policies for credit bearing courses.
Registration Deadline & Shipping Policies
The registration portal closes two business days before the first day of training to allow the minimum amount of time to ship additional training materials (if applicable).
If you register within two weeks before the registration portal closes, you may incur additional fees for expedited shipping. You may still experience delays in receiving your materials.
Requirements for Participation
After the training, you will receive a certificate of attendance for your participation. To receive a complete certificate, participation during the specified times is required. Additional work may be assigned to meet the professional development hours.