Structured Literacy & Training Opportunities
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After reading and thinking about the interconnectedness of pieces of Structured Literacy, you may want to test yourself. Can you answer THESE questions: https://tinyurl.com/mrxsjfty
Scholarships for Teachers and Administrators
IDA-GA offers scholarships to classroom teachers and school administrators who are interested in taking courses that teach the components of Structured Literacy as outlined by the IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards. Click Scholarships in the Menu above for more information, or click here: https://ga.dyslexiaida.org/scholarship-applications-for-teachers-and-administrators/
If you would like to support the IDA-GA Scholarship Program, please contact us at https://ga.dyslexiaida.org/contact-us/.
Teacher Training Courses
Georgia Teacher Trainers / Training Programs: Diving-Deeper-into-Dyslexia-Intervention This link currently takes you to the 2024 offerings. To learn about the 2025 courses, please contact the trainers/training organizations on this list.
IDA-accredited Independent Programs: https://dyslexiaida.org/accredited-teaching-training-programs/
IDA-accredited University Programs: https://dyslexiaida.org/university-programs-accredited-by-ida/
🔎 Interested in practicum opportunities? Explore Accreditation Plus training programs: Independent Programs | Universities
For students with dyslexia* and other reading and language-learning difficulties, Structured Literacy must be delivered with a high level of intensity, individualized support, and by a highly qualified instructor. Because Structured Literacy training programs vary in depth and focus, it is essential for educators to carefully consider their goals when selecting individual courses or a training program. We encourage interventionists and literacy coaches to seek training programs that provide extensive mentorship and practicum opportunities, ensuring they receive guided feedback to strengthen their instructional implementation.
*Read the Georgia Department of Education’s Dyslexia Handbook (Updated July 2024)
What is the Georgia Literacy Academy? What is Cox Campus?
From GaDOE: In state legislatures across the nation, there has been a recent trend of adopting state policies to address early literacy. In the 2023 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed the Georgia Early Literacy Act (House Bill 538) which addresses kindergarten through third-grade reading in five parts: (1) high-quality instructional materials, (2) screeners, (3) interventions, (4) professional learning, and (5) teacher preparation. The content in the Georgia Literacy Academy meets the requirements for the professional learning for all K-3rd reading teachers on the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills.
View Georgia’s Dyslexia Endorsement Rule here.
The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), in partnership with the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy and Cox Campus, offer the Georgia Literacy Academy courses at no charge to school districts. These courses explore important content that prepares teachers to provide high-quality literacy instruction for all Georgia students.
- Georgia Literacy Academy Course Manual
Accessing the courses through GLA allows Georgia’s public school educators to earn a “badge,” allowing districts/the DOE to track how many badges were earned.
- Anyone can access Cox Campus courses. The courses are free.
What is the relationship between teacher knowledge, instructional programs, and implementation of best teaching practices?
Louisa Moats – “It’s teachers, not programs…”
Effective Reading Instruction
The Knowledge and Practice Standards / Structured Literacy
What is the Science of Reading?
- “The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties. The science of reading is derived from researchers from multiple fields…” – www.whatisthescienceofreading.org
- Visit our Science of Reading Resource page: https://ga.dyslexiaida.org/science-of-reading-resources/
- Watch the IDA-GA 4/28/2021 webinar “FCRR – Advancing Reading Through Science” with Nicole Patton Terry, Ph.D. Use this timestamp created by IDA-GA volunteer M. Speer as a webinar guide. View slides.
The Science of Reading research informs our decisions about effective instructional practices. What is Structured Literacy?
- Winter 2024 75th Anniversary Edition of the IDA’s Perspectives on Language and Literacy Structured Literacy: Grounded in the Science of Reading.
- Watch this 8-1/2 minute video with Nancy Hennessey, former IDA President, giving An Overview of Structured Literacy (2019).
- Read the Educator Training Initiatives Brief, Structured Literacy: An Introductory Guide (March 2019).
- Read the IDA Fact Sheet entitled Structured Literacy: Effective Reading Instruction for Students with Dyslexia and Related Reading Difficulties (2019)*
*Note that this Fact Sheet indicates that phonemic awareness activities should be “done orally, without print.” However, in 2022, IDA published a 14-page document to address the more recent discussion of best practices for building phonemic awareness, “Student learning of foundational reading skills is facilitated by instruction that is integrated—that coordinates the development of phoneme awareness with the learning of letter and grapheme names and sounds, and that includes instruction in handwriting along with practice writing the targeted letters.” Building Phoneme Awareness Fact Sheet (2022). - Read Here’s Why Schools Should Use Structured Literacy, an article by L. Spear-Swerling, Ph.D. (June 2019).
- Read the Reading Peaceniks Consensus Article to learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
The identification of individuals with dyslexia and other reading difficulties and appropriate instruction by a well-trained teacher using a structured approach to teaching reading has been a cornerstone of IDA since its beginning.
Although dyslexia and related reading and language problems may originate with neurobiological differences, they are mainly treated with skilled teaching. Effective classroom instruction delivered by a knowledgeable teacher, especially in the early grades, can prevent or at least effectively address and limit the severity of reading and writing problems. The methods supported by research are explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory in that they integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They are also multilinguistic, as they directly teach the structure of language at all levels, including the speech sound system (phonology), the writing system (orthography), the structure of sentences (syntax), the meaningful parts of words (morphology), word and phrase meanings (semantics), and the organization of spoken and written discourse. The strategies emphasize planning, organization, attention to task, critical thinking, and self-management. (Excerpt 2018 KPS Executive Summary https://app.box.com/s/21gdk2k1p3bnagdfz1xy0v98j5ytl1wk)
IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading (KPS) outlines the components of Structured Literacy and defines what all teachers of reading need to know and be able to do to teach all students to read proficiently. The International Dyslexia Association’s Educator Training Initiatives (ETI) Committee has refined the Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS) to bring greater specificity to how knowledge of the standards could be assessed in the context of coursework and how practical applications of Structured Literacy could be demonstrated in supervised practicum contexts.
IDA has begun aligning educator preparation resources, including publications, webinars, and information briefs, with the KPS to support their use in pre-service and in-service educator preparation contexts.
Georgia Dyslexia Endorsement Guidance
Are you a public school educator in Georgia looking to obtain a Dyslexia Endorsement? IDA-GA and TRL-GA have collaborated to create a guidance document (released 12/4/2021) to assist educators and administrators in making a more informed decision when choosing an endorsement program. View here: Selecting a Dyslexia Endorsement Program for Educators Guidance Document.
GA Professional Standards Commission Dyslexia Endorsement Guidance Document (Rule 505-3-.112, July 2020)
GaPSC Approved Dyslexia Endorsement Programs
Choosing the Training that is Right for You
Watch the IDA-GA 4/14/2021 webinar “What Educators Need to Know About Dyslexia Training Programs” with Nora Schlesinger, Ph.D. & Jennifer Lindstrom, Ph.D. Use this timestamp created by IDA-GA volunteer Madeline Speer as a webinar guide. View slides.
Courses and Workshops:
Disclaimer: The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is pleased to present a forum for information to benefit its constituents. It is IDA’s policy not to recommend or endorse any specific program, product, institution, company, or instructional material, noting that there are a number of these that present the critical components of instruction defined by IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading. Any program, product, institution, company, or instructional material carrying the IDA seal of accreditation meets the IDA Standards.
IDA-GA provides information about courses and workshops so that Georgia educators, administrators, and parents will know about the many opportunities to learn about struggling learners and the components of structured literacy. Please check with the individual training agencies regarding dates, times, and locations.
Dyslexia Endorsement Program – University of Georgia (non-degree)
Upon completion of the program, candidates will be prepared for and complete the International Dyslexia Association’s Structured Literacy exam, the KPEERI.
GaPSC Approved Dyslexia Endorsement Programs
Courses and Workshops offered by Independent Teacher Training Programs Accredited by IDA
University Programs Accredited by the International Dyslexia Association
University of Georgia Graduate Program – Certificate in Dyslexia (Online – 4 Semesters)
The Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI), a subsidiary of the International Dyslexia Association, issues certifications to those with the knowledge and skill necessary to implement Structured Literacy instruction. The following CERI certifications are awarded only to those educators who have demonstrated the ability to have a meaningful impact on the rate of improvement for students identified as “at-risk” for reading failure or identified with a Specific Learning Disability, including dyslexia.
- Structured Literacy Classroom Teacher Knowledge Certificate
- Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist Certification
- Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist Certification
Please visit the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI) to learn more about the certificate and certifications.
Teacher Preparation for the KPEERI Exam
Reading 101 is a free, self-paced, 9-module professional development course for K-3 teachers developed by Reading Rockets. The program, developed by Reading Rockets in collaboration with the Center for Effective Reading Instruction and The International Dyslexia Association, provides teachers with an in-depth knowledge of reading and writing so they are prepared to guide their students into becoming skilled and enthusiastic readers and writers. This course helps prepare teachers interested in taking the KPEERI, the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI) exam. Those who pass the exam can apply for certification as a Structured Literacy Classroom Teacher. The certification demonstrates that an educator is highly trained to teach reading effectively to all students in the classroom, but particularly those for whom reading is a challenge due to a native language other than English, lack of language exposure, or other learning challenges.
An updated booklist and recommended articles will be coming soon. (3/5/2025) In the meantime, visit https://ga.dyslexiaida.org/topics-library/ and https://dyslexialibrary.org/.
“Teaching reading to a student who does not learn easily or naturally is a complex and challenging professional enterprise that requires deep knowledge of content, of the cognitive and language factors that shape student learning, and of pedagogical detail.”
— Dr. Louisa Moats
Conference Recordings with Slides
Consider becoming a member of IDA. IDA Teacher and Professional membership levels now include on-demand access each year to a choice of recorded sessions from the past year’s conferences.