Reading Specialist

The Advanced Certificate in Literacy is a five course sequence that provides teachers and related educational professionals with a foundation in theory and research in applied educational psychology as they relate to the cognitive, linguistic, and sociocultural factors that contribute to the acquisition of reading and writing skills in typically developing and struggling readers, including those with disabilities and those whose first language is not English. The Program also leads to eligibility for New York State All Grades Literacy Certification for those who qualify.

The Program uses this core foundation to:

• Offer coursework that provides seminal theory and research on reading acquisition and its development in core processes and skills (oral language development, word recognition, oral reading fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and reading comprehension); writing process and development (including both transcription and text generation skills); the nature of both reading and writing difficulties and disability; and the effects of intrinsic/extrinsic factors as well as socio-cultural and linguistic influences on literacy development.
• Provide teachers with an understanding of the roles of both formal and informal assessment in designing an intervention plan for working with struggling readers and writers.
• Prepare teachers to help students who do not readily acquire reading and writing skills – including those at-risk and those with documented learning disabilities including dyslexia – by teaching them to deliver effective, evidenced-based instructional strategies and techniques in both reading and writing. These strategies include those targeted for fostering literacy across the curriculum.

Course Requirements:  15 points

Fall/Spring/Summer Entry

Courses in the Advanced Certificate in Literacy are designed to enable educators to work more knowledgeably with both typically developing as well as struggling readers and writers across the K-12 grade span using evidenced based techniques.

• HBSK 4072 (3) – Theory and Techniques of Assessment and Intervention in Reading
• HBSK 5098 (3) – Diagnosis of Reading and Writing Disabilities Pre-requisite:  Grade of B or better in HBSK 4072
• HBSK 5099 (3) – Writing Interventions Theory and Practice
• HBSK 5373 (3) – Practicum in Literacy Assessment and Intervention I Pre-requisite:  Grade of B or better in HBSK 4072
• HBSE 4071 (3) – Language and Literacy in Literature and the Content Areas for the DHH and Students with Language Delay/Language Based Reading Disabilities

NOTE: As per New York State requirements, the practicum course requires an additional 3 hours per week of direct contact with school-aged individuals who are not meeting grade level expectations in reading and writing, even if they are not formally diagnosed with a reading/learning disability. These hours are in addition to class and supervision time. Note that NYS also requires practicum work with both the lower level (Pre-K to Grade 4) and upper level (Grades 5-12) of the literacy grade span. Practicum work can be conducted in TC’s Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services (CEPS) or in one’s own school with appropriate permissions. Please speak with the Program Director.

Internal transfers only for 2026-2027 academic year.

The Reading Specialist M.A. degree program provides students with a broad foundation in applied educational psychology as it relates to literacy acquisition and concentrated preparation in assessment and intervention in reading and writing difficulties. The program provides experience in working with both children and adolescents, and approaches literacy across the lifespan through adulthood.

Key program characteristics are:

• Preparation for the  New York State All Grade Literacy certification
• Training in Structured Literacy as part of a comprehensive reading program: Integration of rigorous, evidence-based phonics training with authentic literacy-encompassing word recognition, reading comprehension, fluency, vocabulary development, spelling, and expressive writing.
• A lifespan perspective of literacy acquisition and development from emergent literacy through adulthood.
• Training to understand and deliver assessment and instruction across all tiers of an MTSS framework.
• Assessment and intervention focus: Students learn to deploy a battery of classroom-based and standardized assessment measures to identify strengths and weaknesses of individual students and then to develop an intervention plan based on the assessment findings.  
• Students learn to communicate curriculum information and assessment and intervention results to a variety of stakeholders.
• Preparation to screen for dyslexia: Students learn to administer a battery of standardized tests and formulate a recommendation diagnosis.
• Psychology focus: Understanding of typically developing and delayed literacy development from the vantage point of cognitive processes and their relation to race, ethnicity, language proficiency, and  socio-economic status.
• Research focus: Emphasis on evidence-based (scientifically based) intervention strategies for struggling readers.
• Comprehensive literacy perspective: Students learn to deliver assessment and intervention to individuals from preschool emergent literacy through adolescence. Students learn to develop content-area literacy interventions.Those students wishing to work with adult students as part of the practicum experience must speak with the program director before enrolling. It is never too late to improve literacy skills
• Clinical experience: Students take practica in a clinic at Teachers College where they deliver services to struggling readers of all ages, who come from low-income households. Students may also acquire their practicum experience in a school setting with certain permissions.
• Professional development focus: Preparation for professional development in advanced seminar.
• Full-time students  can complete the program in one calendar year (Fall/Spring/Summer).