The SUNY New Paltz Science of Reading Fundamentals microcredential, a fully online curriculum designed to help education professionals and others gain research-supported skills and knowledge to improve childhood literacy rates, will offer a new scholarship and a new schedule to make the program more accessible than ever before.
Enrollees will pay a total price of $50 for the microcredential, thanks to an expanded scholarship made possible by a generous program sponsor. The scholarship covers 90% of the $500 cost of the microcredential for the first 5,000 enrollees.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the microcredential sessions open on the first of every month, making it easier for enrollees to register and join the program quickly.
Registration for 2024 sessions will open on Dec. 15 at this link.
The Science of Reading Fundamentals curriculum remains devoted to the evidence-based pillars of childhood literacy education: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension.
The whole sequence can be completed in as little as seven weeks or up to six months, and New York State-certified teachers can still collect 35 CTLE credit hours upon completion of the microcredential.
Hundreds of dedicated education professionals have enrolled in the microcredential since it launched in September, helping districts expand their collective expertise in research-backed practices that can help reverse declining literacy rates among kids in New York and across the U.S.
“Teachers and district leaders are on the front lines, but they cannot reverse declining test scores alone,” said SUNY New Paltz President Darrell P. Wheeler in an October 2023 op-ed for the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union. “Public colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to provide education professionals with the tools and expertise needed to enhance their teaching. Our institutions can connect theory — the strong body of research into how children gain reading skills — and pedagogical practice in P-12 classrooms.”
New Science of Reading Webinar Series begins Dec. 12
Additionally, the Science of Reading Center of Excellence at SUNY New Paltz, supported by the largest philanthropic gift in the University’s history, is rolling out a new series of webinars, free and open to the public, to complement educational offerings provided through the microcredential.
The first of these will be presented by Doreen Mazzye, Ph.D., a literacy professor at SUNY Oswego and founding board member at The Reading League. Mazzye’s webinar, “How Do I Teach an Effective Phonics Lesson?” will be given on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 at 7 p.m. RSVP to attend using this link.
About the Science of Reading Center of Excellence at SUNY New Paltz
With the establishment of the new Science of Reading Center of Excellence, SUNY New Paltz and its School of Education are embracing an opportunity to advance literacy outcomes for children across New York State and throughout the U.S.
The University is working directly with teachers, district leaders and other key partners to help ensure that literacy educators at all levels from P-12 understand and can deploy the research-backed tools and knowledge that are proven to help learns gain skills as readers.
The Center is made possible by a generous, $6.37 million private donation from the Ibis Group, a non-profit with the mission to ensure every student has access to evidence-based instructional methods to master grade-level reading by the end of the first grade.
