School districts can apply for the Sustaining Strong Secondary Readers Professional Development, a pilot program offered by the Mississippi Department of Education, Division of Literacy, designed for participants to acquire knowledge, practice, and apply gained understanding in secondary literacy. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered for review.
The purpose of the program is to prepare school and district level middle and high school district teams comprised of three participants (administrators, Lead Teachers and Instructional Coaches) to support teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators in the implementation of literacy best practices grounded in the Science of Reading. Upon district team participant selection and acceptance to this pilot program, participants will receive guidance and support to refine and enhance their craft.
Participants will:
- Gain intensive training in secondary literacy
- Receive knowledge building grounded in the Science of Reading (SoR)
- Increase capacity in the Structured Literacy approach to support teachers in lesson delivery grounded in the Science of Reading
- Participate in asynchronous and virtual communities
- Join a cohort of school- and district-based literacy coaches that will serve as a professional learning community
- Receive actionable feedback and guidance during virtual communities
- Earn continuing education credits (CEUs, SEMIs, or OSLs) required for Mississippi Educator License recertification
Commitment includes:
- Attendance of six-1 hour virtual community meetings
- Completion of 16 mandatory, asynchronous learning sections
- Completion of a pre-and post- knowledge inventories
- Submission of signed district commitment form
- Current use of High Quality Instructional Materials
One application per district team (including three participants) should be submitted.
A signed district commitment is required for final entry into the program.
For questions regarding the pilot program, please contact Brandi Bankston at bbankston@mdek12.org