Through a joint partnership with HILL for Literacy, SERC, and CSDE, we’re offering several opportunities for professional learning in the Science of Reading for the 2024-25 school year.

ELIGIBILITY: This course is open ONLY to Connecticut special educators who are currently employed by the following districts in the EdAdvance RESC and Regional Districts 1, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15:

• Barkhamsted, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Danbury, Goshen, Hartland, Kent, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, New Fairfield, New Hartford, New Milford, Newtown, Norfolk, North Canaan, Plymouth, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman, Southbury, The Gilbert School, Thomaston, Torrington, Warren, Washington, Watertown, Winchester, and Woodbury.

COMPLETION REQUIREMENT: Satisfactory completion is defined as attendance at no less than 8 out of 10 hours of scheduled, synchronous application session time, and completion of all course modules & assignments by August 29, 2025.  We strongly recommend reviewing the application session dates below before registering.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The Asynchronous Science of Reading Series teaches critical components of literacy instruction, integrating current research and translating it into classroom application. Each module builds on the previous, gradually deepening the knowledge of participants. The Science of Reading Series covers all components of a structured literacy approach to reading instruction from phonemic awareness to word and text reading to vocabulary and comprehension instruction. The Primary course is best suited for educators teaching students in K-2 where examples are focused on these grades, and a foundational skills lesson plan as well as scaffolded access to grade level text plan are taught. Special educators in upper grades who primarily support students with basic foundational skills should also take the Primary course. The series consists of ten 1.5-hour self-paced modules and continued learning through asynchronous materials and follow up activities, paired with regular application sessions led by a facilitator. These modules address questions such as:

• What happens in the brain when we read? How can this understanding inform our instruction
• How is reading related to oral language?
• What are high-leverage instructional routines that support reading acquisition?
• What role does automaticity play in becoming a proficient reader?
• What cognitive processes are involved in deeply understanding text?
• How do we know we are using the right assessments to determine student need?
• . . . and much more!

MODULE TOPICS:
MODULE 1: The Brain and Reading
MODULE 2: Oral Language and Literacy
MODULE 3: Features of Effective Instruction: What, Why, How
MODULE 4: The Power of Phonemic Awareness
MODULE 5: Word Blending: A Hierarchy of Skills
MODULE 6: The Role of Automaticity
MODULE 7: Text Reading: What (with Whom), When and How
MODULE 8: Growing Vocabularies
MODULE 9: Building Comprehension
MODULE 10: Pulling It All Together

APPLICATION SESSIONS:
MODULE 1: Wednesday, 2/19/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 2: Wednesday, 3/12/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 3: Wednesday, 4/2/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 4: Wednesday, 4/23/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 5: Wednesday, 5/14/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 6: Wednesday, 6/4/2025, 4:00-5:00pm
MODULE 7:
MODULE 8:
MODULE 9:
MODULE 10:

If you have any questions, please email sor@hillforliteracy.org.

This opportunity is sponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education.