Ensuring that all students develop high levels of literacy requires schools to make a concerted, coordinated effort to improve students’ proficiency as readers, writers, and critical and creative thinkers. Teacher expertise, more than any other variable, accounts for increases in student achievement in literacy; therefore, schools must engage in the leadership work that makes strong literacy instruction possible. Literacy leaders are master teachers who provide essential leadership for the school’s overall literacy program and play a key role in leading and supporting teachers to become more effective practitioners in literacy teaching. This leadership includes creating and supervising a long-term staff development program that supports both the development and implementation of the literacy program over months and years.

This program is considered an add-on endorsement, so you must be a certified teacher with three years classroom teaching experience in order to receive this licensure from the state of Virginia.
 Students who already hold a graduate degree and wish to add the Reading Specialist endorsement must still be admitted into the graduate program. Completion of the Literacy Leadership Program requires passing the Reading for Virginia Educators (RVE) assessment.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a two-year program. Applications are accepted January 15 and October 1.