Being able to read and write seem to be among the most elementary of skills鈥攂ut there is so much more to literacy than the ability to sound out a word on a screen or sign your name to a paper. In fact, some kinds of literacy engage students in many different ways, and from their earliest days.
To address all the various aspects of what goes into literacy鈥攆rom the cognitive to the cultural鈥斉┓虻己解檚 Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) Literacy Specialist program helps educators at all stages of their career deepen their knowledge of literacy practices鈥攁nd, upon passing of the state Praxis exam in the content area, earn a K鈥12 literacy endorsement that they can use at any level.
鈥淯ltimately, every subject content has text that needs to be read. Even math. If a student struggles with reading, they can鈥檛 access words on the page,鈥 says Dr. Mary Ann Cahill, associate professor of literacy. 鈥淭hink about how much more information you will have, how much more enlightened you can be, if you can read.鈥
As literacy is a lifelong skill, the program has potential to appeal to educators at any point in their journey. 鈥淔or new teachers鈥攖hose in their first three years鈥攖his is a really good way to start connecting and getting support by being plugged into a community while you鈥檙e working to bring literacy into your classroom,鈥 says Cahill鈥檚 colleague and fellow assistant professor of literacy, Dr. Winn Wheeler. 鈥淥r, for more established teachers [such as those already holding a master鈥檚 degree or looking to pursue a Rank I], it is a reinvigoration, with practices you may not have used in your classroom. It鈥檚 an opportunity for learning, growing and evolving.鈥
鈥淚 think any practicing teacher who wants to know more about how to help struggling readers in their classes would be interested in this program, or how to develop second-language learners in the classroom,鈥 says Cahill. 鈥淵ou learn how to be a leader in an area of literacy, such as a reading specialist or coach, or a literacy interventionist.鈥 Literacy education is not just for teachers of young children, either. Wheeler adds that even principals and administrators鈥攁nd all whose lives they touch鈥攃ould benefit: 鈥淎nyone working to build their content knowledge, to go deep and be able to lead in that way, could go through the program and provide support for their school鈥檚 literacy coach or literacy interventionist. Having that [leadership] at school will develop classroom support of literacy development and a knowledge base for the larger community.鈥
Cahill points out that there is more to reading than, well, A-B-C. 鈥淭here鈥檚 phonological awareness, which is important in beginning to read. Phonics is really quite technical. Fluency and vocabulary, too, are so important in comprehension. We go deeply into all those as concepts, [including] assessment and diagnosis. We explore all aspects of literacy.鈥 Wheeler agrees, as she brings a holistic perspective to those aspects as they are found out in the world鈥攁s close as the students鈥 homes. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to understand and honor the different kinds of literacy students bring鈥攐ral traditions, music, church and digital sources,鈥 she says. 鈥淟iteracy specialists understand what is brought to the table, and they understand the many ways of knowing. It鈥檚 a shift we鈥檙e making鈥攏ot just the development of skills; literacy is happening in this context.鈥
Unfortunately, that is not necessarily recognized in school, and so there is an urgent need for educators to understand the array of literacy typologies. 鈥淟iteracy instruction builds upon oral language structure,鈥 says Wheeler. 鈥淩eading and writing don鈥檛 exist in a vacuum, but a context. Singing, rap鈥攖hose are forms of [linguistic] expression. How do we recognize that in the classroom, and how can we build on that? We engage with culturally sustaining pedagogy and think about how that works with literacy development.鈥
Cahill, who has worked with struggling readers in Bullitt County and leads the Bellarmine Literacy Project there, acknowledges that cultural norms can have an effect if families do not understand the importance of reading to their children at an early age. 鈥淲e do what was done to us,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you model reading for your child, that鈥檚 huge. If you read to your child, you build vocabulary. Instead of trying to catch kids up, it鈥檚 better to educate parents鈥攕tarting in the hospital when they give birth... I want to believe every parent wants what is best for their child,鈥 she says. This holds true even if parents do not understand how to impart even the fundamentals of literacy, but wait until their child goes to school, assuming everything will fall seamlessly into place. 鈥淩eading is a very complex process鈥攊t鈥檚 not a natural one. It takes several cognitive processes to be working at the same time.鈥 Unfortunately, she says, often when a school is 鈥渋n trouble,鈥 that trouble could be traced back to literacy practices and students who were never taught to read correctly.
For some students, it can take a long time for such a deficiency to be recognized and remedied. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to support early intervention, and we just can鈥檛 give up on middle and high school students,鈥 says Wheeler, who was a middle school literacy coach before coming to Bellarmine. 鈥淚 really saw the impact of what happens when kids come to middle school struggling with reading and writing; seeing that brought home to me how profoundly early support is needed,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to understand literacy development and the evolution of literacy skills.鈥 Cahill adds, 鈥淲ith constant assessment, you can pull those kids out and give them what they need.鈥
Giving the students what they need is only the beginning. 鈥淲e want literacy to be transformative in the students鈥 lives,鈥 says Wheeler.
鈥淚 teach literacy because it鈥檚 everything,鈥 adds Cahill. 鈥淚t鈥檚 revolutionary. It opens you up to a world of possibility. It鈥檚 the key to an educated society.鈥
The Master of Arts in Education in Literacy Specialist program is available to education professionals as a 12-course, 36-hour full-degree sequence. It is completely online and asynchronous. And, for teachers in Jefferson County who had a taste of deep literacy learning through the JCPS Bellarmine Literacy Project, there is good news: Up to four classes (12 hours) in the project have a direct correlation to courses taught in the Literacy Specialist program, allowing BLP veterans to count that coursework toward their degree, saving time and money as they pursue the MAEd.