Level III Academy Applications Available

All teachers (from Reading First and non-Reading First schools) who have attended a Level I Reading Academy are eligible to submit proposals. Level III Academies are usually small professional learning communities and funding will range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Click here for applications for Level III Reading Academies.

Professional Development

The National Commission on Teaching & America's Future found that investments in teacher knowledge and skills net greater increases in student achievement than other uses of an education dollar. In addition, The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown that the qualifications and training of teachers affect reading achievement (Darling-Hammond, 1999). Darling-Hammond, LaFors, & Snyder (2001) suggest that subject matter knowledge and knowledge of how to teach are equally powerful factors in teacher effectiveness. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence that professional development when viewed as an integral part of the life of the school, allows teachers to acquire the experience that encourages them to grow and change in the context of school reform (Lieberman, 1995).

Characteristics of Nevada Reading First Professional Development

Based on Lieberman’s advice and Darling-Hammond’s model, effective professional development in Nevada Reading First schools will include the following characteristics:

• It must engage teachers in concrete tasks of teaching, assessment, observation, and reflection that illuminate the processes of learning and development
• It must be grounded in inquiry, reflection, and experimentation that are participant-driven
• It must be collaborative, involving a sharing of knowledge among educators and a focus on teachers’ communities of practice rather than on individual teachers
• It must be connected to and derived from teachers’ work with their students
• It must be sustained, ongoing, intensive, and supported by modeling, coaching and the collective solving of specific problems of practice
• It must be connected to other aspects of school change (Darling-Hammond, 1999, ¶ 4).

Developmental Continuum for Professional Development

Teaching abilities, over and above the type of materials used, have been found to be the major contributors to students’ literacy success (Block, Oakar, & Hurt, 2002). Teachers as learners also develop along a continuum of understanding and mastery of how to teach. The following domains of specific teaching expertise will be studied:

• Roles and responsibilities that educators perform most repetetively

• Methods used to motivate students

• Actions taken to re-teach

• Instructional techniques used to relate to students

• Classroom qualities that teachers value

• Characteristics of lessons they create.

These domains will provide a framework from which teachers can work in communities to understand best practices for specific student populations. They will also be used to help teachers examine their own practice in order to advance their expertise in literacy instruction.