Who is required to complete the Reading Academy?

According to House Bill 3, "all K-3 teachers, including special education teachers, and principals are required."  This includes K-3 teachers in departmentalized settings who may not teach reading as a core content (more on that below).  

Can others participate in a Reading Academy, even if they're not required?

Yes.  In Conroe ISD, we're asking 4th grade language arts teachers, assistant principals and literacy instructional coaches to learn alongside their K-3 colleagues. 

How will the Reading Academies benefit self-contained teachers who don't teach reading as a core content?

The sweeping legislation that is HB3 makes one thing clear -- literacy is an "all hands on deck" scenario.   Struggling readers require targeted, ongoing, cross-curricular intervention in order to grow at an accelerated rate.  Not only do they need support in math, science and social studies content, they need teachers who can pair strong content knowledge with a toolbelt of instructional strategies in reading to help them access that content.  As we all know, a child's inability to read spills over into every aspect of their academic life.  Departmentalized math, science and social studies teachers will play a crucial role in growing our readers.  

How long does a Reading Academy take?

Each learner has a full school year to complete the Academy.  Within that year, TEA estimates a learner will devote a couple of hours a week to the Academy work.  All elementary campuses in CISD need to complete the Academy by the end of the 2022-2023 school year.  

What does the Academy work actually look like?

Much of the work involves self-paced online module learning housed in Canvas and developed by Region 11 and TEA.  In Conroe, we're going above and beyond -- supporting you on campus with individualized in-class coaching, as well as PDs and study groups designed to help unpack the module learning.  We developed a pacing calendar to chunk the module work in a sensible way across the school year.  During that time, the coursework will occasionally require you to submit artifacts -- a video, for instance, of you applying your learning in the classroom.  We will walk you through that process and provide ongoing feedback before you submit artifacts for rating.

This artifact thing sounds scary.  What can you tell me?

There are two artifacts required over the course of the Academy -- both required by TEA.  The first is a video of the learner presenting a short phonemic awareness lesson.  The second is a written evaluation of a lesson the learner watches.  The CISD instructional facilitator does not grade this artifact, but they do provide ongoing advice and feedback as you develop and even create drafts of your artifacts.  

What do the modules cover?

Our CISD Reading Academy pacing calendar is available here.  As you can see, the core content of the Academy is phonological awareness, phonics, fluency and reading comprehension.  

Does the Reading Academy have special content for Bilingual educators?

Yes.  Each of the twelve online modules includes Biliteracy content.  CISD has a team of Biliteracy facilitators fluent in Spanish and very purposeful in their connection of the Academy learning to our district's One-Way Dual Language model.  Bilingual learners will work alongside these Biliteracy facilitators.  

Will there be a Reading Academy for teachers beyond the K-3 band?

Yes.  4th grade teachers will experience the Reading Academy alongside their K-3 counterparts.  This work will continue into the 2022-2023 school year.  

I noticed that TEA offers a Reading Academy screener.  If I pass the screener, do I have to complete the actual Reading Academy?

Yes.  The screener provides a preview of core Reading Academy content, as well as artifact submission, but it is not a substitute for the Reading Academy, itself (per HB3).  For those taking the screener, we have developed a study guide.  We also offer study groups for which you can register in Strive.  

If I passed the STR test, do I have to complete the actual Reading Academy?

Yes.  TEA has maintained that the STR test is not equivalent to the Reading Academy.  According to House Bill 3, teachers in their first year have to complete the Academy within that year.