Reading Intervention Endorsement Program
Lewis & Clark’s district-affiliated Reading Intervention Endorsement Program is strategically designed for working educators, with all courses taking place within your school district or utilizing online and/or hybrid models to ensure the endorsement is accessible to all teachers.
Apply Register as Special Student
* Students who register with special student status and program approval may enroll in one semester for a maximum of six (6) degree-applicable credits prior to formal admission to the Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Program Overview
Total credit hours: 14
Program length: 1 - 2 years of part-time study (evenings and summer)
Program format: Hybrid or online
Program start date: September, January, or June
District-affiliated discounted tuition: $750/credit hour
Program director: Leigh VonDerahe →
Program Goals
Practical application of student-centered instruction
Using literacy as a means for diversity, equity, and inclusion
Furthering reading & writing growth each year
Partnership Benefits
Courses are offered during evening hours and summers to accommodate working educators
Our courses are adaptive to candidate experiences & learning desires, and responsive to current literary research
Our instructors are L&C faculty, or are partnering school district employees (vetted and hired by L&C)
School district cohorts received a significant discount on tuition
Sample Schedule
Summer
READ 614: Reading Comprehension: Theory and Practical Application (3 SH)
READ 634/ESOL 607: Language Acquisition and Development (3 SH)
Fall
READ 625: Assessing Reading Strategies (3 SH
Spring
READ 620: Innovations in Reading (3 SH)*
* Practicum experience can be taking in conjunction with or after the final course
District-Affiliated Reading Endorsement Program Overview
The debates around literacy and teaching reading are real, and our teaching practices have lasting effects on students, teachers, and school communities at large.
At Lewis & Clark, we believe in a research-based, comprehensive literacy framework that includes foundational skills such as systematic and explicit phonics and phonemic awareness instruction, opportunities for real writing, strong formative assessments, and high-quality, culturally responsive texts and materials. We stand firmly in a student-centered approach to learning, where educators will deepen their own personal pedagogy while adding valuable theoretical knowledge and a direct practical application of skills and strategies to their practice. At L&C, we make curiosity and commitment to being a life-long learner a cornerstone of our important work together.
The Reading Intervention Endorsement coursework is for those who currently hold a teaching license and are looking for additional professional development. The Endorsement prepares teachers to be even more responsive to the variety of literacy needs and experiences within their classrooms, and/or to work as a Reading Interventionist or Literacy Coach at any Pre-K through Grade 12 level. While the role of aReading Interventionist or Literacy Coach may look different depending on the school or district, all have the common goal of advancing the reading skills of all students.
Additionally, Endorsement coursework can:
- Further the practice of Pre-K, Elementary, and Secondary teachers who specialize in any subject area, integrating expended knowledge of literacy into current classroom practices
- Benefit administrators who are seeking ways to build the literacy practices of their school and district
- Language Acquisition—a required course in the sequence—will also count towards the ESOL Endorsement at Lewis & Clark. Many teachers go on to obtain their endorsements in both areas. Coursework completed in the Reading Endorsement can also be applied to an Inservice MEd degree at Lewis & Clark.
Interested in bringing an endorsement program to your district or organization?
Contact Emily Fortune Hancock, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Placements
efhancock@lclark.edu
What to Expect from Off-Campus Coursework
The endorsement cohorts are designed for the needs of practicing professionals, with coursework offered in the evenings and during the summer. Classes can meet in Portland Metro Area school districts and/or online. Classes emphasize individual attention and the opportunity to learn and work collaboratively with fellow teachers and school leaders. The program is designed for learning research-based theoretical knowledge of best practices as well as direct, practical application of skills and strategies to the classroom.
Additionally, off-campus coursework allows for reduced tuition.
Coursework Overview
Language & Literacy Development for Multilingual Classrooms (3 credits)
This course focuses on the importance of first language development, its relationship to the acquisition of additional languages, and the relationship of language to cognitive development. Candidates will become knowledgeable in basic linguistic concepts of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and discourse; historical instructional approaches and sociocultural variables related to language development will be explored. In addition, candidates will use translanguaging methods to build on students’ linguistic repertoires and identities and become familiar with the latest evidence-based literacy instruction practices to support their multilingual students.
Reading Comprehension (3 credits)
In-depth exploration of current models and trends in reading comprehension and its cognitive and linguistic components. Students read widely from professional journals, explore and reflect on their personal reading processes, and do theoretical and practical projects to further their understanding. Examines factors that contribute to reading difficulty (from early childhood through adulthood), as well as important issues and questions about standardized tests, observational diagnostics, readability formulas, and the effectiveness and theoretical validity of published programs.
Assessing Reading Strategies (3 credits)
Exploration of reading assessment strategies. Topics include a language orientation for diagnosing reading problems, diverse causes and correlates of reading difficulties, assessment procedures in reading, and strategies to facilitate readers’ improvement. Each participant assesses a reader, develops a profile of personal strategies, and designs and implements an instructional plan to help the reader develop effective, efficient reading strategies responsive to individual differences, interests, and developmental levels.
Innovations in Reading (3 credits)
Organizing, managing, and evaluating both classroom and school-wide K-12 reading programs. Students examine the textbook adoption process, participate in the development and use of tools for evaluating reading texts, assess components of reading and writing programs, and learn to be an equitable literacy leader through navigating difficult professional conversations and facilitating both adult and student learning needs.
Field Practicum (2 credits)
Practicum candidates work in their own classrooms with a focus on reading instruction and assessment. Candidates are assigned a mentor and an LC supervisor who periodically observes the candidate’s instruction. Triad meetings focus on observation reports and rubrics (areas of conversation include reading instruction practices and reading assessment practices such as data collection/use of data). The candidate, supervisor, and mentor work together in reflection to produce a summative evaluation identifying strengths in the practicum experience and goals for continued improvement.