Literacy Partnership

This project proposes a complete redesign of the 12-hour reading core at Cleveland State University (CSU), to be completed in collaboration with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), which will strengthen our teacher candidates’ knowledge of the science of reading. Upon completion of this project, CSU will have revised courses and syllabi, created case studies and simulations for our online courses, and created a field-based intervention course, to be implemented at schools in CMSD. Given the size of our education preparation program, the close connection our teacher candidates currently have with our partner district, and CMSD’s current challenges in literacy achievement across all grade levels, we feel the creation of this partnership will help build local capacity in literacy expertise and help CMSD students learn to read.

The intended outcome of this project is a complete redesign of the 12-hour reading core curriculum at CSU, which will better prepare our teacher candidates to be successful teachers of literacy for all students, including those with disabilities, learning challenges, and who are English learners (ELs). For this project, we will partner with CMSD, a large urban district with which CSU has a long tradition of collaboration and partnership. As a result of this project, we expect that graduates from our educator preparation program will be more effective teachers in assessing and teaching reading and literacy for all students, and especially for students with special needs, such as ELLs, disabilities, and dyslexia. Given the large number of teachers CSU prepares, the close connection our university has with teaching placements in CMSD, both for early field experiences, student teaching, and post-graduation hiring; and the current need for increased literacy achievement for CMSD students, this partnership will not only result in a redesigned reading core curriculum but also build local capacity in expert literacy teachers who understand the particular challenges a large, urban district faces in regards to literacy achievement.