Polk County Public Schools, Staff

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Reading Endorsement

Rationale:

Governor Jeb Bush signed an Executive Order in 2001 establishing the Just Read, Florida! state wide reading initiative. As part of this order spoke to establishing of a pool of highly qualified reading teachers through the acquisition of a reading endorsement, which consists of 300 in-service points or 15 semester hours of college credit.

The Polk County Plan

The Polk County Plan for Reading Endorsement currently consists of two main options for becoming reading endorsed:

Information

Below you will find information on the following:

Schedule of Competency Classes 2008-2009

Competency 1: Foundations in Language and Cognition

FOLAC: Session Start Date: Session End Date:
(Session 100) August 25, 2008 December 15, 2008
(Session 200) November 3, 2008 March 9, 2009
(Session 300) February 2, 2009 May 18, 2009

When asked for payment information, select the payment type of “Other” and enter the payment number of “TIER 1” for those teachers currently teaching reading courses out of field in grades 6-12 during the 2008-2009 school year. For all other educators, “TIER 2” is the payment code.

There is no course fee for these sessions. To receive the book for this class, Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, Fourth Edition, please contact Julie Noel.

Competency 2: Foundations of Research-Based Practices

ANNOUNCING OPEN AND FREE FALL REGISTRATION FOR COMPETENCY 2 OF THE READING ENDORSEMENT THROUGH FLORIDA ONLINE READING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (FORPD)!

Registration begins on June 2, 2008 at 9 am EST and will last until August 18, 2008 at 5 pm EST. Registration is at http://forpd.ucf.edu/register/register.html. Once you have registered for the FOR-PD course, you will receive three emails from the FORPD office. The first email will be a confirmation message, letting you know that they have received your registration form. The second email will be sent as a reminder that you have registered for the FOR-PD course. This is typically emailed two-weeks prior to the course beginning.

The fall courses begin on September 28, 2008 and end on December 15, 2008. On the day that the course begins, you will receive another email from the FORPD office by 5 pm EST. This third email contains important information about the FOR-PD course and will provide you with your login information. Please keep this email when you receive it, as it contains useful information needed for the duration of the course and after the course ends.

If you do not receive any emails from FOR-PD confirming your registration, please email them at forpd@mail.ucf.edu.

IMPORTANT: This course is free at no cost to the participant. This course will earn you 60 pd points when completed successfully.

Fall 2008

Competency 3: Foundations of Assessment

ADAPT: Session Start Date: Session End Date:
(Session 100) September 15, 2008 January 19, 2009
(Session 200) December 1, 2008 March 30, 2009
(Session 300) March 16, 2009 June 29, 2009

When asked for payment information, select the payment type of “Other” and enter the payment number of “TIER 1” for those teachers currently teaching reading courses out of field in grades 6-12 during the 2008-2009 school year. For all other educators, “TIER 2” is the payment code.

There is no course fee for these sessions. To receive the book for this class, Developing and Using Classroom Assessments, 3rd edition, please contact Julie Noel.

Competency 4: Differentiated Instruction Model A

Competency 5: Differentiated Instruction Model B

Competency 4 and 5 are taken in conjunction.

Competency 4 is the instructional component and Competency 5 is the implementation of differentiated instruction into the participant’s reading class/instruction.

Both competencies are 30 points, for a total of 60 in-service points.

FADI: Session Start Date: Session End Date:
(Session 200) October 20, 2008 February 23, 2009
(Session 300) January 19, 2009 May 4, 2009

This course is presently offered FREE through a state grant for 3,200 FL Educators.

The two textbooks, When Kids Can’t Read What Teachers Can Do and Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, are provided upon request by emailing the district contact, Jackie Baldwin with your registration approval from NEFEC.

Competency 6: Demonstration of Accomplishment

Upon the completion of the course, a copy of both a cancelled payment form and verification of completion document from CE Credits Online are required for submission to the district contact for reimbursement.

Final Steps for Certification

Final Steps for Getting the Endorsement Added to Your Certificate Upon Completion of Coursework for the District Add-On Plan or REESOL Route

Participant’s steps:

  1. Submitted a Verification Form to the K-12 Reading Department indicating the route taken for endorsement
  2. Submitted ALL Certificates of Completion for each competency to the K-12 Reading Department

Note: Once Verification Forms and all Certificates of Completion have been received, the district endorsement contacts will verify that all competencies have been completed for the designated endorsement option (District Add-On Plan or REESOL).

The district endorsement contact will:

  1. Verify that all dates on the Verification Form match the submitted Certificates of Completion
  2. Send confirmed Verification Forms to the district Certification Department
  3. Send email notification to each participant when his/her Verification Form has been sent to the Certification Department

The district Certification Department will:

  1. Send a letter via email to each participant on the list with a confirmed Verification Form of the procedure (application and fees) necessary to have the endorsement added to a certificate.
  2. The participant is deemed highly qualified.
  3. The participant receives a new certificate with the Reading Endorsement added.

“In order to leave no child behind, we need a highly qualified teacher in every classroom.” -Learning Disabilities Association (2002)

Content Area Professional Development (CAR-PD)

Content area teachers in grades 6-12 will be provided professional development activities to gain skills needed to provide reading intervention in the areas of vocabulary and comprehension for Level 2 FCAT students within the content area class beginning in 2007-2008.

Targeted teachers:

ABCTE

ABCTE Reading Endorsement for Elementary and Special Education Teachers in Florida

WASHINGTON, DC (March 21, 2007)-The Florida Department of Education recently approved the ABCTE Reading Professional Certification/Endorsement program as a route to earning the Florida K-12 Reading Endorsement for Elementary and Special Education teachers.

ABCTE's Reading Endorsement program is an affordable and comprehensive way for Florida Elementary Educators (K-6) and Exceptional Student Educators (K-12) to earn a reading endorsement.

The Reading Endorsement program provides teachers the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of research-based techniques for reading instruction. Working towards completion of the endorsement program, which is based on the recommendations by the National Reading Panel, will help Florida's teachers sharpen their reading instruction skills to increase classroom effectiveness.

ABCTE's Reading Endorsement program can be completed in as little as four months. Visit www.abcte.org/reading for more information. To enroll, visit https://mypass.abcte.org/ or call toll free at 877-669-2228.

The program costs $395 and includes:

The district will reimburse the program cost upon successful completion and submission of documentation.