This grant-funded opportunity allows participants to complete tuition-free coursework that will strengthen educators’ abilities to build trusting relationships between educators and communities of English Learners through literacy activities.
UMass Global has been awarded a National Professional Development grant to offer tuition-free, fully online courses for administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers working with English Learners in TESOL and bilingual programs. Each course includes 1 graduate-level professional development credit, which can be used for salary advancement or recertification. This 4-course "Parents as Partners in Literacy" program provides evidence-based strategies and practical tools to help educators engage families and communities in literacy development through home and community activities.
When families of all backgrounds are engaged in their children’s learning, their children will achieve at higher levels, stay in school longer, and pursue higher education. This course highlights the reasons why family engagement in literacy is essential as you initiate thinking around ways to amplify family and school connections to ultimately enhance students’ literacy experience and achievement.
In education, it's important to build strong ties with parents and family by encouraging literacy partnerships. Through an exploration of activities and articles, you will learn methods for engaging families in literacy activities. Topics covered in this course include elevating the value of a home library, honoring family assets through talking about books, creating choice boards and strategies for home use, and highlighting the importance of discovering and setting aside time to read.
As part of a literacy plan, teachers must include strategies and resources that advance the reading development of all students. These strategies must be manageable, interactive, and intentionally planned so that students understand the purpose of each and experience the benefits while reading. The goal is for students to include these strategies and resources in their personal repertoire so that they can access them independently when reading. As parents support their child’s learning, knowledge of these practices become conversation topics between parent and child. In this course, you will explore various strategies that can be shared with families and students to develop internalized mindsets, behaviors, and reading habits.
This course is designed to assist teachers of all levels in using data to inform classroom and home literacy progress through the use of a variety of tools that will assist in creating, collecting, and sharing the data. In this course, you will discover how to use data to inform classroom and home literacy progress through the use of spreadsheets, graphs, and empathy interviews. You will explore ways to help students self-assess and track their own progress, as well as ways to collaborate and share data with and share with parents.
The tuition for the “Parents as Partners in Literacy” courses are funded by the National Professional Development grant and payment is not required.
Yes, upon completion of the course, you will earn graduate-level professional development credit and can request a transcript. Graduate-level professional development credits are not part of a degree program but instead are primarily used for professional advancement such as salary increment steps and recertification. Students should seek approval from appropriate district officials before enrolling in these courses.
Yes, courses are fully online and self-paced (perfect for working professionals).
All University of Massachusetts Global programs are accredited by WSCUC, assuring that the University meets quality standards established by the U.S. Department of Education. Explore the additional program and professional accreditations UMass Global holds. Read More: https://www.umassglobal.edu/about/accreditations
Please email the School of Extended Education at exed@umassglobal.edu or call (800) 632-0094.
