“The question isn’t ‘What is the best reading program?’ The question is ‘How does reading work, and how will it work for this child?’”
Marylen Townley Massen has been asking that question since the moment she discovered her calling. So have Rebecca Glazer and Lily Howard Scott. All three are graduates of Bank Street’s literacy programs, and all three have built careers around a conviction that is simple to state and hard to practice: that teaching children to read begins with knowing who they are.
As the need for skilled literacy educators grows across schools and districts, the demand for teachers who can combine the science of reading with deep knowledge of child development has never been higher. That is exactly what Bank Street’s literacy programs have always been built on—and what our newly redesigned MSEd in Reading and Literacy: Inclusive Teaching was created to deepen, with classes beginning in Fall 2026.
Meet Rebecca
Rebecca Glazer chose Bank Street because she wanted more than methods. “I knew the program would give me the space to synthesize, process, debate, and embed all of this information into my teaching pedagogy,” she says. She went on to work as a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, and literacy coach in New York City public and Title 1 schools—and carries that foundation into everything she does today. “People who truly know education policy and theory know Bank Street. It gave me a rocket booster to head in the right direction.” Read Rebecca’s full story
Meet Lily
Lily Howard Scott arrived at Bank Street wanting to help children learn to love reading. “I hoped to help kids understand that books can be lifelong companions.” she says. Today she consults with schools and organizations nationwide, speaks at national conferences, and, in 2025, she published The Words That Shape Us (Scholastic), selected by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center as a Top Book for Educators. The Bank Street lesson that stayed with her most? “Teach the child, not the curriculum.” Read Lily’s full story
Meet Marylen
“Teach the child” could also be a motto for Marylen Townley Massen’s Cobble Hill clinic, Read and Write NYC, where she and her colleagues specialize in reaching students others have struggled to reach, including children with autism, dyslexia, intellectual disabilities, and complex medical histories. “The child is your manual,” she says. “Knowing who they are, their cognition, temperament, challenges, what they face medically—knowing all of it helps me make the right decisions as I work to advance their literacy.” She says she recognizes fellow Bank Street-trained educators in schools across the city the moment she meets them. “The warmth, the tone, the obvious mission to understand children as full humans—this respect for children permeates everything.” Read Marylen’s full story
Three paths, three careers, one foundation—and an invitation to build your own.
The Reading and Literacy: Inclusive Teaching master’s degree program is a hybrid, 30-credit degree designed for certified teachers who want to expand their literacy practice across grades levels while continuing to teach in their current positions. Through a blend of on-campus and online learning and supervised fieldwork, students engage with current research in literacy development and the sciences of reading, building knowledge and confidence in their ability to reach all learners—from early childhood through high school. Grounded in Bank Street’s progressive approach, the program prepares students to become a reading specialist, literacy coach, or teacher-leader who designs and implements literacy curriculum grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy.
If you’re a certified teacher ready to deepen your expertise and join a community of educators who believe that knowing the whole child is what makes great literacy teaching possible, we’d love to talk with you.
View Program Attend an Advising Session Online Join Our Email List