Master’s Degree Program in
Reading and Literacy: Inclusive Teaching
Specialize in Reading and Literacy Across Grades
and Diverse Learning Styles
In response to a growing national demand for highly prepared reading specialists and literacy coaches, as well as changes in New York State’s certification requirements, Bank Street Graduate School of Education has redesigned its master’s in literacy education program: Reading and Literacy: Inclusive Teaching. The program has expanded its focus to teaching reading to children and adolescents across all grades, from kindergarten through high school.
This master’s degree program is for classroom teachers with initial New York State certification in general education or special education and leads to additional K-12 certification as a literacy specialist. You’ll be prepared to work as a reading intervention teacher, a school-based leader in literacy, and a classroom teacher with increased expertise and leadership in literacy.
Advance Your Career with Flexibility, Support, and Community in Just 18 Months
- 33-credit program you can complete in 18 months while teaching in your current position
- Small class size and community that promote collaboration, in-depth learning, and individualized coaching
- Rolling admissions and the flexibility of starting in January or September
- Scholarships and financial aid opportunities
- Flexible fieldwork that makes use of your current job site and includes on-site advisement and peer conference groups
Teach Literacy with Culturally Responsive, Evidence-Based Practices
Using multicultural literature as a foundation for teaching literacy, you’ll deepen your literacy teaching practices and learn how to develop curriculum that applies culturally responsive pedagogies. Through your coursework, you will:
- Learn how to integrate peer-reviewed reading theory and research with practices that are informed by evidence-based teaching methods
- Examine foundational topics about oral language development, phonemic awareness, decoding and phonics, reading comprehension, writing, and assessments designed to guide differentiated instruction
- Learn how to use assessments to inform decisions and guide differentiated instruction for students with a range of reading profiles across elementary, middle school, and secondary school grade levels, including multilingual learners and students with neurodiversity or learning disabilities
- Explore the larger socio-cultural contexts of literacy education, including an historical review of reading methods and its most recent iteration, known as the Science of Reading
- Critically analyze the literacy programs currently used in schools to help integrate culturally responsive methods for children’s learning
Develop Your Skills with Supervised Fieldwork
Extensive fieldwork at partner schools in New York City often makes use of your current job site and enables you to put theory into practice. Your fieldwork will be supervised by an on-site mentor-teacher for daily guidance, as well as by core Bank Street faculty who will observe your progress through on-site visits that provide context about what skills you need to refine and advance. You’ll also attend a weekly peer conference group that provides collaboration and community as you solve problems of practice and reflect deeply on your own growth as an educator.
