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Master of Education in Literacy Education

Available only On Campus in the Kansas City Area


Purpose

The Master of Education with emphasis in Literacy Education with certification degree is designed with two tracks, for two types of educators:

  • The Classroom Teacher track, for K-12 educators already holding certification and teaching in public and private schools. This track is designed to help "regular" classroom teachers enhance the literacy development of all learners in their classrooms, and to help them work effectively with learners who have literacy needs, within their classrooms. This track does not lead to additional certification.
  • The Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach track, for educators desiring to work as literacy coaches or special reading teachers, in various public and private settings. This track leads to Missouri Special Reading certification. This certification is not available as an initial certificate; candidates must already be certified in another area.

The degree program meets the International Reading Association's Standards for Reading Professionals (2003 revision) for Category II: The Classroom Teacher and Category III: The Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach. Courses will be offered in the eight-week format. Full-time enrollment is one course per eight-week term.

Admissions Requirements

  • A Bachelor's degree in education from an accredited institution, or hold a valid state teaching certificate (applicant must provide copy of certificate).
  • For admission to the Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach Track: two years teaching experience.
  • Minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.00 scale and 2.5 grade point average in core.
  • Be officially admitted to the School for Education (Only applicable for Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach track).
  • Students with a GPA between 2.75 and 3.0 may be considered for admission, if they provide one of the following:
    • Four (4) years successful employment experience (letter of recommendation from supervisor based on good evaluations).
    • An acceptable GRE score for verbal and quantitative tests.
    • Meet or exceed the state field test mean score on the area test of the National Teacher's Exam.
    • Optional professional portfolio (to be evaluated by two full-time Teacher Education faculty members)

* An applicant who has been denied admission to a graduate education program may appeal the decision to the Committee for Selection, Admission, Retention, and Appeals (CSARA). The appeal shall be submitted in writing to the Chair of the CSARA using the appropriate appeal form. Documentation supporting the appeal must accompany the appeal form where applicable.

Additional information related to the appeals process may be obtained from the School for Education office.

Curriculum 36 hrs.
Courses required for both Classroom Teacher track and Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach track:
ED   528  Theory and Practice in Literacy 3 hrs.
ED 545 Teaching Reading to Linguistically Diverse Learners 3 hrs.
ED 546 Advanced Diagnosis and Remediation of Reading Difficulties 3 hrs.
ED 547 Counseling Techniques with Exceptional Children and Their Families 3 hrs.
ED 548 Evaluation of Abilities and Achievement 3 hrs.
ED 557 Language Development for the
Exceptional Child		 3 hrs.
ED 561 Miscue Analysis 3 hrs.
ED 610 Issues and Research in Literacy 3 hrs.
ED 641 Literacy Practicum I 3 hrs.
ED 651 Literacy Practicum II 3 hrs.
Additional courses required for the Classroom Teacher track:
ED 531 Literacy Across the Curriculum 3 hrs.
ED 549 Literacy Programs and Mandates 3 hrs.
Additional courses required for the Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach track (leads to special reading certification):
ED 526 Classroom Management Seminar 3 hrs.
ED 527 Growth and Development of Children and Adolescents 3 hrs.

Note: For this track, in ED 641 Practicum I and ED 651 Practicum II the candidate must focus on working with students at two completely different age levels across Grades K-12 (e.g., elementary and middle school or elementary and high school).

Graduation Requirements

  • Successful completion of 36 credit hours, with no grade lower than a "C," in the required courses, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher.
  • Advanced Candidate must successfully pass the SFE Disposition Instrument for Advanced Candidates for admission into Literacy Practicum I and II. For the Classroom Teacher Track, completion of that track's 36-hour curriculum with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for graduation. For the Special Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach track, in addition to completing that track's 36-hour curriculum with at least a 3.0 GPA, the candidate must submit an approved portfolio and teacher work sample that addresses satisfactorily the Missouri Standards for teacher certification. A student cannot complete the program or be recommended for certification without the portfolio and teacher work sample.
  • See Academic Policies - Graduation Requirements for more information.
  • An Application for Graduation is required before a completion statement is posted to the transcript. Application for Graduation is available online at ww.park.edu/graduation. Students must return the completed form with the appropriate fee.

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