Yes.  The Reading League is a NYSED approved CTLE sponsor, and you will be provided with a certificate of attendance at the end of our Live Events and Annual Conference.

Not necessarily.  Much of the science of reading comes from disciplines outside of schools of education (e.g., neuroscience, linguistics, cognitive psychology, etc.) Therefore, professors who teach in schools of education are often unfamiliar with the scientific evidence base.

Not necessarily. School district administrators and teachers who plan professional development experiences are often not aware of the scientific evidence base on how students learn to read.  Schools tend to implement popular, heavily advertised approaches and materials that they assume are grounded in the evidence base. Sadly, the profit-driven commercial entities that dominate the educational marketplace are often not aligned with the science of how students best learn to read.

Not at all.  We tend to do a lot of work around phonics and phonemic proficiency, because the research on teacher knowledge indicates that these are the areas in which educators have the most significant gaps.  However, The Reading League also addresses vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, early speech and language development, response to intervention, assessment, text types, writing, and other related topics.  Check out our YouTube Channel for a sampling of our past Live Events and professional development videos.

Much of The Reading League’s work is done by dedicated volunteers.  However, we do incur operating costs (e.g., video recording, photocopying, conference expenses, insurance) and personnel costs (e.g., tech support, school-based reading coaches).  The Reading League relies on donations, grants, corporate sponsors, Live Event raffles, and merchandise sales to continue providing our services at low or no cost to educators.  Please consider supporting The Reading League through a personal donation or any of the other avenues above. Because The Reading League is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your donation is tax deductible.

Absolutely not.  The Reading League is for all educators.  General education classroom teachers are critically important to the literacy achievement of all children.  When general education teachers provide “core,” or “Tier 1,” instruction that is grounded in the scientific research evidence base, fewer children experience difficulty and need extra help.  Of course, The Reading League is also for teachers who provide intervention instruction and special education, as some students will need more than the core. The good news is that all students benefit from evidence-based instruction.  We find that all types of educators at all grade levels – including speech and language pathologists/therapists, school psychologists, administrators, librarians, middle and high school content teachers, special area teachers, and more – attend our events and find them useful.

The Reading League does not have an instructional program.  We believe that educators, not programs, teach students. That being said, some published instructional programs are more informed by the existing research evidence than others.  When teachers build their knowledge of the evidence base, they are better positioned to make informed choices when selecting instructional programs, materials, and approaches.

No. The Reading League does not work directly with children.  Our mission involves elevating the knowledge and skills of educators so that their instructional time with students is more impactful.  We believe that we can make the most impact by helping educators maximize the instructional time they have, rather than adding instructional time to children’s already busy lives.

Not yet.  At this time, we do not have the capacity to do this important job, but we hope to get there someday.  Sadly, far too many adults did not have their literacy instructional needs met when they were in school. Evidence-based instruction can help these individuals.  It is never too late to learn to read.