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Overview of the Site-Based Fitchburg State College
Master of Education in Special Education: Reading Specialist Program
Offered through Catherine Leahy Brine Educational Consultants, Inc.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

The Fitchburg State College Master of Education in Special Education Program: Reading Specialist prepares teachers for an important role in their schools and school systems and to meet the standards of the Massachusetts Educator Initial License as a Reading Specialist. The program defines the knowledge and skills necessary for effective assessment, instruction and leadership in the field of reading. It responds to the needs of school districts by preparing specialists in leadership roles, as well as to the needs of students with a wide range of abilities with a focus on students with reading/language disabilities.

The Fitchburg State College Reading Specialist Program provides candidates who hold initial licenses in Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School or Special Education with a rigorous, research based curriculum, and a range of assessment, teaching and staff development opportunities. Candidates receive a Master's Degree in Special Education with the preparation for the state license examination, leading to Initial Licensure: Reading Specialist.

Further, the program enables a candidate who holds an initial teaching license in Moderate Disabilities, Early Childhood, Elementary and Middle School to add the Massachusetts Professional License to their existing license.

** The program has been approved by the National Council for the Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (formerly called the DOE).

Pre-Requisites 1. Prior to the start of matriculation in the program, candidates must hold an Initial license in early childhood, elementary or special education.

2. Satisfaction of courses (either undergraduate or graduate or proof of having taken equivalent courses), as follows:

  1. A Children or Young Adult Literature Course
  2. A Child Growth and Development Course
  3. Principles and Practices of Teaching Reading

Proposed Schedule: Semester One

  • SPED/READ 7016 Understanding the Structure of the English Language
  • SPED/READ 7017 The Psychology of Reading

Semester Two:

  • SPED/READ 8017 Specialized Reading Approaches
  • SPED/READ 8018 Reading Disabilities and the Assessment of Reading

Semester Three:

  • SPED/READ 8019 The Assessment of Writing Skills and Writing Disabilities
  • SPED 8300 Language Development: Differences and Disorders

Semester Four:

  • SPED/READ 9100 Advanced Research in Reading
  • Elective I

Semester Five:

  • SPED/READ 9102 The Reading Specialist: Leadership Roles
  • Elective II
  • MTEL Reading Specialist

Semester Six:

  • SPED/READ 9101 Practicum: Reading Specialist (3 credit hours) will require 75 hours of clinical experience.
  • SPED/READ TBA Practicum Seminar

** All required tests must be taken and all courses completed satisfactorily before the candidate enters the practicum. **

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