announcements

Returning Users

If you are a returning user of our website, Log In here.

New Users

We invite teachers, principals and coaches in the state to create your own accounts on the Reading First website so that you are ready to enroll in an event when you see one announced. You will also be included in state mailings through our website. Watch for new professional development materials!

Reading First in Virginia

Academies

Teacher Reading Academies are free professional development opportunities, open to all K-3 teachers, K-12 special educators and other professionals in our schools who work with children in the primary grades. Information in the academies reflects scientifically-based reading research. Teachers can earn recertification points for attendance and can elect to complete a 3-hour graduate course after the academy.

In summer 2008, we will offer five K-3 Teacher Reading Academies and two academies for grades 4-12 Special Educators. Academies begin in June and offerings extend across summer to early August. Please check the Academy Listing page for dates and sites.

Academy Follow-Up Course (EDIS 589)

The Academy Follow-Up Course (EDIS 589) is a 3 - hour graduate level course designed for K-3 teachers and special education teachers who have taken a Teacher Reading Academy through the University of Virginia.

Workshops

Our workshops are hands-on and interactive follow-ups to teacher reading academies. They are designed for teachers who have attended a Teacher Reading Academy and want more information on the topics of Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Comprehension and Vocabulary, and Fluency.

Conferences

Conferences are offered several times a year and are open to all teachers in the state.

about reading first

About Reading First in Virginia

This summer is our 6th summer of presenting Teacher Reading Academies, our second summer for the Special Ed Academy for Teachers of Struggling Readers, our first summer to offer on-line academies for ELL teachers, and our first summer to bring two NEW Comprehension Institutes to the state. The professional development office is busy with supporting existing initiatives and building new ones for the teachers in our state

The new Comprehension webpage will be "unveiled" in June and will contain videos of comprehension strategies and model teaching to help teachers with the most difficult aspect of teaching reading: building comprehension. Please check back in June....log in to your own page and open the Professional Development link on the side.

Photos of the first Special Education Academy for Teachers of Struggling Readers, July 2007.

Walk through some past academies.



August Special Ed Academy Canceled

We have been forced to cancel the Special Education Academy, scheduled for August in Wytheville, because of low enrollment there. The Special Education Academy in Hampton Roads for June is currently full, but spaces do come open closer to the event when enrollees often change their minds about attendance. The individuals enrolled in Wytheville have been asked to watch for cancellations. We will be offering this academy again in the fall semester. Please watch this website for the announcement of places and times.

Fall Graduate Class

For those teachers who wish to take their reading academy experiences to the graduate course level, please see the attached flyer for specific information regarding registration dates and tuition costs for the Fall 2008 EDIS 589W Reading First in Virginia: Effective Literacy Instruction. This class is appropriate as follow-up for all academies.

Click here to download flyer.

Summer Comprehension Institute July 29 and 30, 2008

Dates for the Summer Comprehension Institute to be held in Richmond, VA have been announced. The institute will bring teachers together to study best practices related to teaching comprehension in the content areas. This is a free event, open to administrators, K-3 teachers, K-12 special educators, and those who work with children at those levels.
Enrollment is now open through this website; please login to your account (or create one) to reserve a seat.

Second online English Language Learners Teacher Reading Academy

A second section of the online English Language Learners Teacher Reading Academy has been added. Please login and select ELL Online II Teacher Reading Academy from your homepage to enroll.

Second Richmond Teacher Reading Academy

Based on demand in the Richmond area (all sections of the Teacher Reading Academy in Richmond filled in three days!), an additional academy has been added. It will run concurrently with the Summer 2008 Richmond I TRA, August 5-8, and at the same site. Enrollment for this additional summer professional development opportunity, Richmond II, is now open!

SUMMER 2008 Teacher Reading Academies

Enrollment links for summer Teacher Reading Academies open on April 1 for Reading First teachers. Open enrollment for all other teachers in the state begins one week later, April 8. Summer events begin on June 16 with an academy taught through Old Dominion University, and continue through the summer until August 8th, when a K-3 academy in Richmond and a Special Education Academy in Wytheville end. Please check the list of summer offerings and plan accordingly if you have not taken advantage of these free professional development workshops provided by the state's Reading First funding.

SUMMER 2008 Reading First Graduate Level Follow-up Course

The graduate level follow-up course for teachers who have attended an academy (either regular ed or Special Education Teacher Reading Academy) and who have earned a certificate in that academy, will be offered this summer. Registration opens in May, with the 8-week summer course beginning on June 9th. Please come to the TEMPO website (http://tempo.virginia.edu) or the Reading First in Virginia website for more registration information. Click here to download a flyer with more specific details.


Click here to consult the Announcements Archives


resources
eLibrary

In the eLibrary, you will find up-to-date internet resources on topics of interest to teachers related to research-based reading instruction.

Instructional Slideshows

Reading First photographers create Instructional slideshows of best practices to share with you.

Lectures

For information on the George Graham Lecture in Reading and other professional opportunities, visit Lectures.

Contact Reading First in Virginia
Copyright 2005-2007 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. The University is an equal opportunity educator and employer. This information is subject to change without notice. For questions or comments on the content contact Reading First in Virginia. For questions or comments on the site itself contact the Webmaster.