Find out how these professionals support learning and growth when it comes to reading.
Developing readers need support in order to properly advance their understanding of language. A certified reading specialist is an individual who can provide ongoing support for learners when they are developing their language abilities. Through education and reading tools, they help learners read better. In this article, we will discuss what these experts offer and the benefits they bring to a learning environment.
Understanding Certified Reading Specialists
Certified reading specialists are an incredible resource for learners. Currently, there are over 17,000 reading specialists supporting students in the United States. Let’s take a closer look at what they have to offer.
What is a Certified Reading Specialist?
A certified reading specialist is a professional educational partner and teacher who can help learners enhance their reading skills. Offering ongoing support and care for students at different levels, these experts provide valuable insights and extra education as children learn and increase their reading abilities throughout the years.
Certified reading specialists can work in schools or partner with families through programs to provide support for students. Although these professionals predominantly support children who might require a slower pace or additional support, they can support all learners as needed with their skill sets.
What do Certified Reading Specialists Do?
These trained professionals partner directly with classroom teachers, students, and groups of students to provide additional support and enhance reading skills as well as determine which children need additional reading support. They can work on an individual basis, or provide insights to support a school’s literacy infrastructure.
When working with these specialists, students will receive additional reading tools for building up core reading skills. Decoding to improve the sounds at work behind the words is one key focus, but a certified reading specialist will help with any areas where students are struggling.
As students get older, it is common for specialists to focus on more in-depth practices, like fluency and reading comprehension. The additional assistance can help students retain more from what they read and better understand the language dynamics at work.
Besides working with students, reading specialists do assessments and analyze data and results that can identify students who need more focused instruction. Reading specialists can choose the intervention strategy needed for a child and usually use supplemental reading programs that are not tied to the school’s core reading curriculum.
Becoming a Certified Reading Specialist
Since a certified reading specialist works with children in an educational capacity, there are specific requirements for taking on the role. The requirements can vary depending on where you plan to practice. Some school districts allow specialists to obtain their credentials through reading certification programs online, while others may require a more specific approach.
In order to be a certified reading specialist in most places, there are a few standard requirements to adhere to. As a bare minimum, most places require specialists to have a bachelor’s degree, but many others require a master’s degree centered around teaching and reading.
Beyond a base level of education, these specialists will often need to be certified or licensed in some capacity in order to be able to practice. Most positions will require a standard issue teaching license. However, certain places will require a specific reading specialist license or certification as well.
How Certified Reading Specialists Support Learners
The real magic of certified reading specialists is that they will often adapt to their students. Since these trained experts are also teachers, they bring high-quality education and tools to classrooms and homes. These professionals offer ongoing support in several different ways.
Ongoing Educational Support
First and foremost, certified reading specialists will offer educational support to students. In some cases, the support may be on an individual basis. However, certified reading specialists can also support groups and classes.
When working with students, certified reading specialists focus on every aspect of reading. They will teach decoding, provide tools for enhancing literacy skills, and help students to develop some of the smaller but equally important reading skills. Spelling, writing, language patterns, and even vocabulary are common focuses for reading specialists. Ultimately, their goal is to help students understand language more effectively.
Offering Additional Education
While some students take to language, learning, and reading very quickly, that isn’t always the case. Most students struggle with a core learning area at some point in their academic careers, and reading is one area that commonly troubles students. Roughly 20% to 30% of early learners struggle with reading
The education offered by a certified reading specialist can help build upon what is already being taught in the classroom. Focusing on supporting related skills often helps students to develop a more solid mastery of core skills, and these specialists can offer that.
Providing a More Approachable Pace
Pacing is one area where teachers and students alike often find themselves struggling. The education system is welcoming to all, but it can run into trouble when it comes to finding the right pace for education. Many students have the ability to learn skills and improve them, but they do not always receive the additional time they need in the classroom.
Since these specialists often work outside of the classroom or as an alternative to traditional class time, the pacing is much more flexible. Students who need to approach the content at a slower pace can receive that extra time when working with a specialist.
Committing to Certain Areas of Focus
Every once in a while, the mind simply gets stuck. Unfortunately, when this happens while establishing core skills, it can cause noticeable problems. A certified reading specialist can help students get caught up on certain concepts by giving them extra time, education, and resources to better understand key areas.
Supporting Teachers
Although these experts do work with students, they can also be an invaluable support system in the classroom for their fellow educators. Since they work with students who might be falling behind or who need extra support, they can help students catch up without the rest of the class having to slow down. This additional support has a big impact on both students and teachers.
The Takeaway
Reading is one of the most important core skills that a person can learn, and some learners need additional support. Certified reading specialists and specialized reading programs can help enhance literacy for learners of all ages. Thank you so much for reading this information today! If you enjoyed this article on Reading Specialists, you might also enjoy reading my previous articles:
The Science of Reading: What All Teachers Should Know
How is Orton-Gillingham Evidence-Based Reading Instruction?
To learn more about effective reading education, visit us at PRIDE Reading Program today! This Orton-Gillingham, structured literacy curriculum is aligned with the science of reading, and used by teachers and parents, worldwide with great success!
The PRIDE Reading Program
Karina Richland, M.A., is the author and curriculum developer of the PRIDE Reading Program, an Orton-Gillingham, structured literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading. This homeschool and classroom curriculum uses engaging, multi-sensory methods to teach reading, writing, spelling, and comprehension. Karina has an extensive background in working with students of all ages and various learning modalities. She has spent many years researching learning differences and differentiated teaching practices. You can reach her by email at info@pridereadingprogram.com or visit the website at www.pridereadingprogram.com