READING FIRST IN VIRGINIA

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!

Professional Development Provided by the Grant (free to teachers in the state).

K-3 ON-LINE ACADEMIES

In the last year of our state's Reading First grant, we are able to offer the Teacher Reading Academies only in the on-line format. The K-3 academies will be taught in fall 2009 and spring 2010. Please watch this page for announcements regarding the enrollment dates. You can also log into your own Reading First account page for information as we make it available.

ELL ON-LINE ACADEMY

The academy for teachers of English Language Learners is offered on-line only, a distance education offering. This academy fills fast and will be taught one more time as a grant offering, in Fall 2009. This academy is taught by an instructor who is fluent in Spanish and who is a contributing author of Colorin' Colorado, the national ELL website.

Professional Development Available by Contract

ACADEMY FOR SPE ED TEACHERS AND TEACHERS OF STRUGGLING READERS

This academy was developed specifically for teachers who are responsible for the literacy development of children with special needs and children who struggle with reading. Topics covered include literacy development from the earliest to the most advanced stages, information on PALS and informal assessment, and techniques to engage readers. After July 1, we will be offering this academy in selected sites across the state by contract with school districts who wish to enroll their teachers. Download flyer for more information.

WORKSHOPS

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. Workshops are available to any requesting school or district on a cost/contract basis only. Please contact our office for more details, should you be interested.

Using PALS for Instruction

Our most recent offering, the Comprehension Institute, challenges teachers to use their PALS assessments to design differentiated instruction in their content (and other) classes. This institute has been offered six times in the past two years. You can bring it to your own district as a day-long workshop, on a contract basis. We will be happy to work with you.

K-3 SITE-BASED ACADEMIES

The grant's original Teacher Reading Academies were designed for K-3 teachers, K-12 special educators and other professionals in our schools who work with children in the primary grades. Although the grant is no longer able to provide this professional development free for our state, the academies are still available on a contract basis for those districts who would like to bring them to their locales. Please contact our office for more information.

PHOTO-NARRATIVES

Photo-narratives of the summer reading academies are posted.

Future academies are listed on the Events Page of your own Reading First homepage. Please create an account to see the list. It's easy!

2009-2010 Academy for Teachers of Special Education Students

We will continue to offer the SPE ED Academy (Academy for Teachers of Special Education Students) across the state, to both RF districts and all others, on a cost basis. This professional development event is designed for teachers of children in grades 4 - 12, but, in reality, all educators would benefit from this thorough overview of reading development and differentiation strategies that help each child succeed as a reader.

Each academy can accommodate 50 participants; Reading First districts are given priority registration. You can download a flyer with information here.

Fall 2009 (all Saturdays): Roanoke, Richmond, and Hampton Roads (October 17, November 7, 21, December 5, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

Spring 2010 (all Saturdays): Charlottesville, Richmond, and Hampton Roads (February 6, 30, March 6, 20, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

Cost for the academy is $550 per person and includes books, materials, refreshments, and lunch.

For answers to questions you have relative to these pay-per-participant academies, please contact Ellen Shrum at 434-924-2406 or shrum@virginia.edu.

PALS in Practice

The new edition of PALS in Practice includes an article about Book Buddies entitled "Book Buddies: Together, Tutors and Students Grow". Click here to read the article.
You may subscribe to PALS in Practice by contacting the PALS office. Please send an email to pals@virginia.edu to request a subscription.

Planning for 2009-2010

Twenty-one Virginia elementary schools will receive Reading First funding during the school year 2009/2010. To serve all educators in our Commonwealth, we will offer a K-3 Online Teacher Reading Academy (TRA) and an ELL Online TRA during the fall of 2009 and a K-3 Online TRA during the spring of 2010. Based on the much reduced budget, state-wide workshops and conferences will not be offered during the school year 2009/2010.

The Reading Academy for Teachers of Special Education Students will be offered at a per-participant cost during the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010 at several locations around the state. Additional information will be shared as dates, locations, costs, and enrollment procedures are finalized.

Click here to consult the Announcements Archives

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.

About Reading First in Virginia: Its Last Year

The Reading First in Virginia office and this website have provided and facilitated the professional development of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Reading First grant since 2003. Our office has provided academies, workshops, conferences, and institutes to thousands of teachers from both Reading First grant schools and other schools in the state. Our goal has been to update teachers' knowledge of best practices in reading as well as offer follow-up workshops that deepen their understanding about specific aspects of instruction. In the sixth and final year of the funding, 21 elementary schools are finishing their third year of instructional growth.

This website holds records of our six years of professional development in the form of lessons, demonstrations, and activities that are available to all teachers. Teachers can create an account on the website, if they don't already have one, and find what they need on the "professional development" links found there. Please explore the website for the benefits of the grant that it offers.

Beginning on July 1st, our outreach will extend to the state through on-line academies and RF focus groups. All other "in-person" training is still available by contract

Walk through some past academies.

Contact Reading First in Virginia

Copyright 2003-2009 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.