Earning this recognition signifies for potential students and candidates that our program meets several rigorous standards. It validates that what we’re doing is working.
During her 23-year career as a special education teacher, Jodi Walters, G’26, has seen many students struggle with reading. To learn how to help them, Jodi became a student again herself.
Jodi enrolled in the nationally recognized reading program at Bridgewater State University, where she found supportive professors who helped her understand how children learn to read, how to assess their progress, and how to meet their individual needs.
“I wanted to figure out what was causing these reading difficulties and what I can do to support the students who come to us with significant reading challenges,” said Jodi, who teaches at Learning Prep School in Newton. “The courses were applicable to what I needed to learn. I found them not only interesting but useful.”
Jodi’s experience underscores why the reading program’s initial licensure degree recently received national recognition from the International Literacy Association. BSU is one of just 26 institutions nationwide to reach this level of accomplishment.
“Earning this recognition signifies for potential students and candidates that our program meets several rigorous standards,” said Dr. Marlene Correia, associate professor of literacy education, who coordinates graduate programs in reading. “It validates that what we’re doing is working.”
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education continues to accredit the program. This new recognition shows that its graduates are ready to work in schools across the country, said Dr. Adam Brieske-Ulenski, associate professor of literacy education.
National recognition signifies that a program excels in numerous areas, including preparing graduates to:
- design, implement, and evaluate curriculum;
- understand diversity and equity concepts;
- create inclusive classroom environments;
- motivate and serve students with varying needs.
Graduates are ready to be literacy leaders and fill a critical need in K-12 schools, Correia and Brieske-Ulenski said.
“In Massachusetts, literary test scores are definitely an area that can be improved,” Brieske-Ulenski said. “One of the best things we can do is prepare candidates who understand this need and can address it.”
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