FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development(FCEHD) recently partnered with a renowned local day school to launch a cutting edge dyslexia graduate certificate program.
The 18-credit, online offering champions a whole-child teaching approach for students who experience reading difficulties. Leaders say it will empower participants with the knowledge and practical experience needed implement evidence-based literacy instruction.
“We’re turning the page in terms of the way we’re preparing reading specialists,” said Kristin Rainville, associate professor and program director for literacy at FCEHD. “Through neuroimaging and many years of experimental research, we know teaching in brain-friendly ways is very important, especially for children with dyslexia who need more doses of explicit, direct and systematic instruction."
Central to the program is the collaboration with The Southport School in Southport, a nationally acclaimed institution that specializes in instructing elementary and middle school students who have language-based learning differences like dyslexia. The school also houses the Southport CoLAB, which offers specialized training programs for professionals, educators and families, designed to affect positive outcomes for people with learning and attention issues. The Southport School leads three of the classes included in SHU’s dyslexia graduate certificate program.
Expanding focus is the key
Benjamin Powers, The Southport School and CoLAB executive director and The Dyslexia Foundation president, said expanding the focus beyond literacy is the key to successfully addressing the needs of children with dyslexia.
“We really have to look at the whole child. Kids need to feel safe in school. They need to have self-esteem. They need to have self-advocacy skills,” he said. “They’re impacted by other things—the way they process information or environmental factors—and we really need to be addressing all those variables to get kids to reach their potential.”
A host of experts with specialized knowledge of dyslexia, special education and social-emotional learning developed the new graduate certificate program. In addition to Powers and Rainville, they include SHU faculty members Katie Cunningham, associate professor of elementary education, Sally Drew, program director of special education and associate professor of teacher education, and Caitlin Ross and Avinash Mishra, assistant professors in the communication disorders department.
Prospective literacy specialists who enroll in the program attend a combination of synchronous and asynchronous virtual classes to learn the distinguishing characteristics of dyslexia, its early warning signs and academic impacts. In addition, they study how the cumulative impact of dyslexia extends well beyond reading and writing instruction.
“Dyslexia is specific to literacy—reading, spelling—but it also can impact math. A lot of children with dyslexia need help with executive functioning skills. They may have coexisting ADHD, so they might have inattention,” Rainville said.
The curriculum also addresses dyslexia’s social-emotional dimensions and how it affects the family unit. In addition, students in the program learn instructional practices that can be used to help each child reach their full potential.
Using new knowledge to help students
Program participants put their new knowledge into action, working with children who need support in literacy. During one practicum, each SHU student assesses a student one-on-one, then develops a comprehensive reading evaluation of that child’s strengths and needs. Based on the evaluation, the SHU student prepares a series of lessons for the child using a structured literacy approach, then spends a minimum of 45 hours working with that child. Interactions are recorded and submitted to an instructor for evaluation and feedback.
Throughout the academic year, each program participant spends about 90 hours tutoring children, both individually and in a small group setting.
Those who earn the dyslexia graduate certificate will be qualified to become certified in the Orton-Gillingham approach for the treatment of dyslexia. According to the Orton- Gillingham Academy website, the Orton-Gillingham approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia.” Students will come away with an understanding of how to build a comprehensive, evidence-based teaching framework designed to provide literacy instruction in an emotionally supportive environment. Those skills are lacking in many classrooms, said Rainville, who has a child with dyslexia. She said she witnessed that deficit firsthand when searching for academic support for her son.
“I met with teacher after teacher who felt unprepared to work with children with dyslexia. And we know enough now. That shouldn’t happen. We know from science; we know from research how to work with children with dyslexia,” she said. “Every teacher should have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of these children, whether it’s in their classroom, in a special education setting or in an intervention.”
Powers said the dyslexia graduate certificate program will help bring that goal closer to fruition. “This program will make it better not just for our school, but for all schools; it will enable teachers to come in already much further ahead in their knowledge and practice,” he said.
###
About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing private doctoral institutions in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers nearly 90 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has a campus in Dingle, Ireland, and offers online programs. More than 10,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 388 Colleges–2023 Edition, and Best Business Schools–2023 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu