WestEd Services

Leadership Institute in Reading Apprenticeship

Who Should Participate The Leadership Institute in Reading Apprenticeship is a training-of-trainers experience. It prepares school, district, or community college teams to lead professional development in Reading Apprenticeship (RA). The institute is designed for teams of literacy leaders, including teacher leaders; staff development specialists; curriculum specialists; and trainers/supervisors of tutors, supplemental instructors, and peer mentors. Team members should have leadership experience in literacy, subject area curriculum and instruction, or professional development. Participation is through competitive team application with a maximum of 45 participants per session. Format and Dates The two-part institute includes eight days of professional development: a five-day Institute and the three-day Annual Conference in Reading Apprenticeship early in 2009. Community College Focus: Oakland/SF, CA June 23-27, 2008 Oakland/SF, CA July 21-25, 2008 Middle & High School Focus: Oakland/SF, CA July 14-18, 2008 Philadelphia, PA August 11-15, 2008 Middle & High School Focus: Site-Based Institutes May be scheduled at your site with a minimum of 25 participants. See bottom of page for more information What Resources Support Your Learning Teams receive copies of SLI's best-selling book, Reading for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms, and a comprehensive set of materials for conducting RA professional development in their local schools, districts, or community colleges. Materials and resources include: student and classroom case study videos facilitators' guides for video cases and other key professional development practices binder of readings, training materials, and other resources membership in an active online discussion group with access to updated resources (downloadable) What You Learn Teams are prepared to lead implementation of the Reading Apprenticeship framework in their schools, districts, local education agencies, or school reform organizations. Participants acquire an in-depth understanding of Reading Apprenticeship as an instructional framework. Participants learn to engage students and teachers in collaborative inquiry about their varied reading processes, fostering "metacognitive conversation" in classrooms and professional learning communities. Teachers learn to make the complex, invisible processes they use as readers visible to students, helping them develop reading expertise in specific disciplines. Teachers learn to make changes in their classroom practice, building on students’ strengths as readers and learners and providing students greater access to text for learning in the content areas. Participants learn a powerful and adaptable approach to organizing and conducting Reading Apprenticeship professional development, including specific ideas, plans, and materials. Goals for Institute Participants Knowledge Base Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the research base and key ideas of Reading Apprenticeship, a powerful framework for working with adolescents and college students. Participants will acquire a coherent theory-based rationale for implementation of Reading Apprenticeship that places equity at the center of student literacy. Classroom Reading Strategies Participants will know how to model and embed the key strategies of Reading Apprenticeship in content area classes. Participants will be able to make changes in their classroom practice that result in increased student engagement and efficacy in reading to learn. Professional Development Participants will be able to help colleagues engage in a shared inquiry about their own reading, making their own reading processes visible and instructionally available to students; and create classroom environments that foster "metacognitive conversations" about reading, with appropriate attention to the personal, social, cognitive, and knowledge dimensions of classroom life. Strategic Planning and Implementation Participants will design a professional development plan to disseminate Reading Apprenticeship in the school, district, or community college in ways that respond to local literacy goals and needs. Participants will have tools to share for monitoring Reading Apprenticeship implementation and impact on teachers and students. Participants will have an established network of professional colleagues from the institute and access to an online discussion group for ongoing consultation about implementation issues. Who Facilitates Your Learning The Leadership Institutes are led by teams of Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) staff and consultants. What Is the Cost Participant Fees: $4,000 per participant for eight days of professional development; a comprehensive set of course materials; and continental breakfasts, lunches, a dinner, and an appetizer reception. Lodging and travel are not included, but group rates at selected local hotels are available. Graduate Credit: Five quarter-hours of graduate credit are available at additional cost. NCLB Funding Strategic Literacy Initiative training qualifies as "High-Quality Professional Development" for: Title I, Part A; Title II, Part A; Title III, Part A; Title V, Part A; and Title VII, Part A. Application and Travel/Lodging Information Participation is through competitive application, but applications will be considered and responded to in the order received. Application deadline is three weeks before date of institute or when institute is filled. Middle/High School Application: PDF / DOC Community College Application: PDF / DOC Information about lodging, travel, and schedule: PDF / DOC Site-Based Leadership Institutes Cost Pricing for an institute held at your site is $3,500 per participant, with a minimum guarantee of 25 participants up to a maximum of 45. What SLI provides: 5 days of professional development at your site 3 days of professional development at an SLI-hosted national conference held the following February in San Francisco or at an East Coast location in March 4 Reading Apprenticeship facilitators (including their travel and lodging) Copies of Reading for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms and comprehensive materials for conducting RA professional development for all participants What your organization provides: For the 5 days hosted at your site, you provide the meeting rooms, audio-visual equipment, lunches, and other refreshments as appropriate Contact: Jana Bouc at 510-302-4245 or jbouc@wested.org for more information.

"This was the best learning experience of my life." "I'd forgotten what it is to be respected and be a learner." Dates, Locations, Logistics All institutes include attendance at a 3-day Annual Conference in Reading Apprenticeship follow-up session Community College Focus Oakland/SF, CA June 23-27, 2008 Oakland/SF, CA July 21-25, 2008 Application: PDF / DOC Middle & High School Focus Oakland/SF, CA July 14-18, 2008 Philadelphia, PA August 11-15, 2008 Application: PDF / DOC Contact Information Jana Bouc at 510.302.4245 or jbouc@wested.org Related Program(s): Teacher Professional Development Program Related Project(s): Strategic Literacy Initiative Related Features Making Room for Literacy in Secondary Schools Related Resources Reading for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms Building Academic Literacy: An Anthology for Reading Apprenticeship Building Academic Literacy: Lessons from Reading Apprenticeship Classrooms, Grades 6-12 Rethinking Preparation for Content Area Teaching: The Reading Apprenticeship Approach