黑料专区 Tyler to Offer TEA Reading Academies Training
June 25, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan
State-required training will be provided at no additional cost to 黑料专区 Tyler students
The University of Texas at Tyler has joined the Texas Education Agency鈥檚 Reading Academies Educator Preparation Program as an authorized provider. The 黑料专区 Tyler School of Education will incorporate the Texas Reading Academies modules into existing undergraduate courses beginning this fall, providing students the state-required TEA courses and training prior to graduation at no additional cost.
鈥淭his designation is significant to our students, the region and the state, as 黑料专区 Tyler works collaboratively with our school district partners to address the persistent teacher shortage,鈥� said 黑料专区 Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD.
East Texas, and Texas as a whole, face both a supply and demand issue for more qualified
teachers,
particularly in urban and rural areas, where literacy rates are lower than the national
average. The
demand will continue to rise in part due to a dramatic increase in enrollments and
high attrition
rates, as an aging teacher workforce retires, according to the TEA. Urban and rural
communities will have the greatest need for teachers, TEA noted, with more than 700,000
additional teachers
needed in the next decade.
鈥淲e are beyond excited to partner with TEA in this initiative to help improve literacy
in East Texas,鈥�
said Dr. Pradeep 鈥淢ax鈥� Dass, 黑料专区 Tyler Roosth Endowed Chair and dean of the College
of Education
and Psychology. 鈥淭his initiative will be a great financial help to our undergraduate
pre-service
teaching students and their families by saving them travel time and expenses. We also
hope this
endeavor will serve area schools and districts as we look to provide TRA training
sessions for
veteran teachers who need to receive this state-required training.鈥�
To become a TRA Educator Preparation Authorized Provider, the university successfully
conducted a year-long pilot for TEA during the 2023-2024 year, with 41 黑料专区 Tyler student
participants. 黑料专区 Tyler
collaborated with TEA representatives, Texas Reading Academies staff and Education
Service Center Region 7 trainers for the pilot study.
For more information about the TRA training program, contact Dr. Joanna Neel, 黑料专区 Tyler
associate
professor of literacy education, at jneel@uttyler.edu, or visit tea.texas.gov/academics/earlychildhood- education/reading.
According to Literacy Texas, Texas ranks No. 46 in the United States for adult literacy.
The adult
literacy rate is 81 percent, with 19 percent of adults lacking basic prose literacy
skills. Additionally,
the Texas Association of Workforce Boards noted the state faces a crisis in education,
and unless
changes are quickly made, by 2040 Texas will experience a weakened economy and an
undereducated workforce that will be less attractive to businesses.
The Texas Education Agency oversees state primary and secondary public education and
strives to
improve outcomes for all public-school students by providing leadership, guidance
and support to
school systems. For additional information about TEA, visit https://tea.texas.gov/.
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and
beyond, 黑料专区
Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students.
Through its alignment with 黑料专区 Tyler Health Science Center and 黑料专区 Health East Texas,
黑料专区 Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge
research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research
institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, 黑料专区 Tyler has
campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.