May 9, 2019
Ohio Launches New Partnership Effort to Develop Prototype Higher Education Curriculum
Walsh University hosted the first Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training session on Monday, May 6, in the Marlene and Joe Toot Global Learning Center. Walsh is the only Northeast Ohio site and one of only two higher education institutions in Ohio authorized to host and offer graduate credit for the LETRS program.
LETRS training is a result of a new collaboration between the Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children and Literacy Unit and the Ohio Deans Compact on Exceptional Children to develop a model for required reading and science course curriculum.
This new effort builds on shared understandings among higher education and school district faculty about how to foster curricular improvement, with the goal to strengthen reading instruction particularly in preschool through grade 5. LETRS training will focus on evidence-based practice for teaching young students and struggling learners at all grade levels how to read, diagnosing reading difficulties, and using data proactively to inform decisions about core instruction and intervention.
While LETRS training is occurring throughout Ohio, the two-year program was launched at Walsh on Monday, May 6, with participants who included Walsh faculty, Stark ESC/Stark Education Partnership, Youngstown Diocese, and public school collaborations.