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Post by shanniebananie on Jun 20, 2021 14:43:19 GMT
I am an experienced teacher with a Masters that has been out of the classroom for 18 years to raise my family. My oldest is off to college in the fall and my youngest will be entering high school. Literacy has always been my passion and even being out of the classroom, I continued to volunteer for various organizations that focused on helping students with reading and writing.
I would love to get back into a paid position but not commit to a full-time teaching position. I am considering going back to school to get a reading specialist certification so that I can work in Title 1 schools as a reading specialist. It would be a year long program and I would take a state exam at the completion of it. I am in Texas.
Does anyone have experience with this occupation? I would love to hear both pros and cons.
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Post by christine58 on Jun 20, 2021 15:13:45 GMT
not commit to a full-time teaching position. Every Reading specialist I ever worked with was full time. |
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Post by shanniebananie on Jun 20, 2021 15:16:35 GMT
not commit to a full-time teaching position. Every Reading specialist I ever worked with was full time. Though there are full-time positions available, most of them in my area are around 20 hours a week. |
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Post by freecharlie on Jun 20, 2021 15:18:47 GMT
Every Reading specialist I ever worked with was full time. Though there are full-time positions available, most of them in my area are around 20 hours a week. are they paid as certified or classified? |
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,452 
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Jun 20, 2021 19:06:54 GMT
Are there jobs in the district near you that match with your requirements (hours/pay)? I live in a densely populated area with many large districts. Each one does things differently so the answer would be different based on the district.
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moodyblue
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Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jun 20, 2021 19:31:56 GMT
I spent 42 years as a Title I reading specialist. The job varies greatly from district to district and even between schools in the same district.
I would find out how the pay works as that would be a huge factor for me.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Jun 20, 2021 19:49:03 GMT
not commit to a full-time teaching position. Every Reading specialist I ever worked with was full time. We have several part-time interventionists/specialists in my school. They are allocated by the number of students that qualify. So often we will get a half-time allocation (or 1 1/2, 2 1/2, etc). Sometimes, that means a teacher will be split between 2 schools. But sometimes, it will be one person working 1/2 time. One of our reading specialists wanted more time with her new baby, so she works M, W and and 1/2 F. One of our dyslexia teachers is close to retirement and has chosen to work 1/2 time as well. |
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Jun 20, 2021 21:05:52 GMT
I know different states certify reading teachers differently. Does Texas require you to take a year-long program? In Ohio, for me to be able to teacher students in third under the reading guarantee, I needed to pass the Praxis. I had been teaching reading for at least 20 years at that point. Crazy. I'm curious about the differences.
ETA
The pros that I see are working with smaller groups and not taking papers home to grade. You also can just focus on reading if that's what you love. Our positions are full time and I think they get filled by internal classroom teachers when they open.
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anniebeth24
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by anniebeth24 on Jun 20, 2021 21:55:03 GMT
I've heard it's a tough position to get because most openings are filled internally. Lots of teachers want to try something different and end up making the transition. Same in our area for media specialists.
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katybee
Drama Llama
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Post by katybee on Jun 20, 2021 23:25:41 GMT
I know different states certify reading teachers differently. Does Texas require you to take a year-long program? In Ohio, for me to be able to teacher students in third under the reading guarantee, I needed to pass the Praxis. I had been teaching reading for at least 20 years at that point. Crazy. I'm curious about the differences.
ETA
The pros that I see are working with smaller groups and not taking papers home to grade. You also can just focus on reading if that's what you love. Our positions are full time and I think they get filled by internal classroom teachers when they open.
You have to get your masters degree and pass a test similar to Praxis (except a TX version ‘cause we extra). However, not every reading intervention position requires a reading specialist certification. We have Tier II reading interventionists that just have a gen Ed certificate. Our dyslexia positions require a pretty intense program on Wilson. Also—every TX K-3 teacher is required to go through an intensive 60 hour program on “The Science of Reading” (although reports I’m hearing say it actually takes 90-100 hours). It has modules and quizzes and artifacts you have to turn in to be graded. Think about it—there are 36 weeks in a school year. So that’s 2 hours a week of teachers’ own time they have to spend on this program. (It was a law passed by the TX legislature). Some schools did it this past year (in the middle of a pandemic). My school is doing it during the 2022-2023 school year. Can’t wait. |
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Jun 21, 2021 2:43:43 GMT
Wow! I was worried for a bit because I have my masters and I wouldn’t recoup the cost. It’s take away $ from my son’s education. The only thing I’d gain is keeping my position, which is important but at what cost?
Good luck! I hope you can find a school that fits your needs!
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Post by mikklynn on Jun 21, 2021 12:25:50 GMT
My sister is a Title teacher. Her complaint is they are paid through Federal dollars, which are allocated annually. She basically has to pretend to re-apply for her job every year when they receive their notice of how much money the school will receive.
I say pretend, because she knows she'll be rehired as she runs the program in her school. It a joke between her and the principal.
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