Regional Literacy Training Centers Promote Literacy across Michigan

RLTCs Offer Professional Development, Resources, and Technical Assistance Reading First Expands Regional Literacy Training Center Efforts

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) first established eight Regional Literacy Training Centers (RLTCs) during the 1990s to train teachers how to use research-based literacy practices. In those days, the work of the RLTCs primarily prepared teachers to use the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP).

The RLTCs still offer training in MLPP, but now, with the state’s participation in Reading First (Title I, Subpart B of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001), the RLTCs have broadened their services. They are charged with providing training opportunities and literacy resources in using scientifically-based research and best practices, data-driven decision making, and differentiated instruction to ALL pre-K through third grade teachers and ALL K-12 special educators. The goal is to have all students, with the exception of students with severe cognitive delays, read at grade level by the end of third grade.

Some significant changes to literacy efforts in Michigan:

• RLTCs focus on training all K-3 teachers and K-12 special education teachers so that the essential components of reading instruction are embedded directly into all classroom curricula.
• RLTCs focus professional development and/or training on five research-based“essential components of reading instruction”: phonemic awareness, explicit phonics, vocabulary develop ment, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension instruction.
• RLTCs are charged with preparing all Michigan’s classroom teachers (not just reading “specialists”) to use assessment to plan reading instruction or intervention for ALL students, including English language learners, struggling readers, students with language disabilities, and students from all racial and ethnic populations.
• RLTCs now have access to national Reading First research and are prepared to provide ongoing support over a significant time period, making it more likely that schools will improve over time.
• RLTCs make it possible for teachers across Michigan to receive consistent training and professional development opportunities in the area of literacy development.