Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential (RLLSC)

✔ Earn your credential in only two semesters!
✔ Courses are online!
✔ Program combines one PLC meeting per week with asynchronous work!
✔ Option to apply credential coursework towards Master’s Degree in Reading!
✔ Program accredited by California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation

We define Science of Reading to include all research-based elements of impactful literacy instruction including:

• Psychological, sociolinguistic and sociocultural aspects of literacy
• Asset-based approaches that draw upon students’ funds of knowledge and build upon strengths
• Culturally and linguistically relevant materials and practices
• Phonology, morphology, orthography, and explicit, sequential foundational skills instruction based on a valid and reliable scope and sequence, and data driven practices
• Comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary assessment and instruction
• Disabilities, including Dyslexia, that have implications for literacy development
• Effective strategies and practices for providing multiple levels of intervention
• Balancing literacy skills instruction with authentic purpose, motivation, engagement, independence, and meaning making

(Bennett et al., 2024)

The Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential (RLLSC) program of study provides advanced preparation in literacy education and assessment and prepares teachers for leadership roles in literacy teaching, coaching, program evaluation, curriculum development, and professional development at the classroom, school site, and district levels. The RLLSC is an 18-unit program that takes two semesters to complete and authorizes the holder to work with culturally and linguistically diverse learners from PK-adult.

Candidates develop their ability to engage in the roles and duties of the literacy coach and reading specialist by DOING the work of the coach and specialist, with real data from real learners, under the guidance of a district appointed site supervisor who ensures that each candidate can adapt implementation to their context’s site-specific curriculum, practices, and resources.

Candidates in this program:

• Read literacy theory and research and extract information to inform practice
• Design and present Science of Reading professional development
• Administer analyze and interpret an array of literacy assessments
• Design research-based interventions that are targeted to learners needs
• Support learners in Tiers 1-3
• Write professional reports
• Document student growth using a Case Study approach
• Plan and implement a Family Literacy event at you site
• Plan targeted professional development for adult learners
• Design age-appropriate, high-interest interventions for older struggling learners
• Evaluate Literacy programs
• Engage in cycles of Supportive Literacy coaching
• Present their work at local, state, and national conferences

The RLLSC authorizes the holder to perform the following duties at the school site, district, and county levels in grades twelve and below, including preschool, and in classes organized primarily for adults:

• Provide direct reading intervention to students and adapt instructional routines and strategies to provide direct specialized reading instruction to students with severe reading difficulties, including monitoring and adjusting intervention instruction.
• Coordinate adoption and facilitate implementation of adopted literacy curricula, including providing training to teachers.
• Select and administer reading and literacy assessments, interpret results to determine student growth and identification of struggling students, select interventions, communicate results, and provide guidance and coaching to teachers.
• Design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive literacy plan.
• Support students’ literacy development and inform and train teachers in literacy skills using information and communication technologies.
• Evaluate literacy practices and report findings, guide teachers and administrators in collaborative efforts to design, implement, and evaluate local, state and/or federal programs, and plan and conduct staff development.

NOTES

1. No course substitutions.
2. Candidates interested in pursuing a Reading/Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential need to possess a California ECE, Multiple or Single Subject Teaching Credential, and have two (2) years of teaching to enter the program and three (3) years of teaching at the time the credential application is submitted to the State of California.

For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Bennett at lbennett@csufresno.edu 

RLLSC Application Requirements

1. Application through Cal State Apply.
2. Transcripts (official copy of transcripts showing a baccalaureate degree and all post-B.A. coursework).
3. Statement of purpose
4. Three letters of recommendation
5. Minimum 2.75 GPA
6. Verification of a valid teaching credential (Multiple Subject, Single Subject, or Education Specialist), as specified in Education Code section 44203€.
7. Verification of at least 2 years of full-time, credentialed teaching experience in any grade, preschool through adult, exclusive of student teaching, internship teaching or teaching while holding an emergency permit.
8. Evidence of having met the English Learner Authorization.

Required for RLLSC Recommendation

1. Completion of RLLSC coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
2. Verification of at least 3 years of full-time, credentialed teaching experience in any grade, preschool through adult, exclusive of student teaching, internship teaching or teaching while holding an emergency permit.

Note: Admission into programs leading to licensure and credentialing does not guarantee that students will obtain a license or credential. Licensure and credentialing requirements are set by agencies not controlled or affiliated with the CSU. Students are responsible for determining whether they can meet licensure or credentialing requirements. The CSU will not refund tuition, fees, or any associated costs to students who determine after admission that they cannot meet licensure or credentialing requirements. See Notice to Students: Licensure and Certification for more information.

Visit the Fresno State Catalog for course descriptions.

Apply today!