Professional Development for Reading Recovery Trainers

“. . . we are able to break the bonds of the ordinary and the taken-for-granted,
to move into spaces never known before. And that is what some of us, considering
our craft, want for those we teach: the opportunity and capacity to reach beyond,
to move towards what is not yet.”
— Maxine Greene

Reading Recovery trainers are faculty members within an established university training center (UTC) or Regional Canadian Institute who are responsible for initial and ongoing professional development for teacher leaders, supporting a network of affiliated Reading Recovery teacher training sites, expanding and strengthening sites within the network, and ensuring the integrity of Reading Recovery within the region. More than 20 Reading Recovery UTCs currently provide the organizing structure for states or regions of the United States, and 3 Canadian institutes provide regional structures for that country.

Initial year of professional development
Becoming a Reading Recovery university trainer requires a year-long residency program (at the post-doctoral level in the United States). The initial year of professional development for trainers is offered at four international centers: The Ohio State University, Texas Woman’s University, the University of Auckland, and the University of London. For more detailed information about becoming a Reading Recovery trainer and about professional development requirements for trainers see the Standards and Guidelines for the United States and for Canada.

During the year of study, candidates learn to

• teach Reading Recovery children.
   
• support the development of Reading Recovery teachers across an academic year.
   
• bring diverse areas of theory and practice into working relationships and educate other professionals to do this.
   
• work with teacher leaders across their initial year of professional development and in subsequent years to ensure cycles of change.
   
• establish and maintain high-quality Reading Recovery teacher training sites.
   
• coordinate Reading Recovery in their network of sites, advising administrators about sustaining the quality of implementation.
   
• advise others about the range of research related to Reading Recovery.
   
• monitor student outcomes to analyze implementation issues.
   
• conduct and report research and program evaluation.
   
• manage a university training center.
   
• communicate about and advocate for Reading Recovery.
  
  

Continuing professional development
University trainers meet for at least two extended sessions annually and work collaboratively within the North American Trainers Group (NATG). Committee structures within NATG create opportunities for ongoing inquiry and study: teaching and professional development, implementation, and research. Trainers communicate on a continual basis about current theoretical, research, and pedagogical perspectives and conduct research to seek answers to questions about the many complex aspects of the intervention.

North American trainers are also active members of the International Reading Recovery Trainers Organization (IRRTO). The international group is committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Reading Recovery and to supporting change and growth in Reading Recovery through international collaboration, research, and resource development. Sharing and learning from international colleagues further enhances the ongoing professional development of Reading Recovery trainers.

Reference
Greene, M. (1986). How do we think about our craft? In A. Lieberman (Ed.), Rethinking school improvement: Research craft, and concept (p. 23). New York: Teachers College Press.