Two professional learning initiatives designed to support and bolster literacy instruction in kindergarten through grade six are being implemented statewide, according to an advisory from the New Jersey Department of Education.
The Reading Acceleration Professional Integrated Development Initiative and the complementary Reading Acceleration Professional Integrated Development Plus Initiative are tightly aligned with the knowledge and skills featured within the revisions to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts, adopted in early October by the New Jersey State Board of Education.
RAPID focuses on promoting literacy in kindergarten through grade three, leveraging partnerships with nine organizations to provide free professional development opportunities in every county. The initiative features seven educator sessions addressing topics such as orthography, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension and one school leader webinar that focuses on designing and supporting high-quality literacy instruction in schools.
The NJDOE’s RAPID Initiative webpage includes information about the program, including the partners available to each county and links to the professional learning series for registration. RAPID partners have disseminated information about their programming over the past month directly to chief school administrators and school leaders, and through respective county offices of education and social media. If information about the program has yet to be received, please check alternate email inboxes to ensure the message was not sent to SPAM. You can reach out to the NJDOE for assistance via email as needed.
The RAPID Plus Initiative will provide educators with tools to support developing readers in grades four through six. The NJDOE has partnered with five institutions of higher education to provide professional development opportunities in upper elementary literacy. The RAPID Plus initiative features four educator sessions addressing topics such as the neurobiology of reading, advanced word study, fluency, comprehension and one school leader webinar that focuses on designing and supporting high-quality literacy instruction in schools.
RAPID sessions began in many counties in November and will continue into early January, while RAPID Plus sessions will begin statewide in early winter and continue throughout the spring of 2024. If an initial session was missed, please contact the county partner directly to discuss available options. RAPID Plus training dates and registration information will be forthcoming.