Literacy PreK-12

Literacy (PreK-12) Certification Pathway: Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate courses are designed for teachers who hold a valid New York State Teaching Certificate, have a master’s degree and wish to earn Literacy Certification without having to earn an additional degree. Teachers can take these courses for professional development without going for certification. Candidates for certification must meet certain Content Core and Pedagogical Core requirements and must also meet any non-coursework requirements, such as the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations and fingerprint clearance, as specified. Graduate courses are offered in the program to assist teachers in meeting most of the Content and Pedagogical Core course requirements. The complete list of NYS requirements can be found by clicking here.

This is what is known as an individual pathway to certification from NY State. NY State allows teachers to receive this certification through this pathway by just taking the requirements that they need. NY State will accept previous courses that you may have taken (both on the graduate and undergraduate level) towards the certification. We recommend that to have a definitive answer as to how many courses you may need you must actually apply for certification by going to the following webpage: NYS Office of Teaching Initiatives and access the TEACH Online System. Do this as soon as possible - even before you enroll in any courses!

Certification Requirements Pathway: Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate
NYS requires that you have 12 credits in the Pedagogical Core and 12 credits in Literacy. However, depending upon the courses that you may have already taken either in your undergraduate or graduate studies, it can be less than the number of credits indicated. Most students will need the 12 credits in Literacy (4 courses) and 3 credits (1 course) in Teaching Students with Disabilities & Special Health-Care Needs because they typically have taken 3 credits in Human Development and Learning, 3 credits in Child or Adolescent Literature and 3 credits in Foundations of Education. Click here for the list of requirements from the New York State Office of Teaching Initiatives website on the approved pathway.

What courses does Molloy University offer to help meet the requirements?
Graduate courses are offered in the program by Molloy to assist teachers in meeting the Pedagogical Core and Graduate Coursework in Literacy.

Pedagogical Core (3 credits)

Teaching Students with Disabilities & Special Health Care Needs- 3 credits – If you need this requirement, we suggest you take: EDU 5240 Diverse Abilities and Needs of Students in Inclusive Classrooms Birth-Grade 2, Childhood 1-6 and Adolescence 7-12

Graduate Coursework- Literacy (12 credits)

Literacy Instruction and Assessment (6 credits needed)- EDU 5412 Literature for Children and Adolescents, P-12 and EDU 5414 The Science of Reading, Birth Through Grade 12

Literacy Diagnosis and Remediation- EDU 5410 Diagnostics and Remediation for Literacy Development: Birth Through Grade 12

Literacy in Content Areas – EDU 5416 Literacy in the Content Areas, Grades 7-12

Please note that all the courses are part of our graduate education master's degree program. The CPS program is only open to teachers who are already NYS certified and have a master's degree

Schedule of Classes and Online Format
All the graduate Literacy courses are offered entirely online. Most are offered in a totally asynchronous format and are not taught in "real time", meaning that students do not have to attend at a given time. However, there will be assignments due on specific days/times. You are required to start the class at some point during the first day of the course. Occasionally courses are offered in an online mixed, whereby most of the course is offered asynchronously, with some occasional “real time” sessions offered via Zoom at specific dates and time which are listed in the schedule. The online courses run for about 7 weeks and usually we offer two sub-sessions each semester, so that there will be courses starting up every month and a half throughout the year, including the summer.

Practicum, Field study, Observations or Student Teaching

Under this pathway you are required to complete a Practicum

This requirement can be satisfied using one of the two options described here: Completion of a college-supervised literacy practicum totaling at least 50 clock hours. During the practicum, candidates must teach literacy to students in the following grade bands: pre-kindergarten through grade 4, and grades 5-12. For classroom teaching certificate titles, a practicum is a structured, college-supervised learning experience in which the student teacher applies previously studied theory through direct classroom experiences with individual students, or with groups of students. These skills are practiced under the direct supervision of the certified teacher who has official responsibility for the students. It is always listed as a formal part of a teacher certification program and as a course in a college catalog. It is verified complete with an official transcript showing a satisfactory grade.
In lieu of completing a college-supervised practicum, the candidate can complete one year (180 days) of paid, satisfactory, full-time experience as a literacy teacher at the elementary and/or secondary level. Acceptable teaching experience is described on the Experience webpage.

The employer can verify the experience using this form: Experience Verification Form.

**If your TEACH evaluation indicates you need to complete the Practicum and you cannot complete the one year (180 days) of full-time experience as a literacy teacher at your current school district you can apply for the Advanced Certificate in Literacy (must have a master’s degree) or the MS in Literacy (must have a bachelor’s degree). Both programs will begin at Molloy in September 2025.

The courses in the CPS are not taken for credit towards a degree at Molloy. However, if students wish to apply them towards the MS in Literacy or the Advanced Certificate in Literacy, they must pay the difference between the $945 per course rate and the full graduate tuition rate. In addition to paying the additional tuition, students who want to pursue a degree-program (MS in Literacy or Advanced Certificate in Literacy) must apply and undergo a departmental interview before an admission decision will be rendered. The maximum number of non-matriculated credits that can be applied to the master’s or advanced certificate is 9 credits.

Summer 2025 Institutes Schedule of Classes (tentative)

Molloy's online admission/registration system is called Lion's Den. The Lion's Den web page for Professional Studies courses can be found at: https://lionsden.molloy.edu/ICS/Professional_Studies/

Please note: when you search for the term please select "2025 Summer I Institute (courses starting before July 1) or “2025 Summer II Institute” (course starting after July 1) as the term in the drop down. If you put in the term "2025 Summer" it will include the non-discounted courses that you are not eligible to take.

Summer I (May- June dates to be determined)

EDU 5412-01 Literature for Children and Adolescents, P-12, online asynchronous

Summer II (July-August dates to be determined)

EDU 5414-01 The Science of Reading, Birth through Grade 12, online asynchronous

Tuition
Each course in the program is offered at $945 per 3-credit graduate course. There are no application or course fees. This is a discounted tuition rate. Tuition is normally about $4,000 per 3-credit graduate course. The tuition is offset by a professional development scholarship that is given to those teachers who already possess a master's degree and are not pursuing a master's degree with Molloy University. There are no other discounts given. Students and teachers who are pursuing a master's degree at Molloy University are not eligible to enroll in the Literacy Certification Pathway classes.

Application and Registration
The program does not have traditional application deadline dates because courses are offered throughout the year, and they do not follow a semester schedule. There are no defined overall start and end dates for the program. Therefore, you can start the program at any time. The registration process is rather simple because you are not applying for a Molloy degree. There is an online application that you need to complete, but that is for information purposes only. Everyone is accepted if you are a NY certified teacher. There is no application fee and GREs are not required. If you are enrolling in the program for the first time, it will take a few days to process your application/registration form online. Once you register for the first time you will be sent an email within one to two business days with your username to login your student account to access the system for future registrations and to access Canvas, our online learning platform. You should register at least a week before the course start date at the latest in order to register for the first time. After that you can register up until the day before the class, but then you run the risk that a course could be full- our courses do close.

Click on the following link to apply and register: Application and Registration

Questions?
Email Krista Lombardo at klombardo@molloy.edu

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