Overview

Introduction to the Educator Competencies for Structured Literacy and Dyslexia

The Connecticut Educator Competencies for Structured Literacy and Dyslexia are organized in two components: Core Foundational Knowledge and Structured Literacy Practices.

The Core Foundational Knowledge competencies address the foundational knowledge necessary for educators to understand both typical and atypical student literacy development and the assessment and instructional practices that promote student literacy development in general and special education contexts. This set of competencies supports educators in their ability to detect, diagnose and recognize students at-risk for and with dyslexia or other reading difficulties. There are six competency strands in this component addressing this foundational knowledge.

Core Foundational Knowledge Competencies

Core Foundational Knowledge	Competency Description
Competency 1 Literacy Scholarship	Teachers are knowledgeable about theoretical and conceptual reading and writing frameworks, the principles of scientific inquiry, and the critical examination of scientific research related to literacy.
Competency 2 Language Acquisition and Development	Teachers understand the language domains, units, and processes underpinning language acquisition and development, considerations for ELs/MLs, and the intrinsic differences between proficient and less proficient readers. Teachers are knowledgeable about the development of students’ oral language and its role in supporting the attainment of proficient reading and writing, the common linguistic challenges for ELs/MLs, how to promote cross-linguistic transfer, and how to support students’ acquisition and use of academic English.
Competency 3 Literacy Acquisition and Development	Teachers are knowledgeable about the stages of literacy acquisition, including word reading development and the cognitive and neurological processes underlying skilled reading and writing. Teachers can recognize the interplay between oral and written language, the impact of multilingualism, and the environmental and individual factors influencing literacy development and apply this knowledge to support students’ development of proficient reading and writing skills. Teachers can identify differences between proficient and less proficient readers and apply research-based strategies, including code-emphasis instruction in early grades.
Competency 4 Principles of Explicit Instruction	Teachers can plan and deliver instruction that: proceeds in a step-by-step fashion following a gradual release model; utilizes unambiguous language; engages students in meaningful discourse around new concepts; provides multiple opportunities for student practice; limits corrective feedback language to the task at hand; promotes high levels of student engagement; and elicits a high percentage of accurate responses from students performing at all levels.
Competency 5 Dyslexia	Teachers are knowledgeable about diverse reading profiles, including dyslexia, and their varied presentations, and those related to difficulties with phonemic awareness, decoding, word recognition, spelling, and reading fluency. Teachers know the risk indicators for dyslexia and how to identify students at risk for dyslexia according to guidance provided by the CSDE.
Competency 6 Assessment, Concepts, Practices, and Applications	Teachers understand that assessment is an ongoing process and know how to administer, score, and interpret different types of literacy assessments for varied purposes, including risk identification, instructional planning and differentiation, student progress monitoring, and disability eligibility determination.

The Structured Literacy Practice competencies include additional knowledge necessary for educators to design and deliver literacy instruction that reflects the principles and practices of structured literacy. This competency strand supports educators in their ability to provide structured literacy instruction and intervention for all students, especially those at-risk for and with dyslexia or other reading difficulties. The learning needs of students who are ELs/MLs are also meaningfully addressed and represented in these competencies. The competencies also support educators in engaging in full, equal and equitable partnerships with families to promote student learning and development. There are six competency strands in this component addressing the principles and practices of structured literacy.

Structured Literacy Practice Competencies

Structured Literacy Practices	Competency Description
Competency 7 Phonological Awareness	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver lessons to support the development of students’ ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of language at the word, syllable, and phoneme level, including how to adjust instruction to consider the needs of ELs/MLs. They are knowledgeable about core foundational knowledge related to phonological awareness, the role of phonemic awareness in the attainment of proficient reading and writing, and reasons why students may experience difficulty with developing phonological and phonemic awareness skills.
Competency 8 Phonics and Word Identification	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver phonics lessons that develop students’ abilities to read and spell regular and irregular words accurately in isolation and in context using both decodable and authentic texts, with consideration for the needs of ELs/MLs. They are knowledgeable about core foundational knowledge related to the acquisition and development of decoding and encoding skills, the role of phonics and word identification in proficient reading and writing, and the common intrinsic differences (i.e., linguistic, cognitive, and neurobiological) between proficient and less proficient readers/spellers.
Competency 9 Reading Fluency	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver lessons that develop students’ ability to read authentic grade-level text accurately, automatically, and with prosody. They are knowledgeable about core foundational knowledge related to reading fluency, the contribution of reading fluency to text comprehension, reasons (i.e., language, cognition, behavior) why students may struggle to meet grade-level reading fluency benchmarks.
Competency 10 Vocabulary	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver lessons to teach students direct and indirect vocabulary learning strategies, how to interpret words and phrases in context. They are knowledgeable about core foundational knowledge related to oral and written vocabulary, the role of vocabulary development in oral and written language comprehension, and the sources of wide differences in students’ vocabularies.
Competency 11 Listening and Reading Comprehension	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver lessons that develop students’ ability to understand and make meaning from spoken and written language. Teachers understand how to teach strategies and routines to support the development of students’ listening and reading comprehension skills, with consideration for contextualized demands. They are knowledgeable about core foundational knowledge related to the development of listening and reading comprehension and factors that contribute to reading comprehension (reader, text, task-demand).
Competency 12 Written Expression	Teachers can apply the principles of explicit instruction to plan and deliver lessons that support the development of (1) the major skills (i.e., handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing and word processing) that contribute to written expression, (2) students’ ability to generate varied types of written responses to text(s) read; and, (3) students’ ability to write about real or imagined experiences.