Program Quickview
All the Warner programs described below prepare current teachers for NYS professional certification in Teaching Literacy (birth-grade 6 and/or grades 5-12), and are all offered at the graduate level only.
- NYS Initial teaching certification in any area.
- Some exceptions may be made; inquire with admissions.
- Flexible: The program can be completed in 15 months of full-time study, or two years of part-time study while holding a teaching position.
- Focus on Literacy: Includes 24 credits of literacy courses and two 100-hour reading practica.
- Unique Internship Opportunities: Option to conduct a special supervised internship as part of Project READ at School #33 and/or East High School.
- Option to Add Extensions and Specializations: With only a few extra credits, you can get certified to teach at birth-grade 12 and/or add advanced certificates that can strengthen your effectiveness with diverse learners and make you more marketable; see Opportunities for Additional Extensions and Specializations.
Warner Programs that Prepare Literacy Teachers
For Preservice Teachers with No Prior Teaching Certification
- Advanced Certificate Programs (no more than 30 credits, including six credits of reading practica); shortest path:
- MS Programs (36 credits, including six credits of reading practica); for students who still need to obtain NYS professional teaching certification in their area or want to be eligible for student loans:

- Teaching Literacy Birth-Grade 12: Add only two reading practica with students at the other age level.
- Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching: Prepares you to make the best use of digital technology in your teaching.
- Advanced Certificate in Urban Teaching and Leadership: Prepares you to teach and lead in racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse urban settings.
- NYS Certification in TESOL: Prepares you to better serve English language learners in your classes and qualifying you to teach ESOL courses.
Licensure in other states. Review certification and licensure requirements for Warner programs.
Our Approach
Creating Effective Literacy Teachers Who Can Inspire and Lead Change.
Literacy is more than words on a page and a discrete set of skills that are taught in the classroom. Literacy is a set of social practices that children use in school, at home, and in their communities to interpret and shape the world in meaningful ways. By making connections with what kids are doing in and outside of schools, literacy teachers, specialists, and coaches today are expanding the possibilities for student learning—a positive change that has a broader impact on society. Students take these skills, knowledge, and experiences to solve real-world problems and make the world a better place.

Our program is built around the premise that children begin learning literacy as early as birth through everyday interactions, such as reading books, singing songs, interacting with others, and naming and pointing out objects. Meaningful literacy activities like these expand vocabularies, enrich their experiences, and impact a child’s development during the early and preschool years. This emphasis on developing literacy, through both new and traditional literacies and social practices, is carried out throughout the elementary and secondary school years, where literacy instruction is included in all academic areas, including math, science, and social studies, and across all grade levels.
Our program prepares literacy specialists who construct classroom environments that promote social justice. They develop an understanding of literacy as a social practice and apply that perspective into instruction practices that actively draw upon their students’ diverse interests and cultures as they use literacy in personal, purposeful, and meaningful ways. They look at what children bring to school and how classrooms can build on these experiences.
Lastly, they have the courage and conviction to lead struggles for social justice, in-depth knowledge of literacy, and the skills and understanding needed to help all students develop to their fullest potential. They also know what is appropriate for the age/grade level and the subject area that they teach and for the children, families, and communities in which they work. And, they lead efforts to advocate for full inclusion for students with disabilities in general education classrooms as part of their efforts to reform schools.
The Warner Advantage
Preparing Graduates to Innovate, Advocate, and Elevate.
- Become a literacy specialist who can help create learning opportunities that are inviting and accessible for all students – engaging with cutting-edge research and educational innovations.
- Be challenged to be an agent of change, who can effectively introduce new ideas and practices that will enhance students’ learning and address current inequities.
- Leverage the reputation of a leading research university to strengthen recognition of your degree.
- Network with the best and the brightest future colleagues.
- Make yourself stand out when applying for teaching positions by pursuing additional specializations for a few additional credits.
- Learn from an accessible, supportive faculty of researchers and accomplished practitioners who will prepare you to become adaptive experts in today’s K-12 schools.
- Shorten your path to a doctoral degree by earning transferable credits.
- Benefit from a guaranteed 50% scholarship.
- Take advantage of online learning options that help reduce trips to campus.
- Choose your pace and start any semester.
All About Experience

Horizons at Warner: Enrichment Program for RCSD Students in Grades K-8
Warner hosts a six-week summer enrichment program that engages urban K-12 students in meaningful and authentic learning experiences. The Horizons program creates a unique opportunity for Warner students to interact with young learners in an out-of-school setting. Opportunities for paid teaching experiences in this program are also available after graduation for a limited number of students.

Project READ Literacy Program
Project READ aims to strengthen children’s literacy learning and looks at literacy as it takes part in every aspect of every child’s life—from the classroom to home. Warner students have the opportunity to take advantage of paid internship opportunities, providing tutoring services, in-class support, professional development, and family literacy activities in a local urban elementary school as well as part of our East partnership.

East High School Partnership
Our students have the opportunity to observe and learn from the reforming of an urban high school. As the Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) for East High School, we are overseeing a radical transformation affecting all aspects of the school – including how to support students' literacy learning.
Career Opportunities
Advancing Education and Your Career to the Next Level.
Graduates from Warner literacy programs will have the credentials needed to work as a literacy specialist in New York State (NYS) public schools and other states that recognize NYS teaching certification. This role may involve teaching literacy courses to students, supporting struggling readers one-on-one, coaching and supporting teachers, and providing professional development.
At the same time, some of our graduates have chosen to pursue careers other than teaching in K-12 public schools. These include teaching in private schools and other educational settings, including informal and after-school environments, community-based organizations, and teaching literacy skills at a community college or learning centers in a higher education institution.

Faculty
An Accessible, Supportive Faculty of Researchers and Accomplished Practitioners.

Literacy Teacher Preparation Program Director and Advisor
LeChase Hall 454
(585) 275-0967
cstgeorge@warner.rochester.edu
Scholarships
Making Warner Affordable.
Byron Williams Teaching Scholarships – Guaranteed 50% Tuition Savings
All new students starting their master’s programs in teacher education leading to New York State teaching certification are guaranteed a minimum 50 percent tuition scholarship, provided they commit to teach in a United States school for a minimum of two years after graduation.

Try Us Out
Get a Taste of What Warner Has to Offer.
- Horizons Summer Enrichment Program: A six-week, full-day summer programs for K-8 students in the city of Rochester that takes place on the University of Rochester campus, and provides its students with authentic literacy learning opportunities in an informal context.
- East High: This Rochester City School District secondary school is undergoing major transformation under the oversight of the University of Rochester as an educational partnership organization.
Contact admissions to arrange for a visit or learn more about opportunities for non-matriculated students.
