Fairfield University is starting a new Reading and Language Development program that will prepare current PreK-3 teachers to become master reading teachers, and along with it a fellowship program for up to 10 teachers.
To be accepted into the fellowship program, applicants must teach pre-kindergarten through third grade, take the program on a full-time basis and work in a “partner” district that ensures participating teachers have a job – ideally in a reading leadership role – after the year.
So far, districts that have agreed to participate include Bridgeport, the Diocese of Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury, East Haven and West Haven.
Administered through the University’s Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, the new Anne E. Fowler Literacy Fellowship (AFLF) program offers tuition, a living stipend and health insurance. A one-year leave is required to take the program.
The application deadline for fall is May 26.
The idea behind the program is to prepare teachers to significantly raise literacy levels among low-performing elementary school populations. The fellowships will be awarded annually beginning in September 2015, and are funded, in part, by a gift from the North Haven, Conn.-based Fowler Foundation and a grant from The Grossman Family Foundation of Cos Cob, Conn.