Regis College and MGH Institute team up to offer new research-based reading courses

MGH InstituteDec 9 2009

To help alleviate a local and nationwide shortage of teachers with expertise in reading, Regis College in Weston and MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston have created a new partnership in which graduates will receive a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in reading.

Regis College and the MGH Institute will each offer six courses toward the 36 credit master’s degree. Students will take reading courses at the MGH Institute, and supporting education courses at Regis, which will issue the master’s degree. Upon completion, they will be accomplished in reading instruction, skilled in diagnosing reading issues, and be able to collaborate with teachers across other disciplines.

Students will get unrivaled experience instructing struggling readers at the MGH Institute’s Speech, Language and Literacy Center, which operates as part of the school’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. At Regis, students will focus on teaching methods and other related coursework in the Department of Education and School of Arts and Sciences.

The agreement creates a synergy between the two schools that will allow each to better leverage resources and keep expenses low while creating the opportunity to enroll a new cohort of students for far less than it would cost to start a new program independently.

“Cutting edge partnerships like this create an informed workforce of teachers and diagnosticians,” said Regis President Mary Jane England, MD. “Graduates of this program will able to address the needs of different populations of students.”

“This collaboration complements each institution’s strengths,” noted MGH Institute President Janis P. Bellack, PhD. “It offers a unique opportunity for Regis’s graduate students to get a wide range of experience from experts in the field of reading that they can immediately use to improve pupils’ education.”

“It’s a win-win situation,” said Dr. Leona McCaughey-Oreszak, Director of MAT Programs at Regis. “There are surely benefits for each partner, but the greatest beneficiaries will be the candidates in the program and the students that they will teach. Our candidates will gain a most appropriate knowledge and know-how base equipping them to educate today’s students, including those who are second language learners and those with diverse linguistic backgrounds.”

“We are all excited about being involved in this unique partnership," said Dr. Richard P. Santeusanio, Coordinator of the Certificate of Advanced Study in Reading Program at the MGH Institute. "Our graduate students are going to become knowledgeable about research-based reading practices in courses taught by leaders in the field of reading and learning disabilities.”