New Language and Literacy Masters Aligned with National Boards

The Watson College of Education offers M.Ed. with a specialization in Language and Literacy Education for K-12 teachers seeking to deepen their knowledge about literacy teaching, learning and problem-solving. The program opens doors for individuals interested in becoming literacy leaders in schools, districts, state and national agencies. 

Teachers who complete a master’s degree in Language and Literacy at the Watson College can now work on national boards in Literacy: Reading-Language Arts Early and Middle Childhood (ages 3-12) at the same time. National Board Certification is the highest possible certification in the teaching profession and leads to a 12 percent pay raise in North Carolina.

“We have redesigned our M.Ed. program to directly align to the National Board components,” said Laura Szech, co-coordinator of WCE’s M.Ed. in Language and Literacy with Caitlin Ryan. “Practicing teachers who enroll in our program will work on the components as class assignments, receive feedback and be fully prepared to submit specific components at the end of each semester.”

WCE’s Language and Literacy faculty are partnering with Jenn Hatch-Knight on the program redesign. Hatch-Knight is assistant director of WCE’s PDS Office and coordinator of Watson’s National Board Certification Support Program. Since 2001, Watson’s NB program has supported thousands of initial, advance and renewal candidates, partnering with a network of NB certified teachers to provide participants with a personalized pathway to complete all four components for successful National Board Certification submission. In addition to providing support, UNCW will directly fund two of the four components for students in the M.Ed. program, a $1,000 value for participating teachers.

“We are excited to bring added value to teachers who enroll in our master’s program,” Szech said. “We look forward to welcoming the first students to the redesigned Language and Literacy program in the fall.”

The Language and Literacy M.Ed. is a two-year program offered in a cohort model, with convenient evening online courses in a synchronous format to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. New cohorts begin each fall semester.

For more information please visit the Language and Literacy, M.Ed. website.