Reading Academies

Starting the 2023-2024 Academic Year teachers and principals must have started the year-long Reading Academies before placement in a K-3 classroom or campus. This mean that K-3 teachers and principals new to this placement will need to be concurrently enrolled in Texas Reading Academies while being in their first year of placement.  A new teacher for the 2024 -2025 school year can be enrolled in ANY cohort during this year. For Region 12, the cohort available is June 2025. This means that a first year teacher can enroll at the END of their first year (June 2025). A note:  All cohorts are comprehensive. Please be mindful of the dates of the face-to-face trainings. A new teacher for the 2025 -2026 year can attend the June 2025 cohort or June 2026 cohort.

Yes. The HB 3 Reading Academies are written into state statute and are required for all teachers and principals in grades Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. A shortened version of the course has been created by TEA. You have to show proof of STR designation on your teaching certificate or passing the STR exam.

View the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) outlining implementation options. 

Districts can choose to implement through a blended or comprehensive model. 

A comprehensive model includes:

• Personalized coaching from a Cohort Leader
• 10 face-to-face professional development sessions
• Use Canvas for submission of artifacts and receive feedback from Cohort Leader
• 11 months to complete coursework

A blended model includes: 

• Completely online professional development using Canvas 
• Use Canvas for submission of artifacts and receive personalized feedback from Cohort Leader
• 11 months to complete coursework

Districts that choose the local implementation option will pay an annual flat fee per Cohort Leader, and will not pay a separate fee per teacher or administrator. However, it is important to note that there is a limit on the number of people who can be in a cohort. 

Districts will need to employ enough qualified Cohort Leaders to provide training to their teachers by 2022, and they will pay the flat fee per Cohort Leader annually.

No. The only pathway for learners beginning in 2023 will be the comprehensive model. Administrators will be eligible for the blended pathway through Region 16.

The HB3 reading academies are required for all K-3 teachers, including special education teachers.  TEA plans to propose temporary exemptions for certain special area teachers – Art, Music, and PE. 

Teachers and administrators who are enrolled in the Comprehensive model of the reading academies will still have access to the online materials through Canvas, so they will be able to work with their Cohort Leader and make up the content that they missed. Exact procedures for this type of scenario are still being developed.

Users will register through register.TEAlearn.com, which will open on or after June 1, 2020.  This URL will take users to a Canvas Catalog registration portal.  Before registering through register.TEAlearn.com, users must identify their TEAL Unique ID. 

View the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) outlining how to obtain your TEAL Unique ID. 

There are two payment options available – credit card payment and purchase order payment. 

When teachers and administrators register for HB3 Reading Academies through the Canvas Catalog registration portal, the funds will go directly to the Authorized Provider.  Funds will not pass through TEA. Purchase orders should be made to ESC Region 12.

Once enrolled in the HB3 reading academy course, participants will be able to access one of three different pathways appropriate to their learning needs:

• Bilingual general education and bilingual special education teachers
• General education and special education teachers
• Administrators

The content for the reading academies is still under development.  The reading academies are using current research on literacy and language development in addition to solid research from the past that is still relevant for teachers and administrators.  The content is reflective of the characteristics and needs of today’s learners.  There will be 12 modules covered:

• Introduction
• The Science of Teaching Reading
• Establishing Literacy Communities
• Using Assessment Data to Inform Instruction
• Oral Language and Vocabulary 
• Phonological Awareness 
• Alphabet Knowledge 
• Decoding, Encoding, and Word Study
• Reading Fluency
• Reading Comprehension
• Composition
• Tiered Supports

The artifacts that will be required are still under consideration by TEA.

All artifacts are graded by a single entity grader. This single entity grader will assign a score based on a rubric. The learner does have access to this rubric in the course. If the learner does not make an 80 or above on the artifact, the learner does have opportunity to resubmit until the grade is 80 or above. The cohort leader is responsible for grading resubmissions.

Administrators will be provided with the same content as teachers, but they will have a specific pathway within each module that will address their needs as an administrator.  If an administrator is enrolled in the same course as their teachers (not admin only cohort), the administrator will have the same content as the teachers. 

FIX - It looks like you already have an account and will need to log in before you enroll. 

(These next steps work best if you are on a computer and not a phone.) 

• Click the cohort link that was emailed to you. 
• In the top right corner, you should see the word 'login' in blue. Click this and it should take you to the blue TEA Learn screen. 
• Enter your login information. This should take you to the screen where you see that you have been enrolled in the passport to canvas course. 
• Come back to this email and click your cohort link again.
• Instead of login in the top right, it should say your name. 
• Now, click on the $400 enroll / enroll button and you should be able to continue the registration process. 

Under the promotion code box, there is a button that says ‘proceed to payment’. Click this button. You should be able to enter a PO number at the next screen. 

Please follow the link here - https://txeduagency.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/223080947-Find-Your-Unique-ID-on-Your-TEAL-Profile-Educators

Use the link below to enroll in the Passport to Canvas Course: 

https://tealearn-region12-ra-k3.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/courses/escregion12