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Tier 2 WWC
Evidence-Based

H E R O E S TM

Funded graduate courses and professional development for elementary teachers.

HEROES is a literacy intervention for 6-9 year olds who have or are at risk of having reading disabilities for beginning reading.
This evaluation project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Education Innovation and Research Program.

Teacher Voices Learn More

Interested in
participating in
HEROES in 2024?
Select Apply Here to contact us.

HEROES has had a big impact on my teaching. I have learned how to prompt my students, and what to do and say if they are struggling to read and help them understand independently. This program has taught me how to teach reading based on my student’s instructional needs. – Teacher, California, 2023

Participating in the HEROES grant has been amazing! I have learned how to be a better observer, and I now pay more attention to my student’s instructional needs. HEROES has taught me about different reading interventions, and strategies that help my students build their knowledge of word sense and allow them to become independent readers. HEROES helped my students make great progress with their reading. – Teacher, California, 2023

A year of Ohio State graduate courses and training changed the way I teach literacy, and how I provide kids with a strong base for their learning.
There's also been continuous professional development, so that I constantly grow and learn as an educator how to refine my practices.

- Casey Barnes, Special Education Teacher

HEROES has had a huge effect on my teaching. I am learning to teach more efficiently and know my students better. I can see myself using what I have learned here with all of my other students. It has given me more tools in my teacher toolbox. - Teacher, Iowa, 2023

This has helped me to focus on what the students need right now. It has also helped me to understand the power of phrased and fluent reading for my students. - Teacher, Iowa, 2023

It has helped make me a better reading teacher. It has taught me to look back at what they have done and not only see what they need to work on, but also the gains they have made. HEROES is a reminder on what to help struggling readers with. – Teacher, Illinois, 2023

The professional development classes have been very helpful. I’m relearning old strategies that I forgot about. And coming up with new ideas. The visits from my coach were great too. I always come back with new ideas; it provides a different perspective. – Teacher, Illinois, 2023

It’s been incredible. Even texts that we have from class and talking through “what does this mean”, or “how do we see this when a child is reading”. The amount of professional development education I’ve gotten is amazing. I’ve never had a literacy program that is this detailed and practical. – Teacher, South Carolina, 2023

Participating in these graduate courses has had a huge impact. I’m still grasping procedures, but I’m looking at reading and how to teach reading completely differently. I look at things so much more in depth, and notice things down to a word and pattern level that I didn’t really look at before HEROES. Everything was separated, reading and writing, I wasn’t looking at the patterns and how important it is to have reading and writing together. I think I could do four more years of class to fully understand it all! – Teacher, Iowa, 2023

HEROES has made a difference in the way I teach reading. I am looking at all parts of the reading process and integrating them together. I can analyze their reading behaviors and performance to focus instruction. Now, when I am unsure about something, I now have the resources I need to find the answer. – Teacher, South Carolina, 2023

Through HEROES I have gained a lot of knowledge about literacy instruction. I can see the benefits from continuing to move students forward in their reading level and the benefits of familiar reading. I also see the importance of using the RODM to focus instruction. – Teacher, Wisconsin, 2023

Participating in the HEROES class has been helpful. My skills rapidly increase when I can share my learning with colleagues. The biggest effect for me has been the integration of all the reading skills and not teaching skills in isolation. My students feel good about the progress they have made in reading. They have increased confidence to try things on their own because they know they can be successful. – Teacher, California, 2023

The program has added more tools to my literacy instruction toolkit, and it has increased my confidence in my teaching ability and my ability to assess my student’s needs. HEROES has given me a better understanding of how students learn to read. Now I know what to do and how to teach it based on literacy research. I also know how to get the most out of my time with the students. – Teacher, Ohio, 2023

Since participating in the grant, my whole idea of teaching reading has changed; I no longer teach skills in isolation but address all the parts of reading. Before beginning HEROES, I didn’t realize the importance of using easier books/familiar reading to build confidence and fluency. Teaching reading this way is more meaningful for the students, and I can see such a difference in the progress they are making. My students have made tremendous growth. HEROES is building their confidence, and they went well beyond our expectations on the state tests. – Teacher, South Carolina, 2023

HEROES has been such a positive experience! I have taught for 24 years and HEROES got me out of my old literacy teaching routine. It has taught me how to look at the ways a student sees print and understand what they need to learn. I have been using the strategies learned in HEROES in lessons with my other students. – Teacher, South Carolina, 2023

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About Heroes
About Eligibility Apply Here

HEROES Lesson Features

  • Evidence-Based literacy lessons.
  • Teach student face to face or online in real time.
  • Teach students to read in a fluent and phrased way.
  • Learn to scaffold students' word-solving strategies while they read. Lessons are not scripted. You are the expert decision-maker.
  • Use formative assessment data to plan lessons.
  • Become part of a professional learning community.
  • Participate in graduate classes online.
  • Learn about typical reading development and what you can do to help students catch up.

What it includes

Up to $5,000 tuition for 2 graduate level courses (up to 6 credit hours) which may apply to a Master's Degree and/or Reading Endorsement.

All professional books and all instructional materials (a value up to $3,500 per teacher).

Professional development in Year 2.

Course Specifics

Graduate courses will be taught by a literacy coach trained in HEROES literacy intervention.

Graduate training courses will take place once a week outside of school hours through distance formats.

Teachers will teach a minimum of three one-to-one 40-minute lessons weekly with at least two eligible students.

Duration

Teachers will be expected to commit to the funded professional development for a total of 2 years.

Graduate level training courses will be completed the first year participating. Professional development will be completed the second year participating.

Student Eligibility

Photo credit: Jo McCulty

A student is eligible to receive the HEROES literacy intervention if the following applies:
Required
  • have or are at risk of having reading disabilities and are between the ages of 6 - 9 years old (inclusive) with unexpected difficulties with any of the following:
    • accurate or fluent word recognition
    • poor spelling and decoding abilities
    • at a beginning reading level

Teacher Eligibility

Photo credit: Janet Kiplinger Ciccone

Teachers who participate are eligible to receive free graduate credit through Clemson University, Georgia State University, National Louis University, St. Mary's College of California, or The Ohio State University.

This opportunity is designed for teachers to learn how to use the HEROES literacy intervention. 5 cohorts of teachers will be funded: 2020-21, 2021-2022, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.

  • Train in Year 1: All eligible teachers will be accepted in Year 1, 2020-21, based on space in classes.
  • Train in Years 2, 3 or 4: Eligible teachers will be accepted by lottery in 2021, 2022, 2023.
  • Train in Year 5: All eligible teachers will be accepted in Year 5, 2024-25, based on space in classes.

For schools, If you want to join this program, contact your university on these emails

University Email
Clemson celestb@clemson.edu
Georgia State kswafford1@gsu.edu
National Louis University tfarmer1@nl.edu dhagerman@nl.edu
Saint Mary’s College of California aklein@stmarys-ca.edu
The Ohio State University heroes@osu.edu

For more information about the program, contact us.

If interested in participating in these funded graduate courses and professional development, or if seeking additional information, contact Jerome D'Agostino, Ph.D. at heroes@osu.edu or fill out your information below.











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