November 24, 2025
FROM THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS UNION:
New York State United Teachers today announced that its statewide Science of Reading: A Practical Approach for Educators program is open for full enrollment, following an overwhelmingly positive response from pilot districts and educators across New York.
The free program — fully developed, designed and delivered by educators through NYSUT’s Education & Learning Trust — was created with funding allocated in the 2024–25 state budget as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Back to Basics literacy initiative.
A recent Buffalo News spotlight on the pilot program in Niagara Falls underscores the early impact. In Niagara Falls, more than 100 educators voluntarily enrolled in the training, with literacy coaches returning for a second round because of the program’s depth and relevance. Teachers described the 30-hour course as challenging them with the rigor of a college-level program, and as “monumental and energizing” for the profession.
NYSUT Executive Vice President Jaime Ciffone said the surge of interest and enthusiasm shows that educators have been waiting for this kind of high-quality, research-based support.
“This program is resonating with educators because it was built by teachers, for teachers,” Ciffone said. “The science of reading is complex work. Our course gives educators the tools, modeling and confidence to put research into practice in any classroom and with any curriculum. The early feedback has been extraordinary — teachers are telling us they’re having ‘a-ha’ moments, seeing immediate benefits for students, and finally feeling supported in a way that honors their expertise.”
The program reflects the latest breakthroughs in cognitive science, linguistics and evidence-based reading instruction, and focuses not just on what students learn, but how children learn best.
A New York–built model for the nation
States across the country are adopting new literacy standards, but few have launched programs fully developed by classroom educators themselves. NYSUT’s model does exactly that:
- Designed by teachers, reading specialists, and literacy coaches
- Built to work with any curriculum districts have locally implemented
- Grounded in explicit, systematic instruction aligned with decades of research
- Delivered through ELT’s statewide professional learning network
The program includes 10 sessions — five interactive live sessions and five structured reflection modules — and is available at no cost. Initial cohorts of participants, including the educators from Niagara Falls and from Schenectady to Long Island, are reporting improvements not only in instructional practice, but in teacher confidence and autonomy.
Educators emphasized that the training clarifies misconceptions, bridges theory and practice, and helps teachers expand their strategies so they can reach every child in their classroom with the profound gift of literacy.
Sessions will run throughout the year with expanded capacity to meet statewide demand. For more information, members can visit the NYSUT Education & Learning Trust website, where upcoming and current sessions are posted.
