UT Tyler to Offer TEA Reading Academies Training

June 25, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

State-required training will be provided at no additional cost to UT Tyler students

The University of Texas at Tyler has joined the Texas Education Agency’s Reading Academies Educator Preparation Program as an authorized provider. The UT Tyler School of Education will incorporate the Texas Reading Academies modules into existing undergraduate courses beginning this fall, providing students the state-required TEA courses and training prior to graduation at no additional cost.

“This designation is significant to our students, the region and the state, as UT Tyler works collaboratively with our school district partners to address the persistent teacher shortage,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD.

East Texas, and Texas as a whole, face both a supply and demand issue for more qualified teachers,
particularly in urban and rural areas, where literacy rates are lower than the national average. The
demand will continue to rise in part due to a dramatic increase in enrollments and high attrition
rates, as an aging teacher workforce retires, according to the TEA. Urban and rural communities will have the greatest need for teachers, TEA noted, with more than 700,000 additional teachers
needed in the next decade.

“We are beyond excited to partner with TEA in this initiative to help improve literacy in East Texas,”
said Dr. Pradeep “Max” Dass, UT Tyler Roosth Endowed Chair and dean of the College of Education
and Psychology. “This initiative will be a great financial help to our undergraduate pre-service
teaching students and their families by saving them travel time and expenses. We also hope this
endeavor will serve area schools and districts as we look to provide TRA training sessions for
veteran teachers who need to receive this state-required training.”

To become a TRA Educator Preparation Authorized Provider, the university successfully conducted a year-long pilot for TEA during the 2023-2024 year, with 41 UT Tyler student participants. UT Tyler
collaborated with TEA representatives, Texas Reading Academies staff and Education Service Center Region 7 trainers for the pilot study.

For more information about the TRA training program, contact Dr. Joanna Neel, UT Tyler associate
professor of literacy education, at jneel@uttyler.edu, or visit tea.texas.gov/academics/earlychildhood- education/reading.

According to Literacy Texas, Texas ranks No. 46 in the United States for adult literacy. The adult
literacy rate is 81 percent, with 19 percent of adults lacking basic prose literacy skills. Additionally,
the Texas Association of Workforce Boards noted the state faces a crisis in education, and unless
changes are quickly made, by 2040 Texas will experience a weakened economy and an undereducated workforce that will be less attractive to businesses.

The Texas Education Agency oversees state primary and secondary public education and strives to
improve outcomes for all public-school students by providing leadership, guidance and support to
school systems. For additional information about TEA, visit https://tea.texas.gov/.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT
Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.