Language and Literacy Project Goals

This project proposes to prepare speech-language pathologists (SLPs) for tomorrow’s schools. Research-validated practices will be integrated into the program curricula to produce personnel with highly specialized skills and knowledge prepared to provide services to students with or at risk for language and literacy delays. A total of 10 full-time students (5 per year) seeking a master’s degree in communication disorders at FSU will serve as trainees. Trainees will be equipped to function in the wide variety of settings and roles needed in today’s school programs. Trainees will serve children and youth with language and literacy delays through our collaboration with a local education agency, the Leon County Public Schools, and a formalized relationship with the Southside Professional Development Schools Network (SPDSN). This collaboration will ensure that the students will have opportunities to integrate evidence based training and practice, to implement training competencies in settings serving diverse cultural and socioeconomic populations, to increase accountability of programs through the implementation of the Sunshine State Academic Standards, and to participate in interdisciplinary team activities with family members. The unique characteristics of the proposed project include:

1. an emphasis on translating research to practice especially in the area of literacy development within a Professional Development School partnership;
2. competency-based training opportunities with cultural and linguistically diverse populations;
3. the opportunity to develop skills necessary to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams of families, educators, and related services personnel and to consult with regular education teachers, paraprofessionals, family members, and others to support students’ achievement of the Sunshine State Academic Standards;
4. trainee achievement monitored using Accomplished Practices framework (Standards-based competencies) and documented using an electronic portfolios;
5. mentorship from a team of culturally and linguistically diverse students who have completed (or are advancing in) their initial specialization in language, literacy, and reading.