Beginning Teacher Pathway
Definition: Beginning Teacher – a teacher who has not completed a teacher program (they hold an alternative license).
Beginning teachers adding the endorsement to an initial level 1 New Mexico teaching license shall complete 24 to 36 hours in the teaching of reading and passage of the following PRAXIS exam in Teaching Reading: K-12 5206.
Teacher with Existing License Pathway
Definition: Existing Teacher – a teacher who has completed a teacher program (standard or alternative).
Teachers seeking to add an endorsement in the teaching of reading to an existing New Mexico teaching license of any level shall meet one of the following requirements:
- Passage of the following PRAXIS exam in Teaching Reading: K-12 5206 from PRAXIS as provided in 6.60.5.8 NMAC, or predecessor New Mexico teacher licensure examination or accepted comparable licensure test(s) from another state in reading; or
- successfully complete an undergraduate academic major comprising 24 to 36 semester hours, or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major or a graduate degree in the teaching of reading; or
- obtain certification in reading for the appropriate grade level of New Mexico licensure from the national board for professional teaching standards; or
- successfully complete a minimum of 80 hours of professional development and submit a statement of impact that includes the instructional changes the teacher made based on the teacher’s learning within the professional development. The professional development shall include 40 hours of documented live sessions – virtually or in-person – with a certified facilitator and a minimum of 40 hours of online coursework, which shall include assessments of knowledge and understanding, for which a score of at least eighty percent is required. The professional development shall be provided by an organization accredited by the international dyslexia association, and which aligns with the science of reading and a structured literacy approach that:
(a) promotes explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction as the primary approach
(b) promotes an understanding of how language, reading, and writing relate to one another;;
(c) promotes strategies for differentiated instruction for students with reading difficulties and disabilities and English language learners;
(d) focuses on all five components of literacy instruction – phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and
(e) allows participants to implement the strategies into a classroom environment with the opportunity for feedback throughout the professional development experience.