Lastinger Learning
New Worlds Reading
Florida Tutoring Advantage
More than 830 VPK through fifth grade educators from 43 Florida counties kept their skills sharp this summer by attending a New Worlds Reading Teacher Professional Learning session.
Created in partnership with the Florida Department of Education in 2023, this program has equipped 2,800 educators with knowledge and resources to improve their students’ literacy outcomes.
Each day-long institute provides Florida teachers with Science of Reading training, resources that connect the New Worlds Reading books students receive at home to classroom instruction, and strategies for using children’s literature to teach grade-level standards.
Angelica Long-Diaz, English language learner content specialist with the Lastinger Center, helped facilitate this year’s sessions.
“It was a rewarding experience to share the value of incorporating Teacher Reading Guides into classroom instruction and to witness teachers’ enthusiasm for adopting this resource in their own practice,” Long-Diaz said.
The educators that completed a New Worlds Reading Teacher Professional Learning session gained even more than instructional resources. Participants also walked away with new connections from around the state and a stipend for their time spent. With the program’s multifaceted benefits, these teachers will be more empowered in their literacy instruction and ready to further support their students’ reading development this upcoming school year.
“[This session was] very helpful and informative on the Science of Reading and how to use it in daily reading block. I love the resources and will be able to use them right away in the classroom when I return,” one participant reflected. Other participants agreed they are looking forward to using their new knowledge and resources with their students.
To learn more about New Worlds Reading Teacher Professional Learning and sign up for notifications about future offerings, please visit our website.
About the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning
The UF Lastinger Center for Learning researches, develops and scales educational innovations for adults and children that put all learners on trajectories for lifelong success. With a portfolio of professional learning programs in early learning, literacy and mathematics, and as administrator of two state-wide initiatives, New Worlds Reading and the Florida Tutoring Advantage, the Lastinger Center is focused on helping teachers teach and students learn. To learn more about the Lastinger Center, please visit lastinger.ufl.edu.