It is our responsibility to provide appropriate training for future and current teachers alligned with the Standards for Reading Professionals published by the International Reading Association based on the following core beliefs:

1. The language arts--reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing visually--are interrelated; they are rarely used in isolation, and they tend to be mutually reinforcing as students learn and use them.
2. The language arts are complex behaviors that develop over time, individual learners do not progress at the same rate in the same ways.
3. Learners use their language skills in all curriculum areas; thus, proficiency in language arts is central for doing well in school and becoming lifelong literacy practitioners.
4. Literature in all its forms is a source of enjoyment and insight that should be made available to all language learners.
5. Language takes many forms; its diversity must be respected.

These appropriately prepared reading professionals will have proficiency in three broad categories:

1. Knowledge and beliefs about reading, which includes understanding theories of reading development, individual differences, the nature of reading difficulties, and principles of assessment.
2. Instruction and assessment, which includes being able to create instructional environments, to teach word identification, phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, vocabulary skills, strategies for comprehension and the construction of meaning, and study strategies; and to assess student performance and progress.
3. Organizing and enhancing a reading program , which includes abilities to communicate information about reading to various groups, to develop literacy curricula, to participate in or lead professional-development programs, to participate in or conduct research, to collaborate or supervise other literacy practitioners, to communicate assessment results, and to engage in professional activities.

(International Reading Association, 1998)