Officials with Lipscomb University’s College of Education announced today the creation of a Master of Education with Reading Specialty degree.

The degree will both prepare a teacher to become a reading specialist and to incorporate the new common core standards into course instruction and provide leadership training for all participants, Nina Morel, director of the new master’s program, said in a release.

The 36-hour master’s program is open to licensed teachers looking to earn Tennessee’s endorsement as a reading specialist in preK-12. The program can be completed in less than two years with courses held in the evenings, online and on some weekends.

Classes will start in August.

“What we are seeing in schools today is that reading specialists who work one-on-one with students or team-teach with other teachers are doing a lot of mentoring and coaching with their colleagues. They are becoming more than reading specialists, but actual school leaders in literacy,” Morel said. “This program recognizes that fact and focuses on preparing today’s reading specialist how to be a good collaborator and how to set up an effective literacy program.”