Evidence-Based Literacy Training for Michigan Educators | IMSE

IMSE Fulfills State Law

Under October 2024 Senate Bills 567 and 568, Michigan educators are required to use approved tools to screen students in grades K-3 for characteristics of dyslexia, provide students in need with effective reading interventions, provide staff with professional learning consistent with the science of reading, and choose literacy instructional materials from a list of approved sources.

IMSE courses, coaches, and resources not only satisfy the requirements of these laws, but are proven to help students learn to read.

Michigan’s 35M and 35N grant funding initiatives were created to strengthen early literacy by supporting evidence-based instruction and professional development across the state. Allocated by the Michigan Legislature, these grants aim to improve literacy outcomes by ensuring schools have access to the resources, materials, and training necessary to deliver effective reading instruction.

IMSE supports Michigan educators with CERI-endorsed professional development and Science of Reading–aligned instructional materials that meet state funding requirements. Through IMSE’s structured literacy approach, schools can maximize 35M and 35N grant resources to provide teachers with the tools and knowledge to elevate reading achievement for every student.

Advance Your Teaching.
Earn Your SCECHs.

State Continuing Education Clock Hours are provided through Schoolcraft College for the following IMSE courses:

OG+ Course 30 hours / 30 SCECHs
Morphology+ Course 30 hours / 30 SCECHs
Phonological Awareness Course 12.5 hours / 12 SCECHs*
OG+ Fidelity Certificate Course 15 hours / 15 SCECHs*
Morphology+ Fidelity Certificate Course 15 hours / 15 SCECHs*

*Self-paced courses such as the Fidelity Certificates and Asynchronous Phonological Awareness are eligible for SCECHs ONLY IF completed within three months, start to finish, and applied for within 10 days of completion date.

You must apply for SCECHs within Schoolcraft College’s outlined semester dates, or within 10 days of course completion if you attend a multi-week course spanning more than 4 weeks. Forms received after these deadlines will not be processed and SCECHs will not be awarded.

Application directions, forms, and semester dates may be found here. You will need to download and complete two forms and send them to scech@schoolcraft.edu.

Participants must pay a $20 processing fee to qualify for SCECHs. Schoolcraft uploads the SCECHs into the MOECs database. You will be sent a survey that you must complete before your SCECHs get posted.

Former Student Intervention Specialist Angela Massey’s path to literacy leadership began in early 2020 when she went to a Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA) conference. There, she entered into a raffle drawing at the IMSE booth and, much to her surprise, won a free training in IMSE’s Orton-Gillingham strategies.

That prize has now gone on to change her life and the lives of many students. As an educator in a Jackson County, Michigan district, Angela served as a special education teacher, a classroom teacher, and an interventionist before she took the lead on Individual Reading Intervention Plans at her school. Her IMSE training proved to be especially impactful after the disruption of COVID.

“I was so excited to begin this new literacy journey,” Angela recalls. “I was able to use my training and had amazing results. We expected that I would have a total of 17 kids behind grade level by the end of the 2020-2021 school year, but I ended up only having four!”