Read to Succeed Endorsement

Read to Succeed Requirements for Educators

Pre-Approved R2S Coursework

The Office of Early Learning and Literacy maintains a complete list of SDE Approved R2S Endorsement Coursework and Professional Development.

In addition to many private vendors and regionally accredited college coursework providers, the following SDE approved vendors often provide R2S coursework and professional development:

For additional information or inquiries regarding R2S coursework and professional development approval, please contact the R2S Team at the Office of Early Learning and Literacy.

Requirements

The R2S Act requires that all certified educators earn the appropriate R2S Endorsement(s) for their area(s) as part of their regular certificate renewal cycles. The goal of the Read to Succeed Act (R2S) is to ensure that every educator at every grade level in every school and subject area is committed and able to support reading development of the South Carolina students they serve.

R2S Endorsements

All certified educators are expected to earn one or more of the following R2S Endorsements, depending on their certified area(s), as part of their regular certificate renewal cycles:

R2S Literacy Teacher
R2S Literacy Requirement

Requirements for the Read to Succeed (R2S) endorsements in literacy were established in Title 59 Chapter 155 of the South Carolina Code of Laws (1976). As specified in statute, an educator may earn these endorsements at the pre-service level through coursework or at the in-service level through coursework and/or professional development approved by the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE).

An endorsement indicates a special skill, extra qualification, and/or ability to teach particular courses. Endorsements are not considered full areas of certification. In the case of the Read to Succeed Act, the appropriate Read to Succeed endorsement has been made mandatory for educators in the state of South Carolina and indicates that the endorsed educator has the baseline knowledge of South Carolina Literacy Competencies needed to support reading development of the students he/she serves.

R2S Literacy Teacher

The R2S Literacy Teacher endorsement is required for all certified teachers in the following areas:

Early Childhood
Elementary
ESOL (if primary area of certification)
Special Education (all categories)

R2S Literacy Requirement

The R2S Literacy Requirement endorsement is required for all certified educators in the following areas:

Middle School (all content areas)
Secondary (all content areas)
PreK-12 certification areas
Career and Technology

Library Media Specialist
Administrator
Guidance Counselor (Elementary and Secondary)
School Psychologist
Speech Therapist/Pathologist

R2S Exemptions

Educators who have earned a graduate degree in reading or literacy or who have Literacy Teacher Add-On certification are exempt from the Read to Succeed coursework requirements and may request a review of their transcript(s) by the Office of Educator Services so that the appropriate endorsement(s) may be added to their certificates.

Educators who have a Masters in an area other than Reading or Literacy and have added an additional 30 hours in Reading or Literacy will receive the endorsement if the required R2S coursework is included in their coursework.

Meeting R2S Requirements

Professional Certification Renewal

All certified educators are expected to earn the appropriate R2S Endorsement(s) for their area(s) as part of their regular certificate renewal cycles. If the educator fails to earn the required credit hours or the professional development hours during the appropriate certificate renewal cycle, the certificate is not renewable until the coursework is completed.

An educator certified in multiple areas must earn the endorsement designated for the certificate area most applicable to the educator's current placement. However, if an educator moves to another placement, the educator may need to earn the appropriate R2S Endorsement to keep their certificate current.

R2S Literacy Teacher

Educators needing the R2S Literacy Teacher Endorsement have ten (10) years or two (2) renewal cycles to earn the endorsement. Six credits or 120 hours at minimum must be earned in each five-year cycle period.

The chart provided is an example; the same pattern should be followed for subsequent renewal years.

Certificate Renews	Earn First Half (6 credit hours or 120 professional development hours)	Earn Remaining Half (6 credit hours or 120 professional development hours)
2015	2015-2020	2020-2025
2016	2016-2021	2021-2026
2017	2017-2022	2022-2027
2018	2018-2023	2023-2028

R2S Literacy Requirement

Educators needing the R2S Literacy Requirement have five (5) years or one (1) renewal cycle to earn the endorsement.

The chart provided is an example; the same pattern should be followed for subsequent renewal years.

Certificate Renews	Earn 3 credit hours or 60 professional development hours with course (R2S Content Area Reading and Writing)
2015	2015-2020
2016	2016-2021
2017	2017-2022
2018	2018-2023