The Opportunity Future Dyslexia Therapists Have Been Waiting For

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to pursue your CALT certification — this is it.

The Hoover Training Institute is thrilled to announce that enrollment is now open for our June 8th cohort, and for the first time, educators can earn their Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) credential alongside an accredited graduate degree from Lipscomb University. This is not just a new program. It is a new standard for dyslexia education training — and it is available to you right now.

Spots are limited. Scholarship funding is available. And June 8th will be here before you know it.

Why This Announcement Is a Big Deal

There are roughly 50 million Americans with dyslexia. That’s 1 in 5 people sitting in classrooms, struggling through textbooks, being told they aren’t trying hard enough — when the truth is that no one has been trained to reach them the way they need.

The bottleneck isn’t awareness. Most educators today have heard of dyslexia. Most know that structured literacy works. The bottleneck is trained practitioners with the deep, credentialed expertise to actually deliver the interventions that change outcomes.

That’s exactly what the Hoover Training Institute has been working to solve since 2021. We’ve trained dozens of CALTs who are now serving students across the country. And now, through our partnership with Lipscomb University, we’re offering something the field has never had before: a fully integrated pathway where you earn your CALT certification and your M.Ed. or Ed.S. in Dyslexia Therapy at the same time.

Why Choose Lipscomb’s Dyslexia Therapy Program?

Nationally Recognized Partnership

Our program brings together Lipscomb’s academic excellence and Hoover Learning Group’s expertise in structured literacy and dyslexia therapy training.

Flexible Pathways

Earn a Master of Education (M.Ed.) or an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree, with a pathway to certification as a Certified Academic Language Therapist (C.A.L.T.).

Credit for Prior Learning

Already a certified practitioner or therapist? You may transfer up to 18 credit hours from approved therapist training programs toward your graduate degree.

Science of Reading Foundation

Our curriculum is grounded in the latest research and prepares you to deliver prescriptive, therapeutic interventions for students with reading disabilities.

Hands-On Clinical Experience

Complete supervised practicum hours working directly with students who have dyslexia, and receive mentorship from experienced therapists.

Flexible Hybrid Format

Designed for working educators, our program combines online coursework with guided clinical practice — allowing you to apply your learning immediately in real-world settings.

Supportive Community

Join a cohort of dedicated educators, faculty, and mentors who share your commitment to literacy and student success.

Financial Aid Available

Lipscomb offers Graduate Financial Aid Opportunities to help make your degree achievable.

What You’ll Earn: Three Pathways, One Program

One of the things we’re most proud of about this program is its flexibility. We know that educators come to this work from different places — different experience levels, different career goals, different life circumstances. So we built three distinct pathways:

CALT Certification Only

The focused track for educators who want the credential that matters most in the field. It is ALTA-aligned, clinically supervised, and built around the science of reading from the ground up.

CALT Certification + M.Ed.

Our most popular pathway. You complete your CALT training while simultaneously earning a Master of Education in Dyslexia Therapy from Lipscomb University. The graduate coursework is fully integrated with your clinical practice — meaning everything you learn in the classroom connects directly to the work you’re doing with students.

CALT Certification + Ed.S.

Designed for experienced educators who are ready to reach the highest level of professional specialization. The Education Specialist degree sits above the M.Ed. and positions you as one of the most credentialed dyslexia practitioners in the country.

All three pathways begin June 8th. All three include the same rigorous, research-based curriculum. And all three are available to qualifying applicants with scholarship support.

Program Structure & Outcomes

•       Choose the M.Ed. if you’re seeking your first graduate degree, or the Ed.S. if you already hold a master’s degree.

•       Complete the program while working full-time, with coursework and practicum experiences spread across multiple semesters.

•       Graduate ready to serve as a dyslexia therapist, literacy intervention specialist, or leader in structured literacy instruction.

•       Benefit from ongoing alumni support and connections that last well beyond graduation.

What You’ll Actually Learn

Every student in the program — regardless of pathway — trains using Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia, one of the most respected structured literacy curricula in existence. This isn’t theoretical exposure. You will develop real, hands-on fluency with a program that works.

Beyond Take Flight, the curriculum is built around five pillars:

The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy

This is the foundation everything else is built on. You will understand not just what to do with students, but why it works — what’s happening in the brain, how language is structured, and why multisensory approaches reach students that traditional instruction misses.

Language Structure

Phonology. Morphology. Syntax. Semantics. Orthography. You will develop an expert-level understanding of how the English language is constructed — knowledge that transforms how you teach reading and writing at every grade level.

Assessment

Knowing how to intervene is only half the picture. This program teaches you how to assess — how to identify where a student is, what they need, and how to measure whether your intervention is working.

Multi-sensory Intervention

You will master the techniques that make structured literacy so effective for students with dyslexia: the simultaneous visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile approaches that build pathways in the brain that traditional instruction simply cannot.

Supervised Clinical Practice

From day one, your learning is grounded in real clinical work. You will work with real students under the mentorship of experienced, credentialed CALTs — accumulating the supervised hours required for certification while building the kind of confidence that only comes from doing the work.

The Lipscomb University Partnership: Why It Matters

For those pursuing the M.Ed. or Ed.S. pathways, the partnership with Lipscomb University adds something genuinely significant: the academic weight and institutional credibility of an accredited university degree.

Lipscomb University is a respected institution with a long history of educator preparation. Having their name on your degree — alongside your CALT credential — signals to employers, schools, and families that you have not just completed a certification program, but earned a rigorous graduate education in your field.

It also means your investment in this training pays dividends in multiple directions. Your CALT opens clinical doors. Your graduate degree opens academic and administrative ones. Together, they make you one of the most versatile and credentialed dyslexia professionals in your community.

Scholarships Are Available — Please Apply

We want to say this clearly, because we know it matters: the cost of training should not be the reason you don’t pursue this.

Scholarship funding is available for qualifying applicants enrolling in the June 8th cohort. Lipscomb also offers Graduate Financial Aid Opportunities to help make your degree achievable. We encourage every interested candidate to reach out — you may be more eligible than you realize, and support may be closer than you think.

Don’t let finances be the barrier that keeps you — and by extension, your future students — from this opportunity.

Ready to Make a Difference?

At Lipscomb, you’ll receive rigorous academic training, meaningful clinical practice, and the support you need to balance work, life, and graduate study. If you’re ready to become a specialist who can transform the lives of struggling readers, we would love to walk alongside you on that journey.

Spots Are Limited. June 8th Is Close.

We are building a cohort, not an open enrollment. That means the number of seats available for the June 8th start is finite — and when they’re gone, they’re gone until the next cycle.

If you’ve been thinking about pursuing your CALT, this is the moment to stop thinking and start moving. The program is exceptional. The partnership with Lipscomb University is historic. The scholarship funding is real. And the students are waiting for a trained practitioner like you — they’re already in classrooms right now, struggling, waiting for someone who knows how to reach them.

That someone could be you. It starts June 8th.

How to Take the Next Step

Reach out to the College of Education's admissions team today to learn which pathway is right for you, ask about scholarship eligibility, and reserve your spot in the June 8th cohort.

This is the opportunity dyslexia educators have been waiting for. Don’t miss it.

Schedule a Quick Call or email simpeartrice@lipscomb.edu to learn more.