A Revolutionary Approach to Teacher Training through Free Access to Professional Development
The Atlanta Speech School, through its Rollins Center for Language & Literacy (Rollins Center) and free professional development platform Cox Campus, is at the forefront of a national solution to illiteracy. To date, the Cox Campus has delivered more than 140 million dollars’ worth of literacy courses at no cost to schools or districts nationwide.
Underwritten by dozens of local and national philanthropies committed to literacy through the proven science of reading, Cox Campus provides free internationally accredited professional learning and resources for education and healthcare professionals. As national literacy reform gains ground, Cox Campus has experienced exponential growth of 260% in course completions since 2023.
The Rollins Center has supported Georgia’s teachers through Cox Campus since 2014. In 2024, Cox Campus expanded strategic partnerships, including Georgia Department of Education, committed to transforming child outcomes. This has grown Georgia educator membership by more than 20% over the last 12 months alone.
National subject matter experts in healthy brain development, language acquisition, and literacy contribute their knowledge and resources to Cox Campus course development, recognizing the platform as scalable, sustainable and equitable.
The course completion rate is 92% – dramatically above the average for online courses. The Rollins Center achieves this by creating compelling Cox Campus courses that include actual footage from partner schools and the Speech School’s own classrooms. Cox Campus content is consistently reported by learners as excellent and contributing significantly to their changes in classroom practices.
Actualizing Literacy and Justice for ALL – Nationwide
This past summer, Cox Campus reached the historic milestone of $100 million in economic impact. Today, as the Campus approaches $150 million in value, more than 946,000 courses have been completed by educators at no cost to their schools or districts. By equipping hundreds of thousands of teachers with evidence-based literacy practices through Cox Campus, the Rollins Center is working to ensure millions of students across the United States and beyond gain access to literacy and are on a path to lives of self-determination.
The Georgia Department of Education has selected Cox Campus structured literacy courses to create the Georgia Literacy Academy, which fulfills legislative requirements outlined in the Georgia Early Literacy Act (HB538). Since its launch in November 2023, more than 38,000 Georgia teachers have started coursework. Across all 10 structured literacy courses, Georgia teachers have completed more than 183,000 courses; an estimated (and conservative) market value of $27.5 million – at no cost to schools, districts or teachers.
Beyond Georgia, other states that have passed ‘Science of Reading’ laws (39 so far) are partnering with the Rollins Center to create their own trackable groups within the platform for certification purposes for educators from birth through literacy. One example is Ohio, where the state DOE has created a three-tiered credentialing system currently engaging more than 24,000 teachers of children from birth to three based entirely on courses taken through Cox Campus.
Reflecting the potential for international impact, the Rollins Center partners with the Jamaica Ministry for Education for preschool teacher training in that country through Cox Campus. 240 educators in Jamaica, including regional educational leaders and teachers, have completed Cox Campus Courses. Currently, Cox Campus reaches members in more than 130 countries.
Cox Campus holds two international accreditations: IACET and IDA. IACET is the International Association for Continuing Education and Training and sets the standard for online educational programs. IDA is the International Dyslexia Association – the gold standard for structured literacy. Cox Campus is the only free online platform to be accredited by IDA – for meeting IDA’s rigorous Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS) for teachers of reading.
