Ricky Robertson stops by Leading Literacy to discuss the importance of student trauma and adversity and how it impacts their educational experience and outcome.  As a former teacher, Ricky provides a unique lens through which to serve students who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACES).  Currently as an author, consultant, and coach, Ricky supports schools and districts to develop multi-tiered social-emotional and behavioral supports that are both trauma-informed and culturally responsive.  Ricky is a co-author of the book, Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach.  You can learn more about Ricky and his work on his website:  www.buildingresilienceinstudents.com

Leading Literacy is super thrilled and honored to welcome Dr. Katie Novak and Mirko Chardin to the podcast to talk about their new book, "Equity by Design: Delivering on the Power and Promise of UDL." Katie is a world-known educator, college professor, author, and has done extensive work around Universal Design for Learning. Mirko Chardin is also an educator and founding head of a school in Massachusetts as well as a hip-hop artist. Katie and Mirko both bring their authentic selves, knowledge, and passion around social justice, equity, and UDL. This conversation elevates the pairing of: will and skill. Your equity-educator-self will LOVE this episode!

Click here to learn more about Katie and Mirko, their work, and their latest book.

We have a very special episode of Leading Literacy - our very first teacher roundtable discussion! We are thrilled to welcome Xochitl Morales (K teacher, Los Altos Elem., South Whittier SD), Andrea Castaneda (SPED Autism Spectrum Disorder Mod/Sev. teacher, Lone Hill MS, Bonita USD), Ella Farinas (Instructional Coach & 6-8 AVID Coordinator, Washington STEAM Multilingual Academy, Pasadena USD), Curtis Duong (8th grade teacher, Garfield Elem., Alhambra USD), and Jenna Kamp (12th grade English teacher, University Prep. Value Charter HS). Listen in to hear their experiences and how educators are adjusting and coping during the pandemic. We are so proud of our hard-working educators and we couldn't be more excited to highlight these rockstars!

Leading Literacy welcomes Jessica Hamman, founder and CEO of Glean Education. Jessica has worked in education for close to two decades. She started Glean Education to empower educators with best practices to support struggling students. Jessica has much to share during our conversation, including her deep knowledge and experiences with dyslexia. You won't want to miss it!

Leslie and Mara welcome Dr. Maryanne Wolf on Leading Literacy. Dr. Wolf is the director for the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. She is an author and advocate for children and literacy around the world. Dr. Wolf shares her knowledge and passion on how to help build “the reading brain” for all of our students.

Leading Literacy is over-the-moon excited and honored to welcome THE Dr. Louise Moats.  Dr. Moats has dedicated her entire career to literacy education as a teacher, researcher, psychologist, graduate school faculty member, and author.  Dr. Moats was kind enough to drop in and have a chat with us about the importance of the science of reading.  You won’t want to miss what she has to share!

Leslie and Mara are delighted to welcome UCLA professor, Dr. Jeff Share, co-author of The Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education.  In a world full of “fake” news and information over-load, Jeff shares his passion and insights into the field of critical media literacy and how educators can help students analyze memes, verify sources, and investigate biases.

Join Leslie, Mara, and Elizabeth Jimenez Salinas as they discuss the "superpowers" of being bilingual and practical strategies to implement in the classroom to help all English learners. Elizabeth brings her knowledge and experience from her days as a bilingual educator, advocate and consultant. Elizabeth is amazing!

Click on the following links to access the resources mentioned in this podcast:

Cognates Resources

Eradicating Learned Passivity

Homework Questions and Prompts for Long Term English Learners

Language Organizer

Reparable Harm Document

Leading Literacy is so excited to have Emily Hanford! Emily is a senior education correspondent at American Public Media Reports and a total science of reading rockstar! She's been working in public media for over 2 decades as a reporter, producer, news editor, and program host. She's won all kind of awards and is one of our reading heroes. Be prepared to have your mind blown!

Click on the following links to read Emily Hanford's articles:

Hard Words

At a Loss for Words

What the Words Say

Natalie Wexler shares her insights and thoughts with Leslie and Mara about her two books: The Knowledge Gap and The Writing Revolution. Join the conversation as Natalie discusses the importance of immersing all students of varied socioeconomic backgrounds, with content knowledge about the world and then linking that knowledge to explicit writing instruction.

Click on the following links to read Natalie Wexler's articles:

The Need for Explicit Instruction in Teaching Students to Write Well

Elementary Education Has Gone Terribly Wrong