Literacy Now

In this episode of Literacy Now, we talk with Todd Collins, a school board member in Palo Alto, California and founder of the California Reading Coalition. Todd is a self-described "accidental education advocate". Upon joining his school board, Todd assumed that the district knew how to teach reading pretty well. Overall state test scores were high. But he started to wonder if this was due to instruction or to something about the families. So he asked a simple yet profound question, "how do we know we are a great school district?". His quest to answer this question took him on a journey which opened his eyes to the reality of classroom reading instruction which was doing a very poor job of serving the most vulnerable students, ultimately turning this businessman into a state-level education advocate.

Summary

We are so excited to welcome Dr. Tracy White Weeden to our podcast!  Tracy is the President and CEO of Neuhaus Education Center, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote reading success by providing evidence-based professional development to educators, information and resources to families, and direct services to adult learners. Tracy begins with her family history and professional journey. That journey included being 'sold a story' before finding the science of reading. She explains that we are now in a defining moment for a literacy crusade, that we can and should be the lighthouse for change because literacy is the currency of the 21st century and a human right. To parents, Tracy advises everyone to find those in your realm of influence, prep the system for change and lead from the middle.  We all need to "dare greatly, lead valiantly, influence bravely and be the butterfly effect... for our children".

Find a favorite spot to sit back and enjoy this wonderful and inspiring conversation!

Resources

⁠Neuhaus Education Center⁠

⁠Emily Hanford podcasts⁠

⁠Book- Stone Soup⁠

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

Summary

We are so excited to welcome Dr. Tracy White Weeden to our podcast!  Tracy is the President and CEO of Neuhaus Education Center, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote reading success by providing evidence-based professional development to educators, information and resources to families, and direct services to adult learners. Tracy begins with her family history and professional journey. That journey included being 'sold a story' before finding the science of reading. She explains that we are now in a defining moment for a literacy crusade, that we can and should be the lighthouse for change because literacy is the currency of the 21st century and a human right. To parents, Tracy advises everyone to find those in your realm of influence, prep the system for change and lead from the middle.  We all need to "dare greatly, lead valiantly, influence bravely and be the butterfly effect... for our children".

Find a favorite spot to sit back and enjoy this wonderful and inspiring conversation!

Resources

Neuhaus Education Center

Emily Hanford podcasts

Book- Stone Soup

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

Summary

​We are excited to bring you this fascinating conversation with Kait Feriante. Kait is the co-founder of Redwood Schools (Chicago), which include two full-day K-8 schools for students with dyslexia, and a program for young adults who are court-involved who struggle with reading and writing.  Kait is also a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and parent of a child with dyslexia.  Kait shares with us her perspective gained through all of these roles. Listen in as we delve into topics including the lack of preparation for reading instruction by colleges of education, collaborating with your child's school team and advocating for their educational needs, data collection, and assistive technology.  Kait also talks about the work of the Redwood Schools and the success of their programs, as well as the success of the Lawndale program despite incredible odds. Don't miss this important conversation!

Resources

Redwood Literacy 

Instagram Pages: 

@redwoodliteracy @redwoodschools

Twitter Page: 

@RedwoodLiteracy

Facebook Page: 

@Redwood Literacy

LinkedIn Page:

@Redwood Literacy @Redwood Schools

TikTok Page:

@redwoodliteracy

YouTube Page:

@redwoodliteracy8257

Donate To Redwood Here:

https://redwoodlclc.funraise.org

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

Summary

In this episode of Literacy Now, we meet an amazing parent advocate, Jenine Hanson. Jenine is from Naperville, Illinois, a city which is consistently listed in the top 10 U.S. cities in which to raise a family, particularly because of its excellent schools.  So when her oldest child was having difficulty with learning to read as early as 1st grade, Jenine started asking a lot of questions.  She takes us through her family's long and arduous journey to identify the source of her child's challenges.  Only after receiving a dyslexia diagnosis in 5th grade by a private neuropsychologist did the school district agree to do an educational evaluation.  By then, Jenine was connecting with a lot of other parents with similar stories, all asking, how does a world class school district miss the most common learning disability?  What started as a parent support group shifted to advocacy and the formation of the Dyslexia Action Group of Naperville.  Jenine led the effort to engage with the District and the school board of education to change how reading was being taught.  Listen and learn how these efforts ultimately led to the district adopting a reading program with a structured literacy approach (with parent input in the process), a dyslexia screener, and professional learning for teachers in evidence-based reading instruction. Prepare to be inspired!

Resources

Dyslexia Action Group of Naperville (DAGN)

Barton Reading & Spelling System

IEP/s504 Accommodations Matrix and related conversation about it on Twitter

Naperville professional learning day

DAGN dyslexia simulation day

Everyone Reading Illinois (ERI)

International Dyslexia Association

Illinois State Board of Education - The Dyslexia Guide

Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE)

Book- Shifting the Balance, by Jan Burkins and Kari Yates

Sold a Story podcast, by Emily Hanford

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

"You just gave me the code to the English language. I can read!"

We are thrilled to bring you this inspiring conversation with David Chalk.  David is a Canadian technology entrepreneur, cybersecurity specialist, and a media personality. Until very recently, he couldn't read.  David has learning disabilities including acute dyslexia.  He shares the physical, mental and emotional toll it has taken on him throughout his life.  He knew early on that working for someone else was not going to be a successful path, and as a result he was driven into starting his own businesses.  He had many career successes, but when COVID hit, he lost his business at that time. By sheer chance, he was introduced to Nora Chahbazi, founder of EBLI - Evidence Based Literacy Instruction, and leaped at the chance to learn to read. After just six days of instruction, David went from an elementary level of reading comprehension to a post-university comprehension level because he was no longer struggling to read every word.  He said to Nora, "This is like a secret code. I can do math, I understand physics... You just gave me the code to the English language. I can read!"  

David goes on to explain this transformation with these words: "No one had ever told me. It wasn't about reading, it was about understanding that words are the positioning of language onto paper for extraction later. So if you know how to encode it onto paper, you can pull it off and read it. But when you are only taught that this is what's on the paper and try and understand it- no, I need to know how it got on the page, what was the coding that got it down there. Know that, you can read!

RESOURCES:

All Website Links: 

EBLI - Evidence Based Literacy Instruction

Documentary: ⁠The Truth About Reading

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:  

Twitter Pages:  @AskDavidChalk, @truthabout2023

Facebook Page:  @DavidChalk

LinkedIn Page: @DrDavidChalk

Instagram Page: @thetruthaboutreading

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

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⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

We are so excited to welcome Donna Hejtmanek to our podcast!  Donna is the founder of the Facebook page, Science of Reading- What I Should Have Learned in College.

She is also a retired special education teacher and reading specialist. In our conversation, Donna talks about what led her to form the Facebook group, how it supports teachers and parents, and how it developed into the incredible resource it is today with over 230,000 members! She also shares with us her efforts to disseminate what has been learned from scientific research on how children learn to read and write so that it is accessible to our childrens' teachers, her advocacy locally and at the state level for students with dyslexia, and her thoughts on shifting practices in colleges of education.  Our conversation ends with Donna's advice to parents on being your child's advocate. Listen in now to this inspiring conversation!

Resources:
Facebook- Science of Reading What I Should Have Learned in College 

SoR What I Should Have Learned In College New Member Welcome Letter and List of Resources

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

SUMMARY:

"Parents are the Key!"

In this episode, we are thrilled to introduce you to Nora Chabazi. Nora is the founder of EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction), whose mission is to teach the world to read. Having left her career as a neonatal intensive care nurse to raise her three children, Nora soon found that she needed to quickly learn about reading instruction. Her daughter, who was gifted in math, was a year below grade level in early elementary school. Drawing on her scientific background and knowledge of the brain's plasticity for learning at any age, Nora educated herself on current research in the field of literacy, trained in the Phono-Graphix method, then opened a reading center, created the speech-to-print program EBLI, and has been teaching reading and training teachers ever since.  Listen in as we hear about her amazing journey from parent advocate to literacy expert, as well as her involvement as the literacy consultant for the documentary The Truth About Reading. Our conversation concludes with Nora's advice to parents on the importance of educating yourself and forming a community of parents for support and advocacy, because "parents are the key!".

Resources:

Website: EBLI: Evidence Based Reading Instruction

Documentary: The Truth About Reading

Book: Why Our Children Can't Read, by Diane McGuinness, PhD

Book: Why Johnny Can't Read: And What You Can Do About It, by Rudolf Flesch

Audio documentaries & Podcast: by Emily Hanford for APM Reports

Facebook Group: Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College

Facebook Group: S2P / SLL / Linguistic Phonics Exploration

SOCIALS:

Instagram Pages: 

@eblireads

@thetruthaboutreading

@EBLIreads

@truthabout2023

Facebook Pages: 
EBLI Evidence-Based Reading Instruction

The Truth About Reading

LinkedIn Page:

EBLI Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠

⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠

⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠

⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠

⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠

⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

SUMMARY:

In this episode, we talk with Margie Gillis, founder of the nonprofit Literacy How. Margie is a nationally recognized literacy expert whose career has been steeped in the science of reading from the very beginning. Margie has been teaching children to read for over 40 years, and she founded Literacy How in 2009 to provide professional development and coaching to teachers and school districts so they learn how best to implement evidence-based literacy practices.  Join us as we dive right into a discussion on reading science being more than just phonics instruction, the components of a strong reading program, supporting teachers and administrators in translating research to practice, and ideas for systemic change starting with the colleges of education who prepare our future teachers.  Enjoy this informative episode!

Resources

National Reading Panel Report (full text, overview, findings)

Literacy How and the The Reading Wheel

Ed Reports

The Reading League Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines

Core Knowledge Language Arts

Hill For Literacy 

Reading Rockets

Haskins Global Literacy Hub

Florida Center for Reading Research

National Center for Improving Literacy (NCIL) 

International Dyslexia Association (IDA)

MTSU Center for Dyslexia

The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, Dr. Sharon Vaughn, Executive Director

Reading Courses / Professional Development: 

AIM Institute for Learning & Research

Reading Rockets Reading 101 Course

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠Facebook⁠

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠Twitter⁠

⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

⁠Masterclass⁠

⁠Parent Group Directory⁠

⁠Donate⁠

⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠

SUMMARY:

"The children are our customers...and the parents are our stakeholders, and I think if you think of it in those terms, you can make a lasting effect on a district."

We are thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Kevin Gorman.  Dr. Gorman is a recently retired Director of Student Services in the Upper Arlington, Ohio school district.  Many years ago, Dr. Gorman knew little about dyslexia or evidence-based instructional methods. Then one day, UA-KID, a parent advocacy group serving families whose children have dyslexia, met with him to present their goals for their children's education. That meeting prompted Dr. Gorman to dig into the research and build his knowledge, the end result of which has been lasting change throughout the district.  Join us as Dr. Gorman takes us on a journey describing how he brought about that change, which included introducing universal screening for at-risk signs of reading difficulties (CTOPP), Orton-Gillingham training for teachers and intervention specialists, and the purchase of high quality instructional materials. It wasn't long before Superintendents in other Ohio districts started to hear about Upper Arlington's successes and contacted Dr. Gorman to learn more.

Dr. Gorman also shares his advice for parents in collaborating with their district, provides a description of the process to request an evaluation when a child shows signs of reading difficulties and leaves us with final thoughts on focusing on the needs of the child.  This is a wonderful and very informative discussion for all parents and advocates!

Resources:

CTOPP- Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing- "The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) is an instrument that can be used to measure phonological processing abilities of school aged children. This instrument employs a variety of subtests to measure several components of phonological processing."

The Orton-Gillingham Approach 

Wilson Reading System

Wilson Fundations - program overview

Additional Resources:

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), by Understood.org

Multi-Tiered System of Supports for English Learners

The Difference Between IEPs and 504 Plans, by Understood.org

What is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?, by Understood.org

National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL)- resources for parents and families (in English and Spanish)

For a more comprehensive explanation of these terms above, please visit and enroll in our 'Building A Dyslexia Parent Group - Course 1' Masterclass HERE

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Parents For Reading Justice is a nonprofit grassroots movement dedicated to ensuring every child learns to read by engaging parents and educators in adopting the science of teaching reading. Our mission is to activate, train, and guide parent groups to flip their school districts to evidence-based reading instruction. Our vision is to speed the nationwide shift to evidence-based literacy instruction so that 95% of students read proficiently.

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Host Brett Tingley is the President of OH-KID, a grassroots parent group dedicated to ensuring all children in Ohio learn to read. She is also an advisory board member of the International Dyslexia Association Central Ohio. She is the founder and President of Parents for Reading Justice.

______________________________

Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠⁠