READ Podcast

On this READ podcast episode, host Marcus Soutra, Acting Director of The Windward Institute, welcomes Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), for Dyslexia Awareness Month to discuss her path from special educator and researcher to national advocate, including her daughter’s dyslexia journey and family self-advocacy. Dr. Rodriguez explains NCLD’s mission shift to working with—not on behalf of—people with learning disabilities through a young adult leadership council, a new family leadership council, and expert advisory networks, while convening stakeholders at federal and state levels. She highlights NCLD’s latest State of LD reports, including transition findings showing sense of belonging as the top factor for postsecondary and workforce success, and educator survey data showing reduced general-special education collaboration amid administrative burdens and funding declines. The conversation covers policy efforts, opposing the 21st Century Dyslexia Act for risking harmful overbroad identification and splitting dyslexia from SLD, and advancing the RISE Act nationally and across states (including California) to accept IEPs/504s as disability evidence in higher education. Jackie shares ways to engage via NCLD action alerts, advocacy days, and leadership councils, emphasizing education as “everybody’s issue.” 

00:00 Podcast Welcome 
 00:17 Meet Jacqueline Rodriguez 
 01:32 Her Path to NCLD 
 05:23 Family Why and Advocacy 
 06:48 What NCLD Does 
 11:00 State of LD Findings 
 16:56 Collaboration and Funding Gaps 
 22:19 21st Century Dyslexia Act 
 24:57 Bill Misses the Mark 
 26:17 Why Definitions Matter 
 27:32 Committee Vote Fallout 
 28:21 Lumping Groups Together 
 29:25 Juvenile Justice Pipeline 
 30:38 Pulling Dyslexia From SLD 
 32:11 Back to the Drawing Board 
 33:18 Shared Goals for Schools 
 34:25 RISE Act Momentum 
 37:17 IEPs Don’t Transfer 
 39:05 State Wins and Implementation 
 41:09 How to Support NCLD 
 44:18 Education Is Everybody’s Issue 
 46:15 Final Thanks and Wrap

National Center for Learning Disabilities: ncld.org

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

Host Harri Ramkishun welcomes Dr. Joan McGettigan and Bernie McCormick to discuss generative AI in K–12, reflecting on pandemic-era tech shifts and New York City DOE’s moratorium for lower grades. Dr. McGettigan reflects on 1:1 tech rollouts and how it underdelivered due to insufficient investment in teacher training and urges an intentional pause to address pedagogy, screen-time concerns, cognitive offloading, and rapid AI change. Bernie McCormick praises the pause, emphasizing the need for assessment and classroom practice changes, and significant data-privacy risks tied to LLM terms of service and upstream vendors. They share Windward examples: teacher-built AI resources like a fifth-grade marine research hub, gamified study tools with actionable data, supplemental texts to build background knowledge, and controlled tools like SchoolAI for debate coaching; they also discuss potential use of Snorkel AI for guided, feedback-driven problem solving. Both stress professional learning and time for educators and highlight AI’s potential to democratize tutoring through school-supported Socratic coaching. 

00:00 Welcome to READ 

00:15 Guest Introductions 

00:30 Educational Technology Backgrounds 

02:59 AI in Education 

03:45 NYC DOE AI Moratorium 

09:25 Data Privacy Concerns 

11:12 Guardrails for School Leaders 

14:07 AI in the Classroom 

19:46 Teacher as Agent 

24:37 Teacher Monitoring and Feedback 

28:54 Gamification and Differentiation 

30:38 Snorkel Tool Example 

34:38 Dyslexia Awareness Month 

34:54 Final Thoughts for Educators 

38:28 Closing Remarks 

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

Introducing the refreshed READ Podcast and Fall Offerings from The Windward Institute.  Hosts Dr. Alison Leveque and Marcus Soutra introduce the refreshed READ podcast from The Windward Institute, now continuing as a bi-monthly series connecting listeners with researchers, educators, and thought leaders in education and child development. Marcus shares his background as a dyslexic educator and former leader of Eye to Eye (now the Neurodiversity Alliance), while Alison describes her path from classroom teaching to reading specialist and literacy researcher focused on dyslexia support. They highlight the need for evidence-based literacy practices and practical professional development, preview upcoming episodes, and discuss Institute courses on literacy, expository writing, multisensory reading instruction, morphology, progress monitoring, and instructional games. They also describe customized school partnerships, share literacy gains tied to writing work, and promote October’s free reading screening and the November 18 Fall Community lecture with Dave Anderson on ADHD. 

00:00 Welcome to READ

00:24 Meet Marcus Soutra

01:35 Allison’s Literacy Journey

03:53 Why Dyslexia Matters

06:10 Teachers Need Tools

08:10 What’s Next on READ

10:14 Fall Courses Overview

12:03 Partnering With Schools

13:35 Bronx Success Story

17:14 Teacher Intentions

20:34 Community Events and Wrap

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

Host Dr. Alison Leveque introduces the READ podcast and a conversation about effective professional development (PD), The Windward School’s PD structures, the “Mississippi Miracle,” and current PD trends. Betsy MacDermott-Duffy shares the COMPASS framework for research-based PD: tying learning to content, making it ongoing, modeling with metacognition, active participation, advice/feedback through coaching, shared collaboration, and self-reflection, emphasizing student outcomes and fragile transfer without sustained support. Colleen McGlynn describes Windward’s layered PD system, including assistant teacher training, weekly Friday PD, and monthly content meetings guided by teacher needs, coordinator coaching, and research trends, with time to practice and follow up. Dana Carr-Ford and Kinjal Nicholls discuss Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading gains, attributing success to structured literacy, preservice reform, universal screening, strong accountability including a third-grade gate, and sustained training, then highlight growing focus on writing, executive function, AI limits for struggling readers, and emerging “math wars.”

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:38 Meet Betsy MacDermott-Duffy

01:26 Why PD Often Fails

02:29 COMPASS Content Focus

04:50 Ongoing Follow Up

07:26 Modeling In Action

09:32 Practice And Participation

10:34 Feedback And Coaching

11:49 Collaboration And Reflection

16:34 Top PD Researchers

19:05 Windward PD Workshops Plug

19:18 Meet Colleen McGlynn At Windward

20:23 How Windward Plans PD

25:01 Measuring Impact And Iterating

28:35 Advice For Busy Teachers

30:39 Five Strategies Takeaway

31:28 Mississippi Miracle Explained

34:06 Marathon Mindset and PD

35:10 Accountability and Third Grade Gate

37:25 Structured Literacy Framework

38:35 Applying Lessons to New York

41:53 Writing Instruction Returns

44:42 Executive Function Skills

46:04 AI Limits in Learning Support

48:00 Math Wars and Explicit Teaching

49:39 PD Takeaways and Call to Action

51:47 Closing Summary and Courses

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

Head of School of The Windward School and Executive Director of The Windward Institute, Jamie Williamson, speaks to New York State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon about Dyslexia Advocacy Day at the New York State Capitol, created to build understanding, center student stories, and connect families with legislators. They discuss progress in public awareness and funding, implementation fidelity, and misconceptions about individuals with dyslexia.

AM Simon highlights policy efforts including the Right to Read Act, universal screening, higher-ed teacher training requirements, revised exams/regulations, and supports like micro-credentials and communities of practice, emphasizing early screening paired with effective intervention and sustained, practical training.

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

In this special LEAD on READ edition of READ Podcast, Head of The Windward School and Executive Director of The Windward Institute, Jamie Williamson, sits down with former New York City Schools Chancellor Dr. Meisha Porter and Assemblymember Robert Carroll ’04, Windward alumnus and advocate for students with dyslexia. Together, they discuss why literacy must remain at the center of New York City’s educational priorities, especially as new leadership emerges. 

From personal stories to policy insights, this powerful conversation highlights the necessity of evidence-based literacy practices, screening for dyslexia, teacher support, and community advocacy, and how all of this can shape a more equitable, literate future for all New York City students and beyond.

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

The Windward Institute invites all new and returning READ listeners for a five-part Fall 2025 series, What We all Can Learn about Reading, Together. This series brings together 20 guests including researchers and educators. We’ll dive into reading research, practice, and lived experience. This series is for everyone, whether you’re just starting to learn about reading education or you’ve been immersed in it for years. 

In the final episode of this series, we dive into implementation where we bridge research, classroom, and systems. Our experts offer key pillars for supporting teachers and schools bring the evidence on literacy to practice. You will gain 

• takeaways from bringing Virginia's universal screening legislation to practice with Carlin Conner, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Virginia Literacy Partnerships at UVA.
• implications for robustly building teacher knowledge and skills through professional development with Jasmine Rogers, EdD, researcher and professional development expert at DC Reading Clinic.
• a comprehensive synthesis on how to create effective systems for literacy change with Margie Gillis, EdD, founder of Literacy How.

Thank you for joining our special READ Podcast series: What We All Can Learn About Reading, Together. You can also tune into this series at The Windward Institute's YouTube page.

We invite you to share your top bookmarks from this episode by connecting with us on Instagram @thewindwardinstitute, or Facebook.  Subscribe to READ's newsletter for access to monthly episodes: Subscribe

Until next time READers! 

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

The Windward Institute invites all new and returning READ listeners for a five-part Fall 2025 series, What We all Can Learn about Reading, Together. This series brings together 20 guests including researchers and educators. We’ll dive into reading research, practice, and lived experience. This series is for everyone, whether you’re just starting to learn about reading education or you’ve been immersed in it for years. 

This episode brings the research on reading development into the classroom as we examine effective reading instruction. You will learn about

• evidence-based reading instruction through an integrated lens with Young Suk-Kim, EdD, Professor at UC Irvine. 
• a deeper dive into multicomponent instruction with Maryanne Wolf, EdD, Professor-in-Residence and Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at UCLA.
• the implications for interventions for children who continue to have difficulty learning to read with Stephanie Al Otaiba, PhD, Patsy and Ray Caldwell Centennial Chair in Teaching & Learning and Professor at Southern Methodist University
• approaches to empower multilingual and bidialectal learners with Young Suk-Kim, EdD, and Jasmine Rogers, EdD, researcher and professional development expert at DC Reading Clinic.

Thank you for joining our special READ Podcast series: What We All Can Learn About Reading, Together. You can also tune into this series at The Windward Institute's YouTube page.

We invite you to share your top bookmarks from this episode by connecting with us on Instagram @thewindwardinstitute, or Facebook.  Subscribe to READ's newsletter for access to monthly episodes: Subscribe

Until next time READers! 

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

The Windward Institute invites all new and returning READ listeners for a five-part Fall 2025 series, What We all Can Learn about Reading, Together. This series brings together 20 guests including researchers and educators. We’ll dive into reading research, practice, and lived experience. This series is for everyone, whether you’re just starting to learn about reading education or you’ve been immersed in it for years. 

This episode explains the research on universal screening for risks of reading difficulties. As states around the country continue to introduce universal literacy screening programs in schools, you will learn about the evidence supporting the rationale and benefits through a public health lens. In this episode, you will learn about

• a definition of universal literacy screening and its benefits on student outcomes with Jay Russell, EdD, Associate Director of the Haskins Global Literacy Hub at Yale University.
• the characteristics of effective literacy screeners with Marilu Gorno-Tempini, MD, PhD, Director of the Language Neurobiology laboratory of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and the UCSF Dyslexia Center.
• the role of screening and progress monitoring within coherent assessment and data systems with Jamie Williamson, EdS, Head of School at The Windward School and Executive Director of The Windward Institute.
• the research on screening for emergent bilingual students learning to read in English with Laura Rhinehart, PhD, Assistant Researcher at the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at UCLA.
• implications for translating screening policy into practice with Carlin Conner, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Virginia Literacy Partnerships at UVA.

Thank you for joining our special READ Podcast series: What We All Can Learn About Reading, Together. You can also tune into this series at The Windward Institute's YouTube page.

We invite you to share your top bookmarks from this episode by connecting with us on Instagram @thewindwardinstitute, or Facebook.  Subscribe to READ's newsletter for access to monthly episodes: Subscribe

Until next time READers! 

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org

The Windward Institute invites all new and returning READ listeners for a five-part Fall 2025 series, What We all Can Learn about Reading, Together. This series brings together 20 guests including researchers and educators. We’ll dive into reading research, practice, and lived experience. This series is for everyone, whether you’re just starting to learn about reading education or you’ve been immersed in it for years. 

This episode explores why some children struggle to read and dives into diagnosed disabilities including dyslexia and developmental language disorder. You will learn about 

• factors that can contribute to reading difficulty through a whole child lens with Cynthia U. Norris, PhD, a researcher at Florida State University.
• the role of language in reading development and variability with Kate Cain, PhD, professor at Lancaster University.
• the characteristics of dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD) with Tim Odegard, PhD, Murfree Chair of Excellence in Dyslexic Studies and
  Professor of Psychology at Middle Tennessee State University and Norma Hancock, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at SAiL Literacy Lab at MGH Institute.
• ways to understand reading difficulties in readers learning to read in English with Laura Rhinehart, PhD, Assistant Researcher at the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at UCLA.

Thank you for joining our special READ Podcast series: What We All Can Learn About Reading, Together. You can also listen to this series at The Windward Institute's YouTube page.

We invite you to share your top bookmarks from this episode by connecting with us on Instagram @thewindwardinstitute, or Facebook.  Subscribe to READ's newsletter for access to monthly episodes: Subscribe

Until next time READers! 

Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY).

www.thewindwardinstitute.org