Teaching Advanced Literacy Skills

Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, is the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She leads a research program guided by the goal of increasing opportunities to learn for students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Her work on reading development and instruction, and on using data to prevent reading difficulties, informs setting-level interventions and public policy at the national and state level. The practical applications of this work are featured in numerous publications, including the book Making Assessment Matter as well as a widely circulated state literacy report, Turning the Page: Refocusing Massachusetts for Reading Success, that forms the basis for a third-grade reading proficiency bill passed in Massachusetts. Dr. Lesaux is a recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation and of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the United States government to young professionals beginning their independent research careers. Emily Phillips Galloway, EdD, is Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Inspired by her work as a former middle school reading specialist and English language arts teacher, Dr. Galloway conducts research on the development of the language skills that support advanced literacy in struggling readers and in linguistically diverse adolescents. In addition, she works with large urban districts, school leaders, and educators to design literacy improvement efforts and assessment systems. Sky H. Marietta, EdD, is the Curriculum and Instruction Specialist at Pine Mountain Settlement School, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving opportunities for children in Appalachia, and a research fellow at Berea College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work examines connections among language, culture, poverty, and reading achievement, with a special emphasis on rural populations and science literacy. A former elementary teacher, Dr. Marietta has worked with numerous teachers and districts on implementing efficient and informative literacy assessment systems. She is coauthor with Nonie K. Lesaux of Making Assessment Matter.