Ohio’s Dyslexia and Literacy Commitments
May 7, 2021
Melissa Weber-Mayrer PhD
Director
Beth Hess JD
Assistant Director - Literacy
LM Clinton JD
Third Grade Reading Guarantee Administrator
Office of Approaches to Teaching and Professional Learning
Thank you for inviting us!
Today’s Topics
Ohio’s Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement
Statewide Literacy Initiatives and Policies
Equity and Structured Literacy
Ohio’s Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement
Melissa Weber-Mayrer PhD, Director
Office of Approaches to Teaching and Professional Learning
Poll
How familiar are you with Ohio’s Plan to Raise
Literacy Achievement?
A. I didn’t know Ohio had a plan for literacy.
B. I know about the plan, but I haven’t read it.
C. I’ve read the plan, but I don’t interact with any of the
supports for implementation.
D. I’ve read the plan and I engage with at least one
support for implementation.
Strategy 9: Develop literacy skills across all ages, grades
and subjects
Strategy 3: Improve targeted supports and professional
learning so teachers can deliver excellent instruction
today, tomorrow and throughout their careers.
Strategy 2: Support every principal to be highly
effective—especially those leading schools that serve
the neediest children
Strategy 7: Work together with parents, caregivers, and
community partners to help schools meet the needs of
the whole child.
Strategy 8: Promote the importance early learning and
expand access to quality early learning experiences.
Ohio’s Theory of Action
Ohio’s Call to Action
Language and literacy acquisition and achievement
is foundational to student success.
Ingredients for Success
Ingredient 1: The Science of Reading
Convergence of evidence from multiple scientific fields that describe reading, reading
acquisition, assessment and intervention
Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Education Research (Including Special Education)
Linguistics
Ingredient 2: Collective Belief (Efficacy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3CxPSOD9VM
Ingredient 2: Collective Belief (Efficacy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3CxPSOD9VM
“It is teachers working together
to have appropriately high
challenging expectations of
what a year’s growth for a
year’s input looks like- fed with
the evidence of impact which
is what sustains it…it isn’t just
a growth mindset.”
Ingredient 3: Educator Collaboration
Support educators in sharing expertise
Provide teachers time for planning instruction collaboratively
Encourage shared responsibility for the teaching of all learners
Other Aspects of Ohio’s Plan to Raise
Literacy Achievement
Presumed Competence for All Learners
Culturally Responsive Practices
Language and Literacy Development Continuum
(Birth-Grade 12)Dyslexia and Dysgraphia
InterventionIntegrated
Comprehensive Systems (ICS)
Identifying and Implementing Evidence-
Based StrategiesNetworking
Statewide Literacy Initiatives and Policies
LM Clinton JD, Third Grade Reading Guarantee Administrator
Office of Approaches to Teaching and Professional Learning
Ensuring Alignment
Ohio’s Plan to Raise Literacy
Achievement
Dyslexia Support
Laws
Third Grade Reading
Guarantee
Ohio’s Early Literacy Pilot
Federal Literacy Grants
Higher Education
Partnerships
Literacy Improvement
Plans
Ohio Dyslexia Supports
Third Grade Reading
Guarantee
Ohio’s Dyslexia
Support Laws
Dyslexia Model
Demonstration Site Grant
Ohio Dyslexia Committee
operationalizing many components
More information in January 2022
Ohio’s Dyslexia Support Laws
Proceed
with
Caution
Equity andStructured Literacy
Beth Hess JD, Assistant Director- Literacy
Office of Approaches to Teaching and Professional Learning
Literacy Instruction to Meet the Needs of
All Learners
Dyslexia Does Not Discriminate
Conversely, educators are less likely to identify Black
students with speech and language impairments.
Each Child Means Each Child, 2021
Questions Administrators Can Consider
1. Are the policies we are enacting promoting high
expectations for all learners?
2. Is the instruction we’re promoting meeting the needs of
all learners?
3. Are all learners fully accessing core grade-level
instruction?
Why Should Pupil Services Administrators Pay
Attention to Structured Literacy?
– Guidebook must use this approach
– Educators’ professional
development
– Kindergarten reading and writing
standards
– Assessments
– Instruction
– Certification processes
1. The approach is specifically called out in Ohio’s dyslexia support laws
Why Should Pupil Services Administrators Pay
Attention to Structured Literacy?
2. The approach is
not widely used
in Ohio schools
Structured Literacy Advantage
Used with Nancy Young’s Permission
Consider a Class of 24 Students
➢ 1 student will learn to read seemingly effortlessly
➢ 8 students will learn to read relatively easily with broad
instruction
➢ 10-12 students will require code-based, explicit, systemic
and sequential instruction
➢ 2-4 students will require code-based, explicit, systemic,
sequential and diagnostic instruction with many intensive
repetitions
What is Structured Literacy?
Elements of Instruction (What)
• Phonology and phonemic awareness
• Sound-symbol association (basic phonics)
• Syllable instruction
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Semantics
Teaching Principles (How)
• Systematic and cumulative
• Explicit instruction
• Diagnostic teaching
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/structured-literacy-instruction-basics
An explicit and systematic approach to teaching accurate
and fluent decoding and spelling.
What Structured Literacy Is Not
→ A one size fits all approach
→ An approach only reserved for intervention or
students with disabilities
→ An exhaustive approach to English Language
Arts or content area reading
Questions?
@OHEducation