We launched our first Professional Development of the year by welcoming Elizabeth Martin, Administrator for Dyslexia and Reading Intervention at Portland Public Schools. Elizabeth shared recent state legislation about schools’ roles in addressing dyslexia and how it impacts our profession.
Elizabeth provided some fabulous resources for pinpointing areas of dyslexia within students in our districts, as well as excellent resources for helping to clarify the process of how to assist students who are identified with reading deficits.
Schools are shifting towards using dyslexia as common terminology with parents, but more training is needed in schools. This is especially true in the areas of research of literacy assessment, science-based reading instruction, multi-tiered systems of support, and Universal Design for Learning. Elizabeth shared dyslexia screeners such as the PAST, the CORE Phonics Survey, and the LETRS that could be used for students with reading difficulties. Elizabeth also covered what intervention should entail, and the types of professionals who should be administering the intervention/support.
We also took this opportunity to collect gift cards and non-perishable foods for families in need as part of our ongoing Give efforts. This month, our donations went to Rose Haven, a day shelter for women and children.
We Zoomed for our PD event, and although we were not together it was good to see everyone’s faces! It’s important to stay connected as we head into the winter months. We’re now planning for our Winter Retreat in January 2021, which will focus on the outlook of Juvenile Justice in Oregon and the necessity of SLP assessment and intervention at all school levels to combat the School-to-Confinement Pipeline. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the evening, and thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to share with us – we are lucky to have you in our community.
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