Margie B. Gillis, Ed.D is a nationally recognized literacy expert and a Certified Academic Language Therapist who has been teaching children of all ages to read for over 40 years. She received her Doctorate of Education from the University of Louisville in Special Education. In 2009, Margie founded Literacy How, Inc. to provide professional development opportunities and coaching for teachers on how best to implement evidence-based reading practices in the classroom.

Margie has worked at the policy level through the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). She was instrumental in Connecticut’s adoption of a universal screening test for K-3 students, implementing the Connecticut Foundations of Reading Test as part of the certification process for pre-service teachers, and for the design and execution of the Connecticut K-3 Literacy Initiative. Margie was recently a member of the CSDE’s SLD/Dyslexia Workgroup.

She is the co-founder and former president of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, the former president of the CT Branch of the International Dyslexia Society, a board member of the Dyslexia Society of CT, New Alliance Foundation, and The Alliance for Accreditation and Certification of Dyslexia Specialists, and an executive board member of the Academic Language Therapist Association. In her capacity as Research Affiliate at Haskins Laboratories and at Fairfield University, Margie explores promising evidence-based literacy practices with the potential for scaling up. In 2010, Margie founded the Anne E. Fowler Foundation to support scholarships for teachers to earn their sixth year Professional Certificate in Reading and Language Development at Fairfield University, an IDA-accredited program she co-founded.
www.literacyhow.com

The Literacy How Reading Wheel: Components of Comprehensive Literacy Instruction
The Progression of Phonological Awareness
Brady, S., Gillis, M. et al. (April 2009). First grade teachers’ knowledge of phonological awareness and code concepts: Examining gains from an intensive form of professional development and corresponding teacher attitudes. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 22(4): 425-455.
Gillis, M. and Stotsky, S. (Spring 2014). A Literate Nation White Paper. A Licensure Test for K-6 Teachers Using Common Core’s Reading Standards: What It Should Include and Who Should Take It.