Category Archives: Teacher Heroes

Teacher Appreciation Month

| May 29, 2020
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/teacher-appreciation-month-2/

From the country’s largest cities to its smallest towns, Wilson educators are going the extra mile to instill in their students strong literacy skills and a love for reading, making a lasting impression on their colleagues as well!  During Teacher Appreciation Month, more than 850 educators and parents shared how these inspiring Fundations®, Just Words®, and Wilson Reading System® teachers are rocking it in the classroom, and – given this unprecedented spring – from the home front. We thank everyone who wrote in to express the many attributes Wilson teachers hav [...]

Year in Review

| December 18, 2019
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/year-in-review/

As 2019 comes to an end, we not only close the books on another year of coast-to-coast literacy instruction, we complete another decade of providing teachers with the skills and knowledge to transform the lives of students of all ages through literacy. Individually and collectively, Wilson educators continue making a positive and significant impact in schools and districts throughout the country. As knowledge and awareness about dyslexia and the acquisition of reading skills continue to expand in the U.S. and internationally, there is an ever-increasing demand for effective, evidence-ba [...]

Unlocking Opportunities

| October 21, 2019
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/unlocking-opportunities/

Eight years ago, Ohio teacher Angela Haning made a binding promise to her first class of students. The fifth graders made her “pinkie swear” she would attend their high school graduation in 2019. When they reunited at the ceremony this past spring to celebrate, Angie and her former students laughed, shed a few tears, and shared what they’ve learned over the years. While the graduates were busy acquiring knowledge and skills in preparation for a new chapter in their lives, Angie, a middle school English Language Arts teacher, was doing the same. Earlier this year, she added Wilson® Dysl [...]

With Knowledge, Wisdom

| September 19, 2019
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/with-knowledge-wisdom/

For someone who “stumbled into teaching by accident,” Nelda Reyes certainly landed on her feet, then kept on going. Now entering her twenty-third year as a teacher, Nelda recently added Wilson® Dyslexia Therapist (W.D.T.) to her professional credentials. A dyslexia interventionist in San Marcos, TX, Nelda became Wilson Reading System® (WRS) Level II Certified earlier this year, just as her practicum student, Jonathan, wrapped up Step 12 of the intensive reading intervention program. As an undergraduate studying speech communication disorders, Nelda said she became intrigued by the scie [...]

Teacher Appreciation

| June 11, 2019
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/teacher-appreciation/

During Teacher Appreciation Month in May we asked educators, "What has been one of your proudest teaching moments while using a Wilson® program?" We were elated to receive responses from more than 2,000 enthusiastic teachers from across the country. Helping struggling readers overcome dyslexia, instilling an abiding love of reading, and buoying self-confidence were among the recurring themes. “I have been teaching the intensive Wilson Reading System for 14 years,” shared New Jersey teacher, Amy Z. “Every year, without fail, my students amaze me with the progress they have made with t [...]

Advancing Professional Goals

| November 28, 2018
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/advancing-professional-goals/

In 2008, St. Joseph’s University (SJU) in Philadelphia embedded the Wilson Reading System® into its online graduate programs in special education. Over the past decade, many educators from Pennsylvania and beyond have selected this academic option to advance their professional goals. SJU’s collaboration with Wilson was spearheaded by Cathy Spinelli, former chair of the university’s special education department. The university offers four distinct master’s degree options in special education that include WRS certification. “Most of our graduate students are employed teachers,” ex [...]

Inspired by Empathy

| November 8, 2018
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/inspired-by-empathy/

Despite her own learning challenges in reading and math as a child, Evan Lefton knew at an early age she wanted to become a teacher after being inspired by a patient middle school teacher who recognized and encouraged her talent in writing. “As a child with a learning difference, I grew up in a time where there was one method, three oral reading groups (mine being the lowest), and many teachers who did not understand or have the patience for a ‘slow reader,’ she shared. “This was excruciatingly painful and embarrassing as a young girl, but it also lit my fire. I knew at an early age [...]

University of Utah Reading Clinic

| July 24, 2018
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/university-of-utah-reading-clinic/

In Utah, Michele Blake, Grace Craig, and Holly Dean are three in three million. The trio of educators at the University of Utah Reading Clinic (UURC) are Wilson® Credentialed Trainers (W.C.T.) in the expansive state of three million residents. Together with UURC Director Dr. Kathleen Brown and other Wilson-trained professionals at the clinic, they are providing intensive multisensory structured language (MSL) instruction to teachers and students from the majestic mountain ranges to the vast desert regions. Established by the state’s legislature in 1999 and housed within the university’s [...]

Teacher Appreciation Month

| May 30, 2018
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/teacher-appreciation-month/

During Teacher Appreciation Month, we asked educators to share what it means to be part of the Wilson community. We are so very grateful to have received over 1,600 poignant, thoughtful, heartwarming, and enthusiastic responses from teachers across the country! Read on for a sampling of what they had to say. My classroom is part of the Wilson community because … ... Wilson fosters confidence. When a student struggles with reading it affects their entire day. Not only do they have difficulty in language-based subjects, but also math, music, physical education, and art. In addition, outsid [...]

Celebrating Teachers & Mothers

| May 10, 2018
https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/celebrating-teachers-mothers/

Wilson® Dyslexia Practitioner (W.D.P.) Holly Keple, a first-grade Fundations® teacher at a public elementary school in New Jersey, shares how the love of teaching spans generations in her family. In Holly's words: “I have always wanted to become a teacher ever since I was a little girl. My great-grandmother Gertie was the first to influence me, as she lived with us in our home and shared many of her lessons and handmade books with me. She was a special education assistant who not only passed down the love of teaching to my mother, but also instilled the passion in me. I lived in a home [...]