Connecting Literacy Instruction Across MTSS: A More Consistent Approach Across the Tiers

Dr. Siobhan Dennis
Senior Director of Customer Experience, Administrator Relations

Dr. Siobhan Dennis is the Sr. Director of Customer Experience - Administrator Relations where she leads the team of Literacy Advisors at Wilson Language Training.  She is a former urban and suburban elementary principal who implemented systemic change and professional learning in her schools through the use of Instructional Rounds and collaborative professional development. 

For the past five years at Wilson Language, Siobhan has led the WIN Prin Networks working with principals and school leaders from across the country to build principal networks and communities of practice around structured literacy and Implementation Science.  In collaboration with the Literacy Advisor team, Siobhan facilitates principal implementation coaching to help build principals’ capacity to become strong literacy leaders and advocate for highly effective and evidence-based literacy practices within their schools. Also, she serves as an education solution architect to help large districts understand and implement solutions that will allow them to ensure literacy for all students. 

Siobhan has over 24 years of educational experience as an elementary classroom teacher, graduate-level adjunct professor, school administrator, and district level consultant. 

Siobhan Dennis holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Lesley University, M.Ed. in Urban Education and Teacher Research, and a B.A. in Communication from Clark University.  She serves on the Board of Trustees at the Worcester Cultural Academy Charter School and is a corporator at the Worcester Art Museum. 

Barbara Sheaffer
Director of Administrator Relations

Barbara Sheaffer serves as the Director of Administrator Relations at Wilson Language Training®. She supports school leaders in their implementation of all Wilson programs.  Barbara assists districts in the development of comprehensive literacy plans, provides school leader coaching and facilitates school leader learning and collaboration through the WIN Prin courses focusing on implementation science and Structured Literacy. 

Previously she worked in public education for 30 years as a teacher and then as a director of special education. She has taught and supported the use of Fundations®, Just Words® and the Wilson Reading System®.  

She has been contributing to the Wilson mission since 2002 when she became a Wilson® Credentialed Trainer. She continued her contributions to Wilson by joining WLT as an On-Call Trainer in 2010 and in 2022 as a Literacy Advisor.   

Barbara has a B.S.in Special Education and a M.S. in Early Childhood Education. She holds certificates as a Reading Specialist and Administrative I – Principal K-12.

Candice McCarty
Literacy Advisor/Literacy Specialist

Candice McCarty is an educational leader with over two decades of experience supporting student success and a strong commitment to ensuring equitable access to high-quality, evidence-based instruction for all students. She firmly believes that literacy is the cornerstone of educational equity.

Candice currently leverages her expertise as a Literacy Advisor/Literacy Specialist for Wilson Language Training, where she supports districts with their implementations of Fundations, Just Words, and Wilson Reading System. Before this role, she served students and educators at Chicago Public Schools in various capacities, including special education teacher, case manager, diverse learner administrator, and special education administrator for structured literacy. She also serves on the board of directors for the International Dyslexia Association Upper Midwest Branch.

Candice is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana with a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology. She later earned an M.S. Ed. in Special Education and an Ed.S. in Special Education from Purdue University, as well as an M.S. Ed. in Educational Leadership from Governors State University.