READ Podcast

READ: Research Education ADvocacy Podcast connects you with prominent researchers, thought leaders, and educators who share their work, insights, and expertise about current research and best practices in fields of education and child development. READ is produced by The Windward Institute. Learn more at www.thewindwardschool.org/wi

READ Podcast is a education podcast hosted by The Windward Institute, with 85 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

The Windward Institute hosts READ Podcast, a education show with 85 episodes published.

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  Episode #73

  Empowering Educators, Empowering Families: A New Era of the READ Podcast with Dr. Alison Leveque and Marcus Soutra

  Sep 15, 202623 min

  Introducing the refreshed READ Podcast and Fall Offerings from The Windward Institute. Hosts Dr. Alison Leveque and Marcus Soutra introduce the refreshed READ podcast from The Windward Institute, now continuing as a bi-monthly series connecting listeners with researchers, educators, and thought leaders in education and child development. Marcus shares his background as a dyslexic educator and former leader of Eye to Eye (now the Neurodiversity Alliance), while Alison describes her path from classroom teaching to reading specialist and literacy researcher focused on dyslexia support. They highlight the need for evidence-based literacy practices and practical professional development, preview upcoming episodes, and discuss Institute courses on literacy, expository writing, multisensory reading instruction, morphology, progress monitoring, and instructional games. They also describe customized school partnerships, share literacy gains tied to writing work, and promote October’s free reading screening and the November 18 Fall Community lecture with Dave Anderson on ADHD. 00:00 Welcome to READ 00:24 Meet Marcus Soutra 01:35 Allison’s Literacy Journey 03:53 Why Dyslexia Matters 06:10 Teachers Need Tools 08:10 What’s Next on READ 10:14 Fall Courses Overview 12:03 Partnering With Schools 13:35 Bronx Success Story 17:14 Teacher Intentions 20:34 Community Events and Wrap Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

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  Episode #72

  Professional Development That Sticks: COMPASS, Windward’s Model, and Lessons from the “Mississippi Miracle”

  Jun 16, 202653 min

  Host Dr. Alison Leveque introduces the READ podcast and a conversation about effective professional development (PD), The Windward School’s PD structures, the “Mississippi Miracle,” and current PD trends. Betsy MacDermott-Duffy shares the COMPASS framework for research-based PD: tying learning to content, making it ongoing, modeling with metacognition, active participation, advice/feedback through coaching, shared collaboration, and self-reflection, emphasizing student outcomes and fragile transfer without sustained support. Colleen McGlynn describes Windward’s layered PD system, including assistant teacher training, weekly Friday PD, and monthly content meetings guided by teacher needs, coordinator coaching, and research trends, with time to practice and follow up. Dana Carr-Ford and Kinjal Nicholls discuss Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading gains, attributing success to structured literacy, preservice reform, universal screening, strong accountability including a third-grade gate, and sustained training, then highlight growing focus on writing, executive function, AI limits for struggling readers, and emerging “math wars.” 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:38 Meet Betsy MacDermott-Duffy 01:26 Why PD Often Fails 02:29 COMPASS Content Focus 04:50 Ongoing Follow Up 07:26 Modeling In Action 09:32 Practice And Participation 10:34 Feedback And Coaching 11:49 Collaboration And Reflection 16:34 Top PD Researchers 19:05 Windward PD Workshops Plug 19:18 Meet Colleen McGlynn At Windward 20:23 How Windward Plans PD 25:01 Measuring Impact And Iterating 28:35 Advice For Busy Teachers 30:39 Five Strategies Takeaway 31:28 Mississippi Miracle Explained 34:06 Marathon Mindset and PD 35:10 Accountability and Third Grade Gate 37:25 Structured Literacy Framework 38:35 Applying Lessons to New York 41:53 Writing Instruction Returns 44:42 Executive Function Skills 46:04 AI Limits in Learning Support 48:00 Math Wars and Explicit Teaching 49:39 PD Takeaways and Call to Action 51:47 Closing Summary and Courses Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardschool.org/wi

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  Episode #71

  Dyslexia Advocacy Day and Beyond: Legislative Push for Reading Success in New York

  May 11, 202648 min

  Head of School of The Windward School and Executive Director of The Windward Institute, Jamie Williamson, speaks to New York State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon about Dyslexia Advocacy Day at the New York State Capitol, created to build understanding, center student stories, and connect families with legislators. They discuss progress in public awareness and funding, implementation fidelity, and misconceptions about individuals with dyslexia. AM Simon highlights policy efforts including the Right to Read Act, universal screening, higher-ed teacher training requirements, revised exams/regulations, and supports like micro-credentials and communities of practice, emphasizing early screening paired with effective intervention and sustained, practical training.

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  Episode #70

  A Path Forward: Prioritizing Literacy Instruction for All Students

  Nov 19, 202550 min

  In this special LEAD on READ edition of READ Podcast, Head of The Windward School and Executive Director of The Windward Institute, Jamie Williamson , sits down with former New York City Schools Chancellor Dr. Meisha Porter and Assemblymember Robert Carroll ’04 , Windward alumnus and advocate for students with dyslexia. Together, they discuss why literacy must remain at the center of New York City’s educational priorities, especially as new leadership emerges. From personal stories to policy insights, this powerful conversation highlights the necessity of evidence-based literacy practices, screening for dyslexia, teacher support, and community advocacy, and how all of this can shape a more equitable, literate future for all New York City students and beyond.

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  READ Podcast

  Fall 2025 Series: Effective Systems for Reading Screening and Instruction

  Oct 28, 202523 min

  The Windward Institute invites all new and returning READ listeners for a five-part Fall 2025 series, What We all Can Learn about Reading, Together . This series brings together 20 guests including researchers and educators. We’ll dive into reading research, practice, and lived experience. This series is for everyone, whether you’re just starting to learn about reading education or you’ve been immersed in it for years. In the final episode of this series, we dive into implementation where we bridge research, classroom, and systems. Our experts offer key pillars for supporting teachers and schools bring the evidence on literacy to practice. You will gain takeaways from bringing Virginia's universal screening legislation to practice with Carlin Conner, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Virginia Literacy Partnerships at UVA. implications for robustly building teacher knowledge and skills through professional development with Jasmine Rogers, EdD, researcher and professional development expert at DC Reading Clinic. a comprehensive synthesis on how to create effective systems for literacy change with Margie Gillis, EdD, founder of Literacy How. Thank you for joining our special READ Podcast series: What We All Can Learn About Reading, Together . You can also tune into this series at The Windward Institute's YouTube page. We invite you to share your top bookmarks from this episode by connecting with us on Instagram @thewindwardinstitute , or Facebook . Subscribe to READ's newsletter for access to monthly episodes: Subscribe Until next time READers!

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