READ Podcast

The Windward Institute
  • 4.8 (55)
  • Education
  • Updated Monthly

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

  1. Oct 14

    Bridging Literacy and Education Policy for Systemic Change with Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez

    On this READ podcast episode, host Marcus Soutra, Acting Director of The Windward Institute, welcomes Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), for Dyslexia Awareness Month to discuss her path from special educator and researcher to national advocate, including her daughter’s dyslexia journey and family self-advocacy. Dr. Rodriguez explains NCLD’s mission shift to working with—not on behalf of—people with learning disabilities through a young adult leadership council, a new family leadership council, and expert advisory networks, while convening stakeholders at federal and state levels. She highlights NCLD’s latest State of LD reports, including transition findings showing sense of belonging as the top factor for postsecondary and workforce success, and educator survey data showing reduced general-special education collaboration amid administrative burdens and funding declines. The conversation covers policy efforts, opposing the 21st Century Dyslexia Act for risking harmful overbroad identification and splitting dyslexia from SLD, and advancing the RISE Act nationally and across states (including California) to accept IEPs/504s as disability evidence in higher education. Jackie shares ways to engage via NCLD action alerts, advocacy days, and leadership councils, emphasizing education as “everybody’s issue.”  00:00 Podcast Welcome   00:17 Meet Jacqueline Rodriguez   01:32 Her Path to NCLD   05:23 Family Why and Advocacy   06:48 What NCLD Does   11:00 State of LD Findings   16:56 Collaboration and Funding Gaps   22:19 21st Century Dyslexia Act   24:57 Bill Misses the Mark   26:17 Why Definitions Matter   27:32 Committee Vote Fallout   28:21 Lumping Groups Together   29:25 Juvenile Justice Pipeline   30:38 Pulling Dyslexia From SLD   32:11 Back to the Drawing Board   33:18 Shared Goals for Schools   34:25 RISE Act Momentum   37:17 IEPs Don’t Transfer   39:05 State Wins and Implementation   41:09 How to Support NCLD   44:18 Education Is Everybody’s Issue   46:15 Final Thanks and Wrap National Center for Learning Disabilities: ncld.org Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

  2. Sep 30

    Exploring AI’s Role in Education with Dr. Joan McGettigan and Bernie McCormick

    Host Harri Ramkishun welcomes Dr. Joan McGettigan and Bernie McCormick to discuss generative AI in K–12, reflecting on pandemic-era tech shifts and New York City DOE’s moratorium for lower grades. Dr. McGettigan reflects on 1:1 tech rollouts and how it underdelivered due to insufficient investment in teacher training and urges an intentional pause to address pedagogy, screen-time concerns, cognitive offloading, and rapid AI change. Bernie McCormick praises the pause, emphasizing the need for assessment and classroom practice changes, and significant data-privacy risks tied to LLM terms of service and upstream vendors. They share Windward examples: teacher-built AI resources like a fifth-grade marine research hub, gamified study tools with actionable data, supplemental texts to build background knowledge, and controlled tools like SchoolAI for debate coaching; they also discuss potential use of Snorkel AI for guided, feedback-driven problem solving. Both stress professional learning and time for educators and highlight AI’s potential to democratize tutoring through school-supported Socratic coaching.    00:00 Welcome to READ  00:15 Guest Introductions  00:30 Educational Technology Backgrounds  02:59 AI in Education  03:45 NYC DOE AI Moratorium  09:25 Data Privacy Concerns  11:12 Guardrails for School Leaders  14:07 AI in the Classroom  19:46 Teacher as Agent  24:37 Teacher Monitoring and Feedback  28:54 Gamification and Differentiation  30:38 Snorkel Tool Example  34:38 Dyslexia Awareness Month  34:54 Final Thoughts for Educators  38:28 Closing Remarks  Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

  3. Sep 16

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

    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

  4. Jun 16

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

    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.thewindwardinstitute.org

  5. May 11

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

    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. Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

  6. 11/20/2025

    A Path Forward: Prioritizing Literacy Instruction for All Students

    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. Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

  7. 10/29/2025

    Fall 2025 Series: Effective Systems for Reading Screening and Instruction

    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!  Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

  8. 10/22/2025

    Fall 2025 Series: Effective Instruction for the Reading Brain

    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.  This episode brings the research on reading development into the classroom as we examine effective reading instruction. You will learn about evidence-based reading instruction through an integrated lens with Young Suk-Kim, EdD, Professor at UC Irvine. a deeper dive into multicomponent instruction with Maryanne Wolf, EdD, Professor-in-Residence and Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at UCLA.the implications for interventions for children who continue to have difficulty learning to read with Stephanie Al Otaiba, PhD, Patsy and Ray Caldwell Centennial Chair in Teaching & Learning and Professor at Southern Methodist Universityapproaches to empower multilingual and bidialectal learners with Young Suk-Kim, EdD, and Jasmine Rogers, EdD, researcher and professional development expert at DC Reading Clinic.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!  Produced by The Windward Institute, a division of The Windward School (NY). www.thewindwardinstitute.org

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About

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

Information

  • Creator
    The Windward Institute
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    86
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 READ Podcast
  • Show Website
    READ Podcast

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