10/22/2024

S3E4 Becoming a Dyslexia Advocate With Debbie Meyer

“We honor practice in music and we honor practice in sports … We don't honor it in learning how to read. And a lot of kids really need that extra practice.”

—Debbie Meyer

37 minutes

What steps should concerned parents take if they suspect their child is facing literacy struggles?

Educational advocate Debbie Meyer joins host Dr. Liz Brooke for All For Literacy, Season 3, Episode 4, and provides parents and educators with guidance about how to bring individual and classroomwide change for struggling readers. After advocating for her own child’s education, Meyer became a founding member of the New York Reads Coalition and the Dyslexia (Plus) in Public Schools Task Force.

Meyer shares the strategies she has learned during her own advocacy journey, including:

The top five questions parents should ask at school
The surprising reasons students struggle to read
Out-of-the-box solutions to improve literacy skills
How to be an effective advocate

Brooke and Meyer also dive into how Meyer has gone beyond changing the lives of her own child to enact change across her community and how others can do the same. Parents and educators alike will find this episode an inspiring and enlightening look into how to work together to bring change and positively affect student literacy levels.

Listen to Season 3, Episode 4 of All For Literacy and become empowered to create the change students and districts need to improve literacy rates, and subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode.

Episode Breakdown

(00:42) - What inspired Meyer’s interest in advocacy

(03:05) - How summer camps can impact students’ reading journeys

(06:38) - Surprising reasons students struggle to learn to read

(09:28) - What parents need to know to be effective advocates

(10:32) - What questions parents should ask their schools

(12:47) - Important reminders for parent advocates

(14:07) - How communities can help implement effective literacy instruction

(16:12) - Example communities doing great work

(21:01) - The New York Reads Coalition and Decoding Dyslexia

(23:56) - Meyer named Columbia University A'Lelia Bundles Community Scholar

(29:59) - What makes Meyer hopeful for the future of literacy

About the Guest

Educational advocate Debbie Meyer is a founding member of the New York Reads Coalition and the Dyslexia (Plus) in Public Schools Task Force. She is also a member of the advisory board of the Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children and is an adjunct instructor and director of Community Engagement and Recruitment at Iona University.