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September 2013
Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D., President of Moats Associates Consulting, Inc.
Plenary Session: Thursday, November 7, 2013, 8:30 a.m. “A Qualified Teacher for Every Student with Dyslexia: What Will it Take?” The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is honored to announce that Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D., is the 2013 recipient of the Samuel Torrey Orton Award, and, therefore, will be delivering the Samuel Torrey and June Lyday Orton Memorial Lecture. This award and lecture recognize a person or persons who have:
- Made a vital contribution to our scientific understanding of dyslexia,
- Significantly enhanced and advanced our capacity to successfully intervene and assist people with dyslexia,
- Expanded national and international awareness of dyslexia, or
- Demonstrated unusual competence and dedication in service to people with dyslexia.
In the case of Dr. Moats, she meets all four criteria! In her service to the IDA, Dr. Moats has served on the national board for many years, including a term as Vice-President. Most recently, she has served as Chair of the Standards and Practices Committee that developed IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading. She is a prolific author and has written many influential scientific journal articles, books and policy papers on the topics of reading, spelling, language, and teacher preparation, including a seminal paper on teacher preparation published by the IDA entitled The Missing Foundation in Teacher Preparation: Knowledge of the Structure of Spoken and Written Language. She is well known for authoring the American Federation of Teachers “Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science” and the textbook, Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers. Most recently, she has continued with her focus on the improvement of teacher preparation and professional development through her LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) program (Sopris Learning), and is working on a technology-based language and reading instruction program for adolescents with reading difficulties. Dr. Moats is a co-author of IDA’s Basic Facts About Dyslexia & Other Reading Problems and a co-editor of IDA’s Expert Perspectives on Interventions for Reading. She is recognized as a national and international expert in the fields of reading, spelling, language, dyslexia, and professional development for teachers. Dr. Moats has devoted her career to answering the question, “What will it take to have a qualified teacher for every student with dyslexia? Every student who struggles with reading, language, and/or writing difficulties deserves a well- trained teacher, working in a supportive context, equipped with the best tools. Why don’t we have more of these valuable individuals? What can we do differently to produce and keep more of them? Are we making progress after so many years? Please join us as Dr. Moats shares her answers to these very challenging questions in her Samuel Torrey and June Lyday Orton Memorial Lecture on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 8:30 a.m.
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