Influential Leadership in the Science of Reading: Literacy Advocacy for Teachers

About the Presenters

John Arthur, sixth-grade teacher in the Salt Lake City School District (UT), is a National Board Certified Teacher, the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year, and a National Teacher of the Year Finalist. Now in his 12th year of teaching, John is also an Adjunct Professor at Westminster University, Director of Candidate Recruitment for the Utah National Board Coalition, and Co-director of the Teacher Fellows, a nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of Utah teacher leaders. John has been recognized as one of Utah’s Most Valuable Educators by Instructure and the Utah Jazz, a K-12 Hero Award recipient from eSchool News, and the 2024 General Education Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children Utah for his work supporting students with disabilities. John serves on the Board of Directors for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, WestEd, REL West, and IncludEd United.

Rhonda Nelson, M.S., C-SLDI serves as the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Coordinator for the Bettendorf Community School District. She brings a rich background in educational leadership with a focus on literacy, curriculum development, and teacher training. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in reading science, she is dedicated to advancing the Science of Reading to improve educational outcomes and literacy for all learners. As a LETRS District Facilitator, she has successfully initiated and designed professional development strategic planning, directly impacting the district’s vision for literacy.

In these roles, she focuses on universal instruction improvement through structured literacy practices, technical assistance to school leadership, and data-informed instructional strategies. Her efforts are aimed at closing achievement gaps and promoting equitable, inclusive education practices. Rhonda holds a Master of Science degree in instructional design and technology. This background has proven to be instrumental in influencing district-level change in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). She also earned a Dyslexia Certificate from Mount St. Joseph University and maintains a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist Certification from the Center for Effective Reading Instruction. Her research interests include phonemic awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), MTSS, and implementation science.

Jeanne Wanzek, Ph.D. is the Currey-Ingram Endowed Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at Peabody College. She conducts research examining effective reading instruction and intervention. Her focus is on prevention and remediation for students with reading difficulties and disabilities. Prior to receiving her doctorate, she worked as a special educator and as an elementary teacher. She has a number of publications as well as national and international presentations in the areas of early reading, learning disability, response to intervention, and adolescent reading intervention.

Cassandra Wheeler is a proud “Poet” of the 1990 graduating class at Sidney Lanier High School of Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) in Alabama. In 1994, following undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education, Cassandra returned home to MPS and began her career as an educator at Morningview Elementary School. After earning her master’s degree and administrative certification, Cassandra joined the Alabama Reading Initiative, where she authored Alabama’s Reading First Initiative grant and managed Alabama’s statewide DIBELS pilot. In 2004, after serving the children of Alabama for ten years, Cassandra expanded her outreach to impact the life trajectories of students everywhere by joining the (then) Voyager Expanded Learning organization. Now, at Lexia, Cassandra serves the organization as Senior Education Advisor.