Leading Literacy

Mar 03 2025 52 ep. 46 mins 8
Leading Literacy Podcast artwork

Leading Literacy is a podcast co-hosted by Leslie Zoroya, Project Director III of Reading Language Arts, and Mara Shinn Smith, Coordinator I, at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Join Leslie & Mara as they engage in literacy conversations that both inspire and instruct.

  Education
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Tami Wilson - California’s Dyslexia & Literacy Advocate

Mar 03 2025 50 mins  
On this episode Leading Literacy, we welcome Tami Wilson, Director of Development and Training at the Sacramento County Office of Education and lead of the California Dyslexia Initiative. Tami has been a driving force in California’s shift from balanced to structured literacy instruction and a long-time literacy advocate and warrior. Tami is an incredible friend, colleague, and l

Lessons from Lancaster School District

Jan 23 2025 64 mins  
Welcome to Leading Literacy! In this episode, we are thrilled to have a conversation with three incredible leaders from the Lancaster School District in Lancaster, California. We partnered with Lancaster for three years on the $5 million dollar California State Literacy Development (CLSD) Grant. We worked with four school sites who made the switch from balanced to structured litera

Jasmine Rogers

Oct 01 2024 53 mins  
Hey there, educator friends! On this episode of Leading Literacy, we can’t wait for you to get to know Dr. Jasmine Rogers. Dr. Rogers is from the Washington D.C. area where she is professor at American University and supports teachers at the D.C. Reading Clinic. If that’s not enough, she also co-authored the NAACP Discussion Guide for “The Right to Read” documentary. Learn

Scott Valley Unified Educators: Hannah Shickle and Tana Piersall

Aug 27 2024 67 mins  
Hello educator friends! On this episode of Leading Literacy we’re diving back into the secondary world to talk with teacher, Hannah Shickle and school administrator, Tana Piersall from Scott Valley Unified School District in Northern California. They’re doing amazing work in structured literacy which helped move the needle for their middle school students. Subsequently, their w

Denise Eide

Aug 13 2024 56 mins  
Welcome back, educator friends. We’re super excited about this episode with Denise Eide, author of the book, Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy. We love this conversation because it centers on this notion of curiosity and how if we ignite curiosity in both teachers and students about how English works, we can really love bo

Laundromat Library League with Phil Tripp

Apr 29 2024 30 mins  
Have you ever witnessed an amazing idea come to life and wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Well, this is exactly what we thought when we heard about the Laundromat Library League. On a recent episode of Leading Literacy, Dr. Molly Ness mentioned Laundromat Library League and we knew immediately that we had to learn as much as we could about this group! So, this all-volunt

Denise Morgan, Parent Advocate

Apr 15 2024 42 mins  
On this episode of Leading Literacy, we are thrilled to have our first parent advocate, Denise Morgan. Denise is no ordinary parent – she’s determined and dedicated to helping all students and families get the literacy support they need. Denise began working at the California Charter Schools Association in 2017 and currently holds the role of Paralegal Director on the Legal Adv

Molly Ness

Mar 20 2024 47 mins  
Hey there, educator friends! I have a question for you. How many of you love doing read alouds with your students? I’m going to guess and say almost all of you. And how about your students – do they love it as much as you do? If your answers are an astounding YES and YES, then you’re going to love Dr. Molly Ness, our guest on this episode of Leading Literacy. Molly is a

Maya Valencia Goodall

Jan 16 2024 40 mins  
On this episode of Leading Literacy, we have an inspiring conversation with Maya Goodall. Maya is an educator, entrepreneur, and curriculum developer dedicated to helping people become bilingual. She’s the founder of Lingual Learning, a language learning company which she ultimately sold to Rosetta Stone where she developed Rosetta English, which has recently been renamed as Lexi

The Reading League California with Kristen Koeller and Andrea Setmeyer

Dec 27 2023 59 mins  
Hey there, educator friends! We’re super excited to share this special episode of Leading Literacy. It’s the one where Leslie and I have a chat with Andrea Setmeyer, The Reading League’s National Chapter Coordinator, and Kristen Koeller, the President of the brand-new Reading League California Chapter. Join this entertaining and informative conversation about the backstorie