24 - Jessica Del Rio on solving illiteracy in Australia

Knowledge for Teachers

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Jessica Del Rio the government and public finance lead at Equity Economics. She has recently been involved in a couple of major reports that have highlighted the poor literacy standards across Australia.

• Raising the grade: How schools in the Australian Capital Territory can lift literacy outcomes for students and the economy, written for the ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education and funded by the Snow Foundation
• Saving Money by Spending: Solving Illiteracy in Australia, commissioned by Code Read Dyslexia Network Australia

In this conversation, Jess will tell us how bleak our current situation is, what needs to be done, what will happen if changes aren’t made and go through some examples of who is doing this well.

Resources mentioned:

• Rowe, K., & National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (Australia). (2005). Teaching Reading: Report and Recommendations. Department of Education, Science and Training. https://research.acer.edu.au/tll_misc/5
• Knowledge for Teachers Podcast
• 14 – Ross Fox on how Catalyst is transforming lives through learning (Catalyst Part 1)
• 15 – Patrick Ellis on considerations for change (Catalyst Part 2)
• 16 – St Bernard’s P.S. Transformational Change Through Catalyst (Catalyst Part 3)
• Nancy Young
• Code READ Dyslexia Network
• Fogarty Foundation
• Catalyst
• Think Forward Educators
• Sharing Best Practice
• Australian PISA reports and data files
• Grattan Institute: Widening gaps: what NAPLAN tells us about student progress
• Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast - Ep. 100 Trauma and Reading with Dr. Steven Dykstra

You can connect with Jess:

Linkedin

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast