Brett Tingley

Brett Tingley believes parents hold the power to disrupt decades of low literacy achievement in America. Her call to action is not about what is happening in the home but is about what is happening in the classroom. Decades of research prove that high literacy achievement happens when effective instruction is delivered in the classroom. While almost every teacher passionately believes in the importance of literacy, systemic failures have prevented effective literacy instruction in most classrooms. Tingley turns parents into activists who demand high-quality literacy instruction in their district. Advocacy at the district level impacts instruction methods, curriculum, and professional development. She shows parents they have the moral authority, legal rights, and electoral power to improve education not just for their own child, but for all students in their district.

District Advocacy: Co-founder & President, UA-KID. Formed parent group to assert legal rights in Upper Arlington OH School District. The OH Dept of Ed found district in violation of federal law. The District hired new staff, reformed literacy instruction and is now a lighthouse District in Ohio.

State Advocacy: Founder & President, OH-KID. A statewide coalition advocating for Ohio’s 1 in 5 students with dyslexia.

National Advocacy: Founder & President, Our Dyslexic Children, now called Parents for Reading Justice. A free online asynchronous class that guides parents to form a parent advocacy group focused on reforming literacy instruction at their district. The organization is now shifting from a focus on reforms specifically for students with dyslexia to reforms in the general classroom so that all children receive evidence-based literacy instruction. Tingley also mentors individual parent groups across the country and has worked with statewide coalitions most recently in CO and IL. Both states just passed literacy legislation.
Documentary: Our Dyslexic Children
Podcast: Literacy Now