'promoting literacy through research, education and advocacy'
Your First Newsletter of 2019
Save the date for our Spring Symposium
Saturday March 2, 2019
Comprehensive Literacy Instruction: The Science of Teaching Reading
We are excited about our upcoming Spring Symposium. This year we are fortunate to welcome Dr. Margie Gillis as our presenter.

Dr. Gillis will cover the following topics in a full day presentation:

  • The science of teaching reading and how to apply it to K-12 readers
  • Assessing and instructing students with dyslexia 
  • Diagnostic decision tree 
  • Monitoring students' reading progress 
  • How to motivate and teach older struggling readers 

To read more about Dr. Gillis, click here.
Scholarships are available and registration will open on January 7, 2019. Watch for our upcoming email or contact us for more information ! 
Remembering our colleague
Susan Farmer.
It is with sadness that we share the news of the passing, on December 21, 2018, of Susan Farmer. 

As a parent of a dyslexic daughter, as an educator and as an advocate, Susan worked tirelessly to assist and teach children with learning differences and dyslexia. She helped families navigate the journey of accessing intervention, education and support for their children. 

Susan lived and worked in Salem, Oregon where she operated her business, ‘Academic Learning Solutions’. 

Susan actively supported initiatives to bring awareness and knowledge about dyslexia to our community through her membership of our branch over the past 13 years. She was also an active contributor and participant in events with our partner organization Decoding Dyslexia – Oregon. She will be missed.
Introducing our new board members
Kara Hanna

Kara Hanna is passionate about education, both in her own life and in the lives of her family members. Having home-schooled her 5 children, she realized the need for dyslexia intervention as part of education. Kara is a Certified Barton Tutor and Recommended Screener for Dyslexia. As a physical therapist, Kara brings the unique skill set of a therapeutic perspective to her evaluations and tutoring.  

In her free time, Kara enjoys spending time with her family, staying active, traveling, and gardening-especially with roses .
Tanya Haas

Hello! It is an honor to serve on the IDA - Oregon Branch Board of Directors. Portland has been my home for 24 years. I started on this reading journey over 8 years ago when my eldest son started to struggle with reading in Kindergarten. I was confused, frustrated and felt helpless, but then we met our dyslexia tutor and everything changed. She mentored, educated, supported and guided me to be a better parent to a child with dyslexia. And most importantly she is teaching my son how to read, write and express himself. She has given him the gift of confidence. That is why I want to serve on this board. It took one person to change our world. I want to support all of you out there and possibly be that “one person” for the next family. Because reading changes lives!
Katie Vincent

Katie Vincent, Ed.D is a native Oregonian and a long time educator in the Portland area. Having held positions as a teacher, in administration, and as a higher education faculty member, Katie is committed to making certain that educators have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure that each of their students has the literacy skills required for success.

Katie currently serves as Associate Faculty at Prescott College, Prescott AZ and Adjunct Faculty at Warner Pacific University, Portland OR.
Jim Snyder

Jim Snyder has spent the last 16 years in the education field as a marketer and researcher working with educators around the world. Since 2013 he has worked at Quality Matters marketing quality assurance in online education to Higher Ed and K-12 institutions.  He has a BA in physics and mathematics from Kenyon College, an MS in Physics from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Portland State University.  He earned an Ed.D. in 2010 from George Fox University and his dissertation was on the use of audio in computerized adaptive assessments. Jim is married with 2 kids (17 and 15) and enjoys running and playing soccer in his free time.
Strengthening Our Local Branch
Do you know if your membership is current? Are you aware of your membership benefits ?

Be sure your membership is current before you register for the annual spring symposium so that you are eligible for the discounted rates.

Your membership of our branch enables the work we do and truly makes a difference in our community.
... until all Oregonians can read!
At the start of this new year, please consider an investment in furthering our mission .

"Participating with the Student Panel has let me build new friendships with people who understand me AND has given me an opportunity to give my perspective to teachers."

Please follow the link to make a tax deductible contribution.  100% of your donation will go to directly serving our community!
International Dyslexia Association, Oregon Branch | 503-228-4455 | info@orbida.org | http://or.dyslexiaida.org