We are so excited to bring you this powerful episode with Sonya Thomas, the passionate founder and Executive Director of Nashville P.R.O.P.E.L. Sonya shares her deeply personal journey into advocacy, beginning as a mother of four who was determined to secure a better future for her children. When she saw that her younger son was struggling to learn to read in his earliest years of school, advocating for him became a full-time job. But by 7th grade despite years of meetings and interventions with his school, he was reading only at the 2nd grade level. She knew something had to change — not just for her family, but for every family in her community.

Sonya’s story illustrates how poor instruction creates struggling readers, and how one mother’s anger can transform into a movement empowering thousands of parents to demand the education their children deserve. She reveals how she draws on her background as a nurse, researcher, and community leader to inform parents and train them to question the system, organize campaigns, and push for real policy change. Through Nashville P.R.O.P.E.L., Sonya has organized over 8,000 parents and has led successful campaigns for legislation requiring personalized learning plans and data transparency in every school in Tennessee. Her message is clear: parents deserve the truth about how their children are doing in school — and they have the power to hold the system accountable. Tune in to hear how Sonya inspires parents to lead fearlessly, build lasting community strength, and fight for every child’s right to learn to read.

RESOURCESNashville P.R.O.P.E.L. ROAR @HomeBETAWhat the Words Say, by Emily HanfordSold a Story Podcast The Truth about ReadingDisrupt and Dismantle, by Soledad O'Brien

SOCIALSFacebook - @NashvillePROPELX - @NashvillePropelInstagram - @nashvillepropel‐-------------------------------------------------------------------Parents For Reading Justice is a nonprofit grassroots movement dedicated to ensuring every child learns to read by engaging parents and educators in adopting the science of teaching reading. Our mission is to activate, train, and guide parent groups to flip their school districts to evidence-based reading instruction. Our vision is to speed the nationwide shift to evidence-based literacy instruction so that 95% of students read proficiently.Host Brett Tingley is the president of OH-KID, a grassroots parent group dedicated to ensuring all children in Ohio learn to read. She is also an advisory board member of the International Dyslexia Association Central Ohio. She is the founder and president of Parents for Reading Justice.Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward, and DONATE on our website!FOLLOW US:Check out our LinkTree to find us on all social media platforms: https://linktr.ee/parentsforreadingjusticeDISCLAIMER: All information in this video is presented as our shared experience only, with the intention of helping others to understand our efforts and experience. Nothing presented herein should be construed as offering legal advice. We encourage everyone to seek professional legal advice pertaining to their individual circumstances. We welcome you to share your experiences with us on all matters relating to dyslexia as we are continuously learning new information to help push our cause to help as many people with dyslexia as possible. Thank you for your continued support!#education #reading #dyslexia #behavior #motivation #awareness #change #podcast #school #readingskills #schoollife #scienceofreading #readmorebooks #dyslexiaawareness #dyslexiasupport #readingcommunity #fypyoutube

We are thrilled to bring you this interview with Dr. Heather Peske. Heather is the President of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) and a former elementary school teacher. She shares how her early experiences teaching reading, combined with her experience as a parent of a struggling reader, fuel her commitment to improve teacher preparation nationwide. In addition, her work as a state policymaker transformed her understanding of effective literacy instruction.

In our conversation, Brett and Heather discuss how parents and school districts can leverage NCTQ’s research to influence market forces and push Colleges of Education toward evidence-based practices. Heather explains how NCTQ evaluates teacher preparation programs, revealing that most fall short in training future educators in evidence-based reading instruction—particularly for English Learners and students with learning differences such as dyslexia. She also highlights the role of state-level policy reforms and how parent advocacy is driving meaningful improvements. Heather offers valuable insights on addressing teacher shortages, the power of parent-led efforts, and leaves listeners with a powerful message: stay optimistic, stay engaged, and know that change is possible—together.

⁠NCTQ website⁠

⁠NCTQ Teacher Prep Review- Reading Foundations⁠

⁠NCTQ Teacher Prep Review State Data Profiles⁠

⁠NCTQ Five Policy Actions to Srengthen Implementation of the Science of Reading⁠

⁠NCTQ State Data Profiles⁠

⁠NCTQ False Assurances report⁠

⁠NCTQ Reimagining Teaching⁠

Socials

Facebook: @NationalCouncilOnTeacherQuality

LinkedIn: @NationalCouncilOnTeacherQuality

X: @NCTQ

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Parents For Reading Justice is a nonprofit grassroots movement dedicated to ensuring every child learns to read by engaging parents and educators in adopting the science of teaching reading. Our mission is to activate, train, and guide parent groups to flip their school districts to evidence-based reading instruction. Our vision is to speed the nationwide shift to evidence-based literacy instruction so that 95% of students read proficiently.Host Brett Tingley is the president of OH-KID, a grassroots parent group dedicated to ensuring all children in Ohio learn to read. She is also an advisory board member of the International Dyslexia Association Central Ohio. She is the founder and president of Parents for Reading Justice.

Join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward, and DONATE on our website!

FOLLOW US:

Check out our LinkTree to find us on all social media platforms:

⁠https://linktr.ee/parentsforreadingjustice⁠

DISCLAIMER: All information in this video is presented as our shared experience only, with the intention of helping others to understand our efforts and experience. Nothing presented herein should be construed as offering legal advice. We encourage everyone to seek professional legal advice pertaining to their individual circumstances. We welcome you to share your experiences with us on all matters relating to dyslexia as we are continuously learning new information to help push our cause to help as many people with dyslexia as possible. Thank you for your continued support!

#education #reading #dyslexia #behavior #motivation #awareness #change #podcast #school #readingskills #schoollife #scienceofreading #readmorebooks #dyslexiaawareness #dyslexiasupport #readingcommunity #fypyoutube

We are thrilled to bring you this conversation with Missy Purcell, a former teacher and Mom of a son with dyslexia. Missy is also the co-Founder of the Facebook page, The Science of Reading for Advocates and Gwinnette County Advocates for Dyslexia. Missy's initial professional training and practice was steeped in a 'balanced literacy' approach, and in particular, the Reading and Writing Workshop model developed by Lucy Calkins. Her 5th grade classroom was even the observational classroom for her school, and she led Workshop training for other schools in the county and beyond. But there were frustrations along the way as well as significant questioning of K-5 reading instruction, as too many students were arriving in her classroom with poor word reading and comprehension skills, and moving on to the next grade with little to no improvement. It wasn't until Missy started to explore why her youngest child was struggling so much with learning to read, including struggling in the Reading Recovery intervention program, and developing anxiety and behavior issues, that it all started to make sense. What was missing in the instruction in the earliest years set them up poorly for reading and comprehension in the later years. She describes it as a "colliding of my two worlds- the teacher Missy and the Mama Missy". Knowing that she couldn't change the past, she decided to focus on the future and work to change the system that is continuing to fail children. This is her WHY. Don't miss this amazing journey from Mom and teacher to powerhouse advocate!

SOCIALS

Facebook /

@MissPurcell

@Missy Palmer Purcell

@The Science of Reading for Advocates

X/Twitter /

@MissyPurcell

Instagram /

@misspurcelladvocates

@missy_purcell

Bluesky /

@missypurcell.bsky.social

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Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Dyslexic Children - Documentary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parent Group Directory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ParentsForReadingJustice.org⁠⁠⁠

Parents For Reading Justice is a nonprofit grassroots movement dedicated to ensuring every child learns to read by engaging parents and educators in adopting the science of teaching reading. Our mission is to activate, train, and guide parent groups to flip their school districts to evidence-based reading instruction. Our vision is to speed the nationwide shift to evidence-based literacy instruction so that 95% of students read proficiently.Host Brett Tingley is the President of OH-KID, a grassroots parent group dedicated to ensuring all children in Ohio learn to read. She is also an advisory board member of the International Dyslexia Association Central Ohio. She is the founder and President of Parents for Reading Justice. Please join us on our socials, watch our documentary, take our Masterclass, register your parent group, pay it forward and DONATE on our website!

#education #reading #dyslexia #behavior #motivation #awareness #change #podcast #school #readingskills #schoollife #scienceofreading #readmorebooks #dyslexiaawareness #dyslexiasupport #readingcommunity #fypyoutube