As the United States continues to face a persistent reading crisis, the IMSE Foundation marks its first anniversary by reaffirming its commitment to empowering educators with high-impact literacy training. Since its inception in 2024, the Foundation has awarded scholarships to 13 dedicated educators, ensuring they receive crucial training in effective literacy instruction. 

The IMSE Foundation’s work has never been more critical, as the nation confronts a troubling decline in reading proficiency. Recent 2024 NAEP reading scores reveal the lowest performance on record for struggling 4th and 8th grade readers. In the face of this alarming decline, the IMSE Foundation’s work has never been more vital. Its mission to equip educators with research-based Orton-Gillingham (OG) professional development training to educators is more urgent than ever. “The national reading crisis has made one thing abundantly clear: teacher training in Structured Literacy is a top priority for educators,” said Krista Gauthier, Executive Director of the IMSE Foundation. “Our scholarship recipients are leading the charge in transforming literacy instruction for the students who need it most.”

Featured Educators

Two of the Foundation’s standout scholarship recipients illustrate the program’s life-changing potential:

• Justine Simon, October 2024 scholarship recipient, teaches English-language learners and Spanish at Sunnyslope High School in Arizona’s Glendale Union High School District. With more than a decade of teaching experience, she supports students in her EL classes who’ve faced long-term challenges with literacy — many likely due to undiagnosed learning disabilities. Through her IMSE OG+ training, Justine is incorporating OG strategies into her self-designed morphology curriculum and reading interventions, transforming how her students engage with the English language.
  
  “This training has given me powerful new tools to support my students’ reading development in ways I couldn’t before,” said Justine. “I’m seeing engagement and confidence grow, even among my most reluctant readers.”
• Sadie Hewitt, August 2024 scholarship recipient and Spanish Reading Interventionist at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland Unified School District, faced a lack of effective literacy instruction resources before IMSE. After attending IMSE’s Orton-Gillingham Plus training in September 2024, she successfully used IMSE’s approach to meet the needs of her dual-language learners. Using IMSE’s evidence-based strategies, she’s already observing measurable gains in her students’ literacy skills.
  
  “The IMSE training was exactly what I needed,” shared Sadie. “It’s had a direct impact on how I support my Spanish-speaking students, especially with respect to diagnosing needs and designing effective instruction.”

A Year of Progress — and the Road Ahead

Over the past year, the IMSE Foundation has partnered with educators across the country to promote access to literacy education by removing barriers. Every scholarship represents a story of hope — a teacher gaining tools to change lives.

“We’re proud to support educators who are determined to make literacy accessible for every child, regardless of language or learning differences,” said Gauthier. “This is only the beginning.”

As the Foundation enters its second year, it remains focused on expanding its reach, amplifying the voices of passionate educators, and closing gaps in literacy.

To donate to the IMSE Foundation or learn about upcoming scholarship opportunities, visit https://www.imsefoundation.org/.