On top of celebrating the 20th anniversary of their wildly popular publication, Guided Reading, with the release of the much-anticipated second edition, we are proud to announce that Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell have both received prestigious awards for their years of work in the field of literacy. It has been a year of celebration for Fountas and Pinnell! [more]
Gay Su Pinnell, The Ohio State University Alumni Medalist Award Winner
At an award ceremony on October 7, Gay was awarded The Ohio State University Alumni Association's 2016 Alumni Medalist Award, the highest honor presented to a graduate of the institute. Gay was recognized for her contributions in bringing the successful Reading Recovery® to the United States.
Gay is a professor emerita in The Ohio State’s School of Teaching and Learning. Her research into early literacy led her to Reading Recovery®, which has made profound differences in New Zealand schools. Along with two colleagues, Carol Lyons and Diane DeFord, she developed Ohio State’s Reading Recovery® program, placing the institution in a national leadership role. Each year, the Reading Recovery® program helps 55,000 first-graders across the United States move on to the next grade secure in their ability to read and write.
In an Ohio State Twitter post from October 12, Gay was asked, "What is the one characteristic that you believe every Buckeye leader should possess?" To which she replied, "I think it is the acceptance of responsibility and the will to make the world better for all."
Irene Fountas, Marie M. Clay Endowed Chair Recipient
On July 1, Irene was named the first recipient of the Marie M. Clay Endowed Chair in Reading Recovery®.
This is the first faculty endowed chair given by Lesley University and honors Irene as being a pioneer in the field of literacy who recognizes the importance of extending educational opportunity to every child, particularly those in the early grades who face challenges in becoming successfully literate.
Irene is the director of the Center for Reading Recover and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University, which she founded along with others in 1990. The Marie M. Clay Endowed Chair was established by Lesley University in conjunction with the Reading Recovery Council of Massachusetts.
At an award ceremony on October 31, her colleague, Eve Konstantellou, said, "Clay
would have been proud that a Chair in her name will be occupied by a scholar
whom she respected and loved. And she’d
be cheering on as Irene continues to search for what is possible in the
education of children and teachers in her quest to transform schools into
places of joyful and authentic literacy experiences by creating a culture of
teacher growth in every school."
~From all of us on the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Team, CONGRATULATIONS!