Phonological Awareness: Reading in the Dark

Brian Smith is currently the RtI and Professional Development Facilitator for Newton-Conover City Schools. If you ask him however, he will tell you he is a Kindergarten teacher because that is what he loves! He has taught Exceptional Children, everything from Inclusion to Self-Contained, and Regular Education. His undergrad degree is from Lenoir-Rhyne University (although it was just a College when he went there) and his Masters in Elementary Education is from Gardner-Webb University. He is also certified to teach Academically-Gifted students. He is a Top Teacher Blogger for Scholastic and an adjunct professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Brian has delivered a TEDxHickory talked called Building a Better Teacher. He was named to the ASCD Emerging Leader class of 2015. He is the Vice President of the North Carolina branch of the International Dyslexia Association, treasurer of his local chapter of the Autism Society, and a board member of the the Patrick Beaver Learning Resource Center and Newton-Conover Educational Foundation. Brian started and runs a Saturday morning All Boys’ Book Club for third grade students. He has been married for 16 years to a wonderful woman who tolerates his self-diagnosed ADHD very well! They have a 11 year old daughter, Ella, who they adopted from Guatemala. She has dyslexia and is also academically gifted and is both Brian’s greatest joy and his biggest challenge!