Welcome to our National Literacy Month series of podcasts, presented in partnership between the Be Podcast Network and Reading Is Fundamental. 

Today, I have the pleasure of chatting with Erin Bailey, Ed.D., Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research at Reading Is Fundamental. Erin is RIF’s subject matter expert and develops, curates, and manages content and professional learning in literacy for educators and families.

We discuss:

• Erin’s literacy journey as a student and teacher
• What brought her to RIF
• How to define joy in reading and education
• Why joy is a critical goal
• Fostering competence, confidence, and engagement
• How can joy be measured? Should it?
• What educators can do to ignite a joy of reading for their students
• What role does joy play in the science of reading? 
• Book recommendation: Outside in the Teaching Machine by Gayatri Spivak

Listen to more National Literacy Month podcasts at https://literacy.bepodcast.network. 

Learn more about Reading Is Fundamental at www.rif.org 

About today’s guest

Erin Bailey, Ed.D., joined Reading Is Fundamental in 2021 and currently serves as the Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research. Her role includes serving as the subject matter expert and developing, curating, and managing content and professional learning for educators and families on literacy. Dr. Bailey has been an educator in U.S. and international classrooms. Her teaching experience spans from PreK-8 including roles as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, English language learning specialist, and university instructor. Her interests include professional learning for teachers on family and community engagement, instructional strategies for multilingual learners, and literacy instruction. She is interested in the ways that partnering with families and communities, particularly for children from historically marginalized communities, can transform literacy instruction. Additionally, she designs curriculum and professional development for utilizing play-based learning to teach language and literacy to young children.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano or LinkedIn