Welcome, in this episode I sat down with Dr. Maria Murray, President of The Reading League, for a candid and heartfelt conversation about the state of reading education. Dr. Murray shares her personal journey from history teacher to literacy advocate, opening up about her initial lack of awareness regarding learning disabilities and dyslexia, and the frustration that drove her to spark real change in the field.
Together, Kathryn and Maria pull back the curtain on the persistent gaps between research and classroom practice, reflecting on why so many teacher preparation programs still fail to equip educators with the tools and knowledge grounded in the science of reading. From anecdotes about university roadblocks to the grassroots beginnings of The Reading League, they discuss the urgency of bridging disciplinary divides and ensuring every teacher—and every student—has access to evidence-aligned instruction.
You’ll hear stories about the real-world challenges faced by teachers, the surge of momentum for literacy reform, and the importance of honest, actionable professional development. Whether you’re an educator, parent, or advocate, this episode dives into the passion and perseverance it takes to transform how we teach children to read—and why the work is far from done.
Tune in for inspiration, practical insights, and a glimpse into the future of reading education.
Three fun facts from this episode are:
Dr. Maria Murray helped track down participants from a major dyslexia study 11 years later using creative methods like MySpace!
The Reading League grew rapidly by hosting free, energetic sessions—attracting thousands of teachers, some of whom drove six hours to attend after-school events.
Dr. Murray once handed out so many copies of the National Reading Panel report to her students that UPS would deliver them by the cartload to her office!
Meet Dr. Maria Murray:
Maria S. Murray, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of The Reading League, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction. Before founding The Reading League, Dr. Murray was an associate professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, where she taught courses related to literacy assessment and intervention for ten years. She received her Ph.D. in Reading Education from Syracuse University, where she served as project coordinator for Dr. Benita Blachman’s numerous federally funded early reading intervention grants.
As a nationally recognized expert in the science of reading, Dr. Murray serves on advisory boards and committees for numerous local, state, and national literacy organizations, such as the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and the Evidence Advocacy Center.
Dr. Murray is passionate about the prevention and remediation of reading difficulty and consistently strives to increase educator knowledge and the connections between research and practice.
You can find more from Dr. Maria Murray on
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-murray-ph-d-734a1973/
Website: https://www.thereadingleague.org/
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like a transcript of this episode? Click here
**** Enjoying this podcast? Please share it with someone who would benefit. Also, don’t forget to hit “follow” so you get all the new episodes as soon as they are released. **** Come hang out with me on Facebook or Instagram. Follow me @R2RInitiative to get more practical tools to help you create sustainable clinical medicine in your life. **** Questions? Comments? Want to share how this podcast has helped you? Would you like to join me as a Guest? Shoot me an email at info@right2readinitiative.com I would love to hear from you.