Sharon Ryan, EdD

Sharon Ryan, Ed.D., has worked in early education for over 30 years as a first-grade

classroom teacher, K-6 reading specialist/interventionist, PK–2 literacy & social studies

curriculum coordinator, adjunct professor, and literacy consultant. Her doctoral studies

afforded opportunities to conduct qualitative and quantitative research focused on early markers of dyslexia and educator knowledge. She has also published several scholarly articles focused on the synergistic partnership between cognitive neuroscientists and educators related to early markers of dyslexia.

In her role as Literacy Coordinator for the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, Dr. Ryan served as a member of the MA DESE Literacy Champions Initiative (2020-2021) as a statewide early literacy advisor, collaborating with literacy experts across the

commonwealth and supporting the initial design of the MA Literacy Site. Additionally, Dr. Ryan was directly involved in developing the Early Bird Learning Screener, as the single national districtwide beta pilot for kindergarten rollout, working directly with the

developers of this currently MA-approved early literacy screener at Boston Children's

Hospital and Harvard University. Within this role, Dr. Ryan communicated regularly with the developers to ensure technical tweaks were addressed, literacy tasks were honed, and upgrades to the pilot maximized young students' experience. As a districtwide literacy coordinator, Dr. Ryan had extensive opportunities to administer PreK-3 benchmark screenings, analyze results, and support educators in designing effective interventions to meet individual student progress and growth. Professional learning opportunities were abundant to ensure consistency in administration and to develop a deep understanding of the results and evidence-based practices to impact student learning.

Dr. Ryan's recent two-year role as a Lead Facilitator/Early Childhood Development Lead for the Massachusetts-based non-profit, HILL for Literacy (2023-2025), allowed her to work directly with MA DESE and MA EEC, along with local school districts and community partners who were awarded this grant at the preschool level. In conjunction with this endeavor, Dr. Ryan collaborated with these districts to maximize consistency across all early childhood settings, including streamlining curriculum, assessments, and ensuring equitable opportunities for emergent literacy learners. Dr. Ryan also supported districts in selecting early childhood literacy screeners to meet the district's needs, along with teams of educators and administrators within each district to ensure that all stakeholders had an opportunity to participate in the process. This involved working closely with publishers and vendors, learning about each assessment, weighing the costs/benefits, and, most importantly, focusing on how each screener would directly address early childhood literacy development. The MA Dyslexia Guidelines were at the forefront of conversations with district leadership.