Our Advisory Board
We are proud to be working with such distinguished educators in producing research-based silent reading fluency assessment and remediation programs.

	Elfrieda Hiebert, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Education University of California, Berkeley Dr. Elfrieda “Freddy” H. Hiebert is an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a principal investigator in the National Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners, a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the International Reading Association’s William S. Gray Citation of Merit for her contributions to the field of reading (2008).Before joining the Berkeley faculty, Dr. Hiebert was a teacher educator and researcher at the universities of Kentucky, Colorado-Boulder, and Michigan. She also has classroom experience as a teacher of primary-level students in California. Dr. Hiebert’s work has been published in numerous scholarly journals, and she has authored or edited nine books, the most recent of which is Finding the Right Texts for Beginning and Struggling Readers: Research-Based Solutions. Dr. Hiebert’s research addresses ways of supporting students who depend on schools to become literate. Her interests lie in how fluency, vocabulary, and knowledge can be fostered through appropriate texts.
	Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D. Professor of Literacy Kent State University Timothy Rasinski is a professor of literacy education at Kent State University. He recently served a three-year term on the International Reading Association’s board of directors. Dr. Rasinski has served as co-editor of The Reading Teacher, the most widely read journal of literacy education. He has also served as co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research, and is a past president of the College Reading Association. He was a recipient of the College Reading Association’s A.B. Herr and Laureate Awards for his scholarly and lifetime contributions to literacy education. Prior to joining the Kent State faculty, Dr. Rasinski taught literacy education at the University of Georgia. He also taught for several years as an elementary and middle school teacher, as well as a Title I teacher in rural Nebraska. Dr. Rasinski has written more than 150 articles, and has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 50 books or curriculum programs on reading education. His research on reading has been cited by the National Reading Panel and has been published in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Reading Psychology, and the Journal of Educational Research. He is currently leading a team that is writing the chapter on fluency for Volume IV of the Handbook of Reading Research. His scholarly interests include reading fluency and word study, reading in the elementary and middle grades, and readers who struggle.
	S. Jay Samuels, Ed.D. Professor, Department of Educational Psychology University of Minnesota Dr. S. Jay Samuels is a professor and reading researcher at the University of Minnesota. He is a recipient of numerous awards for his work in the field of reading, including the International Reading Association William S. Gray Citation of Merit for outstanding contributions to the field of reading (1987) and the National Reading Conference Oscar S. Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research (1985). He is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame and the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development National Reading Panel. Before joining the University of Minnesota’s faculty, Dr. Samuels taught for more than a decade in elementary schools in New York and California. He currently teaches courses in Reading Fluency and Educational Psychology, among others. Dr. Samuels is a frequent contributor to leading reading research journals. He has published hundreds of articles, and has edited or co-edited numerous reading publications. Dr. Samuels’ interests include the development of materials and methods for improving word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. He also investigates how to facilitate young readers’ understanding of moral themes as well as how to measure reading fluency.
	Stanford E. Taylor, M.A Founder, Chairma Reading Plus®/ Taylor Associates/Communications, Inc. Stanford E. Taylor is the founder of Taylor Associates and principal designer of the Reading Plus® system. Prior to establishing Taylor Associates, Mr. Taylor was founder and president of Educational Development Laboratories, Inc. (EDL/McGraw-Hill) and subsequently Instructional Communications Technology, Inc. A pioneer in the introduction and use of technology to improve reading/listening in the classroom, Mr. Taylor designed, manufactured and distributed a variety of reading improvement devices, initiated the concept of the reading lab, and introduced the first mobile reading lab. He previously served as a reading technology supervisor in the Bethpage, NY, schools, a reading technology instructor at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, director of the Amackassin School in Blairstown, NJ, director of the Taylor Center for Reading Research in Huntington, NY, comprehension skills editor for Popular Science Magazine. He is an honorary member of the International Reading Association and the author of the National Education Association publication, “What Research Says to the Classroom Teacher about Listening.” Mr. Taylor has published numerous articles for American Education Research Association journals and contributed to the publication of over 300 books and instructional programs in the area of reading.