Dyslexia Canada, a national charity ensuring that every child in Canada with dyslexia receives a fair and equitable education, announces the winners of the Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Awards. For the first time, the awards recognize exceptional leaders who make a difference in the lives of children with dyslexia, including educators, principals, administrators, librarians, psychologists, speech pathologists and other professionals.
According to Dyslexia Canada, 750,000 school-aged children and approximately 5 million adults in Canada have dyslexia, a learning disability in reading and writing.
"The winners of the Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Awards have each worked to advance one of the key pillars of our mission," says Alicia Smith, executive director, Dyslexia Canada. "We are proud of these exceptional educators who drive transformative change in different parts of Canada, from early screening for dyslexia and reading challenges to implementing new evidence-based literacy interventions."
Dyslexia Canada is advocating for the right of every child to learn to read through evidence-based structured literacy instruction. Without early screening and intervention, dyslexic students may face many challenges including falling behind in reading, academic performance issues, and low self-confidence. Parents and teachers often struggle to support these students due to a lack of understanding of dyslexia, early screening and adequate training.
The winner of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Linda Siegel, the former Dorothy C. Lam Chair in Special Education and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Siegel has emerged as a prominent figure in addressing dyslexia and other learning disabilities, with a vast body of research and over 200 publications to her name. What sets her apart is her unwavering advocacy and readiness to question educational bureaucracies and governments, all in the pursuit of a brighter future for children.
In addition, 11 other winners are honoured with the Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Awards this year, including individual professionals, as well as schools and school boards driving innovative programs to support and empower students with dyslexia. Information about the Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Award winners can be found here: https://dyslexiacanada.org/2024-educator-excellence-awards.
All award applications undergo a thorough evaluation by the Dyslexia Canada team considering a range of criteria including the commitment to dyslexia support, impact and results, collaborative teamwork, sustainability and scalability. More information about the awards is available on the Dyslexia Canada website: https://dyslexiacanada.org/en/blog/mji9h6uibloi11ghdyylgde0kw9eau.
The Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Award winners share their stories in the Educational Excellence Awards series available here: https://dyslexiacanadaspotlight.podbean.com.
