Maple Green’s Penny Hill receives Dyslexia Canada award

Penny Hill, a learning support teacher (LST) at Maple Green Elementary, received a Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Award at a school assembly on Oct. 6. Dyslexia Canada executive director Alicia Smith travelled from Ottawa to present it. Angie Calleberg, executive director of curriculum and assessment at the Ministry of Education and Child Care, also sent a congratulatory message. The award recognizes educators who advance structured literacy instruction, universal screening and effective intervention, and support colleagues through leadership and knowledge-sharing.

Maple Green Elementary principal Michael Speak said the award was well deserved. He said Hill has spent her career ensuring students with dyslexia are seen, understood and taught in ways that work for them, and that the school is proud to have her there.

Hill’s interest in the work began in her first year of teaching, when she noticed that some students responded to her instruction and others did not. In 2003, she attended a workshop in California and learned about dyslexia. “I remember crying,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘I can help these kids.’”

She began tutoring and brought what she had learned into her classroom, teaching all her students as if they were dyslexic. Her focus was on building what she calls metaphonological awareness. That conclusion became the thesis of her master’s degree in special education, which she completed under Dr. Linda Siegel, an internationally known authority on learning disabilities. Hill said explicit, systematic, evidence-based instruction is “helpful for all, harmful for none and crucial for some.”

Screening for early reading difficulties began at Maple Green when Hill joined the team. Staff use Acadience and DIBELS to screen students. Hill began sharing her knowledge with colleagues, and former principal Jennifer Pilchak recognized her expertise and encouraged staff to attend lunch-and-learn sessions. Hill joked that the encouragement came in the form of free lunch.

Hill’s influence extends well beyond Maple Green Elementary. She has presented at conventions in Canada and abroad, guest lectured in university special education classes, led lunch-and-learns for colleagues and now mentors a cohort of LSTs. For years, she has also shared her views on early literacy with education leaders and decision-makers. “I have been knocking on doors of those in control of policy for decades,” she said.

Hill said she sees the climate shifting. “I am encouraged that many more are thirsty for knowledge about dyslexia and how to ameliorate its effects,” she said.