Vice President, Board of Directors
Louise Spear-Swerling is Professor Emerita in the Department of Special Education at the Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven CT. She received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University in 1989. Her primary research interests involve children’s literacy development across the K-to-12 grade span; common types of literacy difficulties; and teachers’ knowledge base and preparation for teaching reading. She has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on these topics, as well as several books, the latest of which is “The power of RTI and reading profiles: A blueprint for solving reading problems,” published by Brookes. Currently she serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Dyslexia, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Reading Psychology. In addition, for many years she has prepared both general and special educators to teach literacy, including managing and supervising a tutoring program that pairs preservice teacher candidates with elementary students who are struggling in reading. Dr. Spear-Swerling served on the IDA committee that produced the “Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.” Her policy work has included several key educational initiatives in Connecticut. She helped to draft the state’s response-to-intervention guidelines as well as its 2010 revision of guidelines on identification of learning disabilities. She consults widely for school districts in Connecticut, mostly on cases involving students with severe or persistent difficulties in reading and ways to improve their achievement.