The Brookline Literacy Coalition grew out of our ongoing conversations over the years in Brookline with fellow parents–as well as with teachers, school administrators, and school committee members– about learning to read, teaching methods, and ways to ensure all children gain strong literacy skills. We wanted to build on and expand these discussions. We each have our own experiences and connections to the topic of literacy instruction. We are all parents of children who are, were, or will be in the Public Schools of Brookline. A bit more about the founders:

Ola Ozernov-Palchik

Ola is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and at the Wheelock School of Education at BU who studies the typical and atypical reading development and reading comprehension. She is the recipient of the early career award from the International Dyslexia Association and has engaged extensively in advocacy efforts related to early screening of dyslexia risk. She is also a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Miriam Fein

Miriam is a speech-language pathologist and reading specialist. She provides instruction and support directly to students and families in the areas of reading, spelling, written expression, and language development. She also provides professional development and consulting to teachers and school leaders. 

Ben Kelley

Ben has been active in the Brookline Schools for many years. He is a former president and current board member of the Brookline Parents Organization and has advocated for and with students and parents on a wide range of issues. He believes that improving Brookline’s literacy instruction will fundamentally improve the education and outcomes for its students, and that we can achieve this through coordinated advocacy. 

Our goals are to inform, connect, empower and advocate.

Inform

We share a a variety of information in order to increase awareness of literacy related issues, including research and practical advice for parents and teachers; summaries and reflections on discussion in School Committee; information about what is happening in Brookline; news about developments in schools across the state, country, and beyond.

Connect

We provide opportunities for members of the community to connect with us and with each other and share their questions and experiences of children learning to read and write in Brookline, both their struggles and successes. 

Empower

We provide resources and information to empower people to understand the issues, have substantive, productive conversations, and take action on behalf of their children and students. 

Advocate

We promote and support initiatives and practices in the district that are informed by scientific evidence about what all students need in order to become proficient readers and writers.