#TRLSummit2025

THE READING LEAGUE SUMMIT 2025

The Science of Reading: With Growing Awareness Comes Incomplete Understandings

Chicago, IL | April 22-23, 2025

WE ARE ALL BETTER WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER

The Reading League Summit is headed to Chicago, offering another incredible, interactive experience.

Hear from literacy leaders Wesley Hoover, Nell Duke, Kathy Escamilla, Susan Brady, David Kilpatrick, Linnea Ehri, Tiffany Hogan, Leslie Laud, and many more—all in the same room—sharing insights, comparing expert knowledge, and answering your questions about key topics like orthographic mapping, phoneme proficiency, and word recognition for multilingual learners.

This year’s Summit features The Reading League’s President and CEO, Dr. Maria Murray leading the conversation with her keynote, Science of Reading: With Growing Awareness Comes Incomplete Understandings.

Download the Summit 2025 Agenda

KEYNOTE & MODERATORS

Maria Murray

Dr. Maria Murray

Keynote:
The Science of Reading: With Growing Awareness Comes Incomplete Understandings

Keynote Description

José Viana

Dr. José Viana

Panel One:
The Simple View of Reading as a Starting Point for Understanding Reading Development in All Learners

Tiffany Hogan

Dr. Tiffany Hogan

Panel Two:
Language Comprehension

Louisa Moats

Dr. Louisa Moats

Panel Three:
Word Recognition

Mitchell Brookins

Dr. Mitchell Brookins

Panel Four:
Reading Comprehension

2025 PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Panel One

The Simple View of Reading as a Starting Point for Understanding Reading Development in All Learners: Consensus and Critique

Description:
Even though the Simple View of Reading equation is a starting point as educators begin their science of reading journeys, there is often confusion and even oversimplification in its application. Panelists will discuss how to better understand the Simple View of Reading, what its implications are for classroom practice, and what researchers have to say about it.

Moderator:
Dr. José Viana
, Senior Education Advisor, Lexia

Panelists:
Nell Duke, Executive Director, Center for Early Literacy and Learning Success, Stand for Children, Professor, Education and Psychology, University of Michigan
Kathy Escamilla, Retired Professor, University of Colorado at Boulder
Wesley Hoover
, Executive Officer (Retired), SEDL/AIR
Richard Sparks, Professor Emeritus, Mt. St. Joseph University

Panel Two

Language Comprehension: Consensus and Critique

Description:
Critics of the science of reading often point to a lack of attention to language comprehension. Panelist discussions will clarify misconceptions related to prioritizing and instructing each of the components needed for language comprehension based on findings from the reading science.

Moderator:
Dr. Tiffany Hogan

Panelists: 
Peter Bowers, Founder, WordWorks Literacy Centre
Teresa Krastel, Director of Professional Learning Curriculum, WIDA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
M. Adelaida Restrepo, Professor and Chair, University of South Florida
Julie Van Dyke, Associate Research Professor, Yale-University of Connecticut Haskins Literacy Hub

Panel Three

Word Recognition: Consensus and Critique

Description:
Scientific research on word recognition has resulted in a lot of consensus among researchers and experts. Yet educators and other stakeholders often have incomplete knowledge of this component and how to effectively translate the research results into their classroom practice. Panelists will discuss the main scientific findings on word recognition—our internal lexical representations in memory—as a common denominator that drives both the reading and spelling of words. They will also clarify nuances of opinions that have contributed to confusion in implementation.

Moderator:
Dr. Louisa Moats
, President, Moats Language Essentials, LLC

Panelists:
Susan Brady, Professor Emerita, University of Rhode Island
Linnea Ehri
, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology emerita, CUNY Graduate Center
David Kilpatrick, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Cortland
Ramona Pittman, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

Panel Four

Reading Comprehension: Consensus and Critique

Description:
The ultimate goal of reading is reading comprehension. Panelists will provide insights on how to create an impactful literacy experience by clarifying areas of confusion, such as background knowledge, strategy instruction, sentence-level comprehension, and text structure. Using findings from the science of reading, they will identify where educators and other stakeholders should prioritize attention to drive students’ understanding of and engagement with texts.

Moderator:
Dr. Mitchell Brookins
, Educational Consultant, Brookins Consulting

Panelists: 
Leslie Laud, Director, thinkAUM
Reid Smith, Co-CEO, OCHRE Education
Adrea Truckenmiller, Associate Professor, Michigan State University
Kay Wijekumar, Houston Endowment Chair, Texas A&M University

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

1:00 to 2:45 p.m.
Keynote: Dr. Maria Murray
2:45 to 3:00 p.m.
Keynote discussion
2:45 to 3:15 p.m.
Refreshments and sponsor networking
3:15 to 4:45 p.m.
Panel One
4:45 to 5:15 p.m.
Panel One discussion

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Check-in and sponsor networking
9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Panel Two
10:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Panel Two discussion
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch and sponsor networking
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
Panel Three
2:00 to 2:30 p.m.
Panel Three discussion
2:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Refreshments and sponsor networking
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Panel Four
4:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Panel Four discussion
5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
The Reading League’s closing remarks

Use our Convince Your Supervisor letter for Summit 2025

SPONSORS

Amira Learning
Amplify
Aprendo Leyendo
Benchmark Education
CORE Learning
Curriculum Associates
EPS Learning
Great Minds
Greenfield Learning
Heggerty
HMH
Institute for Multi-Sensory Education
Jolly Learning
Just Right Reader
Lexia
The Literacy Architects
McGraw Hill
95 Percent Group
Otter Reading
PAF Reading Program
Reading Horizons
Renaissance
Savvas
Slant System
Voyager Sopris Learning
William H. Sadlier, Inc.
Whole Phonics
Wilson Language Training
Zaner-Bloser
Hyatt Regency Mccormick Place Chicago

Hotel Accommodations

Summit attendees—book your stay at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Chicago with our special discounted rate.

Questions?

Do you have a question about the Summit? If you can’t find an answer in our FAQ’s, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at events@thereadingleague.org.

SUMMIT

Now that the science of reading has been raised to a level of conscious awareness across the country, schools are eager to put it into practice. Educators and learners of all kinds are using their new knowledge in an effort to achieve higher outcomes. However, sometimes educator knowledge is incomplete, which leads to oversimplified understandings and instruction is not as effective as it could be. In addition, sometimes the translation of the scientific findings seems incomplete, leading to disagreements among the experts. It is time for the education community to identify what those disagreements mean for instruction so that educators can be assured of how to teach most effectively.

The Simple View of Reading equation is one of the first things educators learn about in their science of reading journeys. Yet, how well do they understand its implications and what do the researchers have to say?

The Reading League’s Summit is designed to convene literacy experts from multiple disciplines and viewpoints to discuss a specific topic on which there might be misunderstandings or disagreements. Panelists and moderators work together prior to the Summit to identify areas where there is consensus and areas where further discussion and research are needed. This work is presented at the Summit, which typically consists of multiple panel sessions where all attendees spend the day(s) together in one room to listen, learn, and discuss.

Join us at TRL Summit 2025