Phyllis Hunter appeared as an expert in Roots of Reading, an episode in our Launching Young Readers series.
Biography
Phyllis C. Hunter is an internationally known literacy expert who has served as an advisor to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Education.
Ms. Hunter has worked as a district reading manager, principal, and speech and language therapist. In 2009, she was named the Marcus Garvey Educator of the Year by the National Alliance of Black Educators, and in 2009, Scholastic Education presented Ms. Hunter with its inaugural Heroes Award for her contributions to the field of children’s literacy. She has served on the advisory board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, which awards the nation’s largest yearly K-12 public education prize, and has also been on the advisory board of several national literacy organizations, including Consortium for Reading Excellence (CORE), the Neuhaus Education Center, and the National Center for Family Literacy. She plays a key role on the advisory council for Scholastic’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE).
With Scholastic, she created the Phyllis C. Hunter Classroom Libraries, featuring high-interest books help students expand vocabulary and content area knowledge and inspire positive attitudes towards reading. Hunter is the author of It’s Not Complicated! What I Know For Sure About Helping Our Students of Color Become Successful Readers.
As a board member of the International Reading Association’s Urban Diversity Initiatives Commission and the National Center for Family Literacy, Hunter impacts reading instruction worldwide. She continues to advise many policy makers through her work on national boards, such as CORE and the National Center for Family Literacy.
Hunter received a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. She also earned a mid-management certification in Educational Administration from the University of California, and has acquired further studies at the Johns Hopkins University.
