Jessica Cuillerier – 2024 Siobhan Isabella Reid Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Hello, my name is Jessica Cuillerier, and I am a mature student currently enrolled in my third year of the Bachelor of Education program at Mount Royal University,  and also a busy mom of two boys.

As a mother, educator, tutor, and student myself- literacy is a topic that I am immensely passionate about, and I believe that everyone should be too. Like many others, reading came naturally to me and was something I largely took for granted. It wasn’t until my oldest son was diagnosed with Dyslexia that my eyes were opened to the inequities in literacy instruction and, in particular, the challenges faced by those with learning disabilities.

As an active volunteer within my community and my children’s schools, the choice to become trained in the Orton Gillingham approach and enlist as a volunteer tutor with the Scottish Rite Learning Centre was a natural fit. It was here that my passion for literacy blossomed and led me to return to school to pursue my Bachelor of Education degree in order to reach more students and provide them with the evidence-based literacy instruction many so desperately need. Through the years, I have stayed on as a volunteer OG tutor with the centre, sharing my knowledge and experience with my Mount Royal peers, championing evidence-based literacy practices through countless events and presentations, and taking on an additional volunteer role providing literacy instruction to adults with developmental disabilities.

This past year, I had the privilege of working in a Grade 1/2 classroom, where I tutored individual at-risk students in literacy and provided whole-class phonics instruction. Watching my students grow and develop into skillful readers and fall in love with reading demonstrated the immense need within our schools for evidence-based literacy instruction and highlighted the difference I can make in my future classroom.

I aspire to continue growing as an educator and to become a literacy champion in my future school placements. The Siobhan Isabella Reid Memorial scholarship will allow me to continue volunteering my time and talents to those who need it most, and enable me to continue learning and growing through professional development opportunities. I am profoundly honoured and grateful to have been selected as one of the 2024 recipients, and thank the LDAA in believing in my capabilities, passion, and drive to become a leader in literacy in Alberta.