About Us

The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education, is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from Florida State University, and RMC Research Corporation.

Our Mission

To increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.
To build individual and organizational capacity to assess students’ literacy-related skill, identify students with disabilities or those at risk of disabilities, and fully implement evidence-based literacy programs and professional development.

Our Mission Serves

Parents & Families: Help your child read and write with practical ideas and strategies based on what works.
Schools & Districts: Find evidence-based approaches and effective professional development to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related difficulties.
State Agencies: Develop and implement state and local structures and procedures to address challenges that students with literacy-related difficulties face in learning.

Meet The Team

Lana Edwards Santoro, Ph.D

Lana Edwards Santoro, Ph.D., is the Director of NCIL. She is a Research Professor with the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University. Dr. Santoro focuses on projects related to professional learning, technical assistance, and instructional intervention for students with literacy-related disabilities. Her research emphasizes literacy instruction for struggling readers and writers with a specific interest in supporting student development of oral and written language skills, vocabulary, and comprehension. She is also a former special education teacher.

Hank Fien Ph.D.

Hank Fien, Ph.D., is the Founding Director of NCIL and is a Professor in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University (BU). He also directs the BU TEACH research center at BU. His research is focused on the areas of early reading and early mathematics interventions for diverse learners in school settings. Dr. Fien’s most recent work is focused on scaling up evidence based practices in schools and to better understand the ecological factors that support or hinder the use of evidence.

Nancy J. Nelson, Ph.D.

Nancy J. Nelson, Ph.D., is a Deputy Director of NCIL and Instruction & Intervention Strand Lead, and the Director of the Lead for Literacy Center. She is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Nelson has more than a decade of experience leading federally-funded research projects and providing technical assistance to state and local education agencies. Dr. Nelson’s work focuses on developing and evaluating reading and math interventions for students with or at risk for learning disabilities, the use of assessment in school settings, and the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to support diverse learners. She is a nationally certified school psychologist and a former middle and high school special education teacher.

Yaacov Petscher Ph.D.

Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D. is a Deputy Director of NCIL and co-leads the Screening and Identification Strand of the center. Dr. Petscher is an Associate Director at the Florida Center for Reading Research and the Director of the Quantitative Methodology and Innovative Division, at Florida State University. He is interested in the development and application of statistical models to data in order to understand why students differ in their reading skills, as well as creative disseminations of research through technology and alternative mediums.

Sarah Sayko Ed.D.

Sarah Sayko, Ed.D., is a Deputy Director of NCIL, and oversees the family, technical assistance, and dissemination strands of the center. She is a Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation in Arlington, VA. Sarah was previously a literacy content specialist with the Center on Instruction (COI) and a technical assistance provider with the National Reading Technical Assistance Center (NRTAC). She was an elementary reading coach and literacy specialist in two Massachusetts public school districts and is a certified K-12 reading specialist.

Lakeisha Johnson, Ph.D.

Lakeisha Johnson, Ph.D., co-leads the Screening and Identification Strand of the center. She is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Florida State University and the director of The Village, the Florida Center for Reading Research’s community engagement and outreach division. Dr. Johnson’s primary research interests include language and literacy development in African American children and the use of diverse children's books in educational settings.

Kristin Kane

Kristin Kane is a Senior Research Scientist with NCIL. She previously served as the Senior Advisor for the Office of Early Childhood Development in the Administration of Children and Families for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kristin has dedicated the last twelve years to advocacy and awareness, with a focus on family engagement and the intersection of public school, special education, and dyslexia. This includes her time as a family engagement specialist with the Virginia’s Center for Parent Training and Information, PEATC. Her work includes contributions at both the federal and state policy level related to dyslexia and literacy laws. Kristin is a founding member of the Decoding Dyslexia Virginia, a grassroots movement, and director of the nonprofit Friends of Decoding Dyslexia Virginia. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and Associate’s Level OG certification. She is a mom to three awesome children, two of which happened to be diagnosed with dyslexia.