Lynne Fitzhugh, lecturer and director of Colorado College's Master of Arts in Teaching - Dyslexia Specialist Program, recently was appointed to serve on the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. Fitzhugh will serve as one of 24 members on the committee and will represent the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), the 12th and newest member organization.
Fitzhugh, a nationally recognized expert in dyslexia and related learning disabilities, structured linguistics, and literacy, is president-elect of ALTA and currently serves on the board of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC). She is a past board member of the International Dyslexia Association and helped develop IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.
In 2008 Fitzhugh established the Reading Institute and Literacy Intervention Specialist Certification Program in conjunction with the Master of Arts in Teaching degree offered by CC's Education Department. The intensive two-year program enables graduates to earn national certification with the Academic Language Therapy Association. The program earned accreditation from the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council, becoming the first and only accredited center in Colorado.
"It's an honor to be selected for this important work," says Fitzhugh. "It's promising to see such respected organizations come together for the good of individuals, including children, who struggle with learning disabilities like dyslexia."
The mission of the NJCLD is to provide multi-organizational leadership and resources to optimize outcomes nation-wide for individuals with learning disabilities. The NJCLD works to identify and address needs in research, policy and professional education and development related to learning disabilities.
"Lynne is an outstanding educator, and true pioneer and champion for dyslexia intervention and remediation in the state of Colorado," says Janie Harvey M.A.T. '15. "Lynne has single-handedly trained the most knowledgeable teachers in Academic Language Therapy across our state, transforming the lives of countless students who've struggled to read."
In addition to her work at Colorado College, Fitzhugh is president of the Colorado Literacy & Learning Center, a Colorado Springs-based non-profit dedicated to helping individuals with dyslexia, which she founded in 2001. In 2018, Fitzhugh was named Professional of the Year by the Colorado Council of Learning Disabilities (CLD) and went on to receive CLD's Floyd G. Hudson Outstanding Service Award at the CLD International Conference in Portland, Oregon.