Air Fliers:

Our Mission

AIR Fliers are committed to respectfully raising awareness of the wide range of ease in literacy skill acquisition, so to ensure children who are atypically advanced in reading (AIR) receive appropriate learning opportunities that enable them to FLY! 

We advocate that literacy programming for these students must reflect: 

• Their ability to learn to read earlier and more easily than typical, acquiring literacy skills more implicitly and at a faster pace 
• The right of every AIR student to be provided with learning opportunities appropriate for students with advanced skills and abilities

We recognize that implementation of such programming requires that educators themselves receive training in ways to recognize and appropriately serve AIR students, and we advocate for such professional learning. 

Who are the AIR Fliers

We are an international team of highly experienced educators currently working in various literacy roles within schools, districts,  universities, and the general literacy community. Some team members are the parents and grandparents of early advanced readers whose needs are not currently being served (or were not served in past years) by the public education system.  

Grounded in the research supporting the “continuous distribution”, the wide range of ease in the acquisition of literacy skills as represented by the coloured continuum of Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading & Writing©, we are combining our knowledge and experience to raise awareness of the learning needs of students who learn to read early and easily. This includes: 

• Reaching out to literacy organizations to draw their attention students who are advanced in reading (AIR) in the early primary grades, to ensure these students are on their radar
• Creating presentations/courses/blog posts that focus on the needs of AIR students 
• Ongoing support of educators, whatever their role in the system, so to support appropriate programming for these students 
• Ongoing interaction with parents of AIR students who are not educators, yet who provide examples of “happening now”
• Reaching out to reading scientists to draw their attention to these students and to advocate for research on AIR 

We fully recognize that we are on the learning journey ourselves as we advocate for ways to best serve AIR students.

Members of the AIR Fliers Team

Canada 🇨🇦

Nancy Young, Ed.D. British Columbia. International speaker; founder of the AIR Fliers; creator of the translational framework The Ladder of Reading & Writing© (2012/2023); co-editor of the book Climbing the LADDER OF READING & WRITING: Meeting the Needs of ALL Learners, 2024) *

United States 🇺🇸 

Julie Brehmer, Ph.D. Michigan. Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Saginaw Valley State University *

Dawn Brookhart, M.Ed., M.A.T. Pennsylvania. Instructional leader, consultant; co-author of Instructional Leadership in Student-Focused Coaching: Creating Effective Systems to Cultivate Student Success (2026) * 

Christi Corbin, M.Ed., Washington. Learning specialist for students in grades 3–5 

Shannon Heisserer, M.Ed., Missouri. Educational Consultant at Southeast MO State University 

Kirsten Kelley, M.Ed., Doctoral student at Gordon College. California; K-2 ELA Specialist; IMSE Trainer  

Summer Kline, M.Ed. (Curriculum & Instruction), Ohio. First Grade Teacher; adjunct Instructor at Ohio University;
Principal’s License in progress

Caroline Lacksen, M.Ed. Georgia. Professional Development Specialist, Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy,
Georgia College & State University 

Rebecca Miles, M.A., Michigan. Early Literacy Consultant/Coach Coordinator Berrien RESA /; owner, 3E Reading * 

Maria Morris, B. Ed. (Child Development), Washington. Reading Interventionist for K-2; Special Education Support Staff 

Sarah Phillips, M.Ed., C-SLDI. Arizona. Elementary Education Faculty, Teacher Education Department, Pima Community College Desert Vista Campus 

Amy Thompson, Ph.D., Arkansas. CALT; C-SLDS; QI-in-Training; Associate Professor UCA; Consultant; Program Director * 

Jennifer Wright, M.S.Ed. (Reading), M.A.Ed. (Curriculum & Instruction), Missouri. Reading Interventionist; Literacy Consultant;
OG Trainer and Tutor; Admin of MO SoR Facebook group, Reading Advisory Board at NWMSU *

New Zealand 🇳🇿 

Ingrid Hillgrove, B.A. (English Literature & Education), Post Graduate Diploma (Teaching), Post Graduate Diploma (Education Specializing in Literacy), Picton, South Island. Intervention Specialist 

Emma Newton, B.Mus., Diploma of Teaching, Wellington, North Island. Teacher; Intervention Specialist

Briarne Oldham, M.Ed., Christchurch, South Island. Ph.D. student at University of Canterbury, Lecturer in initial teacher education for primary (Years 0-8). Teaching in literacy, inclusive education and behaviour, curriculum, professional practice * 

Australia 🇦🇺 

Tessa Daffern, Ph.D., Sydney, Victoria, Australia. Adjunct Associate Professor, SOLAR Lab School of Education, La Trobe University, Australia; author of the Components of Spelling Test (CoST)™ and Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY)™; Co-director & Principal Consultant, Literacy Education Solutions Pty Ltd. * 

*Represents AIR Flier team members whose services encompass various forms of consulting. More specific information can be obtained directly from these individuals.

AIR Fliers Team Membership:
Our wonderful team continues to grow! If you are interested in joining us or want to know more about our activities, please reach out to Nancy Young via the contact form on this website. Membership entails agreement to our team’s protocol and a commitment to playing an active role to serve AIR students in this capacity.