Holly Allen

Holly has a Bachelor of Teaching in Early Childhood and over 22 years of experience in this area, working in various leadership positions and working closely with diverse learners. Holly has three children herself and appreciates how important it is to be a happy, thriving learner at school. Holly is excited to be part of the Freedom Literacy team and looks forward to continuing growth and learning in her own literacy journey, to develop positive literacy experiences for all students she works alongside.

Bronwyn Helm

Bronwyn has a background in tertiary and secondary teaching across a range of subjects. She has seen the frustration of students struggling with literacy and is looking forward to utilising a Structured Literacy approach in working with students as part of the Freedom Literacy team. Bronwyn and her husband have lived in Gisborne for 47 years and enjoy being part of the Manutuke community.

Gillian Stevenson

Gill has a Master of Education (Massey University) and is a qualified ECE teacher. She has always had a passion for language and literacy. While completing her postgraduate courses in literacy education, she immediately recognised the necessity of a structured teaching approach for those experiencing challenges in literacy learning. She integrated this into her teaching for individual learners and small groups. Gill is excited to be part of the Freedom Literacy team and has received additional training with Freedom Literacy. Gill works with students of all ages and enjoys encouraging and supporting them to experience success in their learning journey.

Sharni Honour

Sharni has a Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from Waikato University. In her previous role as a junior school lead teacher she helped drive and strategically manage the change to a Structured Literacy approach. During the early years of her teaching career, she found that many learners were struggling with reading and was driven to find explicit and systematic ways to help them experience success in learning to read. The Science of Reading and a Structured Literacy approach has been an important part of her classroom programme and her own professional development ever since. Sharni sees herself as a lifelong learner and is always curious about advances in research around how the brain learns. She uses her classroom experience and ever growing knowledge of the Science of Reading, Writing and Learning to help inspire teachers to confidently bring a Structured Literacy approach into their classrooms.

Janice Langford

Janice leverages her teaching and literacy intervention experience, in both Primary and Secondary sectors, in her professional practice. She has facilitated literacy professional learning and development for several years across Aotearoa, and is accredited to enable schools to access MoE funding. Janice empowers educators to grow in knowledge of the literacy evidence base and in wisdom of application. She helps all educators confidently change to a Structured Literacy approach.