NIFDI notes the recent passing of two individuals in the Direct Instruction community.

Julie Molloy Eisele passed away in Sarasota, Florida, on October 12 at the age of 79. Julie was a lifelong educator, graduating with her master’s degree from the University of Oregon in the early 70s. She worked in Project Follow Through and was part of the Corrective Reading authorship team. She went on to work with children and taught reading to students with traumatic brain injuries. She also worked with teachers to improve academic achievement, helping teachers develop their teaching skills, reach out to at-risk students, and enhance their classroom management skills.

We also received news that Ed Huth, of Portage, Michigan, passed away on November 6. Ed received his M.A. and Ed Spec in School Psychology from Western Michigan University. He served as a School Psychologist for 31 years. Along with his close friend and colleague Mike Vreeland, Ed was co-founder of WMU’s Direct Instruction Conference and influenced educators from around the country. He also helped found Kalamazoo Advantage Charter School, which was one of the earliest charter management systems to utilize DI as the academic core. He was a regular attendee of the National DI Conference, bringing his family to Eugene each summer for many years. His dedication to seeking effective programs and techniques to give students the opportunity to succeed in school and, thereafter, society was exemplary.

NIFDI extends our sympathies and condolences to Julie and Ed’s families and friends.

For 30 years, The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) has partnered with schools around the world to improve the lives of all students. Please help us make a difference by donating during this season of Thanksgiving. In the past 2 weeks, generous donors have given over $4,000 towards our goal of $10,000. These funds will be used to defray the costs to implement DI with fidelity for schools like these:

• A very rural tribal K-12 school in Cass County, Minnesota. The staff serves 213 Native American students. In 2021-22, 88% of students were below or well below BIE English Language Proficiency Standards. The school has recently implemented DI as its core English Language Arts program and partnered with NIFDI to improve student performance.
• A school in Southern Louisiana with 614 PK-5 students. At this school, 71% of students scored below the proficient level for reading. NIFDI is partnering to support staff in an intervention model for identified students.

Please donate today and help make a difference in the lives of children! Click here if you would like to donate by check.

The newest episode of the DI podcast has been released! It features the expertise of Dr. Kathy Madigan, and it is all about how to improve teacher preparation programs so graduates can provide effective instruction to all of their students. Click here to listen!

Jessica Colleu Terradas, Senior Officer Literacy Specialist, Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn, Australia, interviewed Kurt Engelmann, President of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI), about the Direct Instruction (DI) approach.

Topics include:

• the incremental step design of the DI programs,
• selecting examples and non-examples and other aspects of faultless communication,
• field testing the DI programs,
• differentiating instruction through DI,
• addressing grouping challenges,
• training and supporting staff implementing DI, and
• monitoring and responding to the implementation of DI so all students succeed!

To address several questions, Engelmann shares key graphics from his book, Direct Instruction: A Practitioner’s Handbook (2024), published by John Catt/Hodder Education. The book is available here.