Local Educator Named to International 30 Under 30 List

NEWARK, Del. (Sept. 1, 2016) – The International Literacy Association (ILA), a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to advancing literacy for all, announced Matt Presser, a former teacher and instructional coach at King-Robinson Inter-District Magnet School in New Haven and a Classroom Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education, today as an honoree on its second annual 30 Under 30 list. The list recognizes the next generation of young innovators, advocates and educators who are leading efforts to advance literacy for all, whether in their community or around the world.

Presser, 28, was selected for his unique contribution to advancing literacy within his community and the world. Presser is an advocate for "thinking differently about how to engage boys with literacy." Part of his work involved mentoring students working on passion projects, including a young men's leadership club whose work earned national recognition from the Entertainment Industry Foundation; a group of fourth graders developing a neighborhood museum to counter the public's negative perception of where they live; and a group of eighth graders frustrated by the lack of male teachers in public schools who presented their research and recommendations at a college lecture course to try to recruit university students to go into teaching.

Last year, he served as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education, making him one of nine teachers across the country advising the U.S. Secretary of Education. In this role, he traveled to seven states to hold roundtables with teachers and share information regarding policy, and he wrote a weekly newsletter with some 90,000 subscribers. Presser recently stepped down from his role at King-Robinson to enroll in Harvard Graduate School of Education's educational leadership doctoral program.

“The work of Matt is closely intertwined with our mission to transform lives through literacy, so we are thrilled to welcome him to our growing list of 30 Under 30 honorees,” said Marcie Craig Post, executive director, International Literacy Association. “Today, there are still 781 million people around the world who can’t read or write, 126 million of whom are youth. This list highlights the next class of leaders who are taking steps to advance literacy and helping us reverse those alarming statistics.”

This year’s ILA 30 Under 30 list highlights rising leaders from 12 countries and several sectors. It includes nonprofit leaders, classroom teachers, authors, volunteers, researchers, and social entrepreneurs, each of whom has created and implemented an initiative that has directly improved the quality of literacy instruction or increased access to literacy tools in the classroom, community and/or online.

ILA’s 30 Under 30 honorees are featured in the September/October issue of Literacy Today, ILA’s bi-monthly magazine, which published today. ILA will continue to highlight the inspiring work of the honorees throughout the year. They will also be invited to participate in upcoming global literacy community activities that support the shared cause of advancing literacy for all.

To view the Literacy Today feature and the full list of honorees, visit literacyworldwide.org/30under30.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION

The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly known as the International Reading Association, is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to advancing literacy for all through its network of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers and experts across 75 countries. With 60 years of experience in the field, ILA believes in the transformative power of literacy to create more successful societies, healthy communities and prosperous economies. ILA collaborates with partners across the world to develop, gather and disseminate high-quality resources, best practices and cutting-edge research to empower educators, inspire students and inform policymakers. The International Literacy Association publishes several peer-reviewed journals, including The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy and Reading Research Quarterly. For more information, visit literacyworldwide.org.

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