FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 3, 2026

Task Force created under the Georgia Early Literacy Act will advise K-3 reading instruction reforms

ATLANTA, Ga. — This week, Governor Brian P. Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, and House Speaker Jon Burns announced their appointees to the newly established Georgia Literacy Task Force, a standing body created under House Bill 1193, the Georgia Early Literacy Act, to strengthen kindergarten through third grade reading instruction statewide.

The Literacy Task Force will be chaired by the State Literacy Director and will work to continue implementing literacy reforms, strengthen resources for educators, and ensure every child has a strong foundation for learning from their earliest years in the classroom. The Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy (GOEWS) will convene the taskforce in the coming weeks to begin their work.

Task Force Members

Gary Bingham

Director, The Urban Child Study Center, College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University

Dayle Burns

Retired Elementary Educator & Administrator

Amy Denty

Director of Literacy at the Georgia Department of Education

Jennifer Lindstrom

Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education

Amy Lingo

Dean, College of Education, Georgia Southern University

Andri Pilgrim

Retired Educator and Executive Committee Member of the Georgia Council on Literacy

Kelly McKay

Georgia Council on Literacy Member; Assistant Superintendent at Rabun County Schools

Lesley S. Taylor

Regional Literacy Coach, First District RESA

Christina Wagoner

Principal, West Side Elementary School, Cobb County

Charley Walper

Elementary Educator, Bartow County School System

Stephanie Westhafer

K‑5 STEAM Educator & Agricultural Literacy Advocate

About the Task Force Work

GOEWS Executive Director Dr. Fran Dundore states, “Literacy is the foundation every other opportunity is built on, and this taskforce brings together exactly the right voices to deliver on it.” 

The Literacy Task Force will support the core commitments of the state literacy plan: Vision 2030 by laying the foundations to ensure every child is a reader, every educator is prepared, and every community is supported.

The Task Force is responsible for providing recommendations to the State Board of Education, the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, the Georgia Literacy Coordinating Committee, and the State Literacy Director on the following: 

  • A state-wide, comprehensive curriculum-based professional learning program in structured literacy, aligned to the science of reading, for K-3 teachers and literacy coaches.
  • A list of 2-5 valid, reliable universal reading screening, formative, and diagnostic assessments for selection and use by local school systems and public schools. 
  • A list of 2-5 systematically designed high-quality instructional materials aligned to the science of reading for grades K-3.

About GOEWS

GOEWS is responsible for education data accountability, school performance reporting, academic auditing, policy research and evaluation, and literacy initiatives- while expanding its mission to address Georgia's workforce future.

Media Contact:

Sara Marchman | External Affairs Coordinator
[email protected] | (404) 904-5432

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