Alicia Smith is President Emerita of IDA Ontario.  Alicia supported IDA Ontario for many years, helping the organization grow into a trusted Canadian authority on effective literacy instruction, intervention, and assessment. A tenacious advocate, she has worked tirelessly to strengthen public education so that all children have the opportunity to learn to read in Ontario and beyond. Alicia views literacy as a social justice issue and remains committed to advancing structured literacy and system-wide improvement, particularly to support students in historically marginalized communities who stand to benefit most from equitable access to strong reading instruction.

“Our public education system has a responsibility to improve equity outcomes and provide students with an equal opportunity to succeed in life. However, for many students, the system creates, deepens and exacerbates disadvantage.”

Ontario Human Rights Commission – Right to Read Inquiry Report

Scholarship Award:

The scholarship recipient will receive a complimentary ticket to the 2026 Literacy & Learning Educator Conference.

Applicant Eligibility:

Limited to Ontario residents only.

We invite applications from educators who meet the following criteria:

1.Work full-time in a publicly funded school board or First Nation school that serves students who may be at risk for reading difficulties (e.g. low SES community, high proportion of newcomer or multilingual students, First Nation community, etc.)

2. Demonstrate a commitment to learning more about structured literacy instruction as an avenue to educational equity

Deadlines:

Application Deadline: January 23, 2026

Applicants will be notified by February 20, 2026

Application and Selection Process: 

The successful candidate will be notified directly.