In this episode of the Literacy and Justice for All podcast, listeners hear from longtime executive director Comer Yates about his journey from teacher to attorney and ultimately to leading the Atlanta Speech School for nearly three decades. He shares the school’s origins as a free program founded to give every child access to their voice, and traces its evolution into a nationally recognized center for language and literacy, serving children from infancy through elementary school. The conversation explores how advances in the science of reading, the discovery that dyslexia is a language-based disorder, and the school’s commitment to equity led to the creation of the Rollins Center and Cox Campus, initiatives designed to share proven literacy practices with educators everywhere.

About our Guest

Comer is the Executive Director of The Atlanta Speech School, where he has held the role for more than 20 years. Established in 1938 as a free clinic for children who were deaf or hard of hearing, today the Speech School is the nation’s most comprehensive center for language and literacy. It is composed of three preschools (Katherine Hamm Center, Kenan Preschool and Stepping Stones Preschool), a K-6 school for children with dyslexia (Wardlaw School), a Clinic offering therapeutic and academic services to advance learning, and the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy, our professional development center focused on promoting literacy outcomes with the online support of our Cox Campus — a free learning platform and global community of practice advancing literacy to every ZIP code with members in all fifty states and more than 44 countries.