Leigh Turner

Leigh Turner

My name is Leigh Turner and I am the elementary reading and writing consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).

I was born, raised and still reside in Louisville, where I attended some amazing public schools growing up. My husband and I are proud parents of two children who also attend public school and we could not be more encouraged by the experiences they are having with their teachers and classmates.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2002 and a master’s degree in elementary education in 2004, both from the University of Louisville. I was fortunate enough to teach a variety of grades in K-5 as well as intervention in Oldham County for 12 years before I spent some time in the Anchorage Independent school district. There, I worked with district administrators and other leaders from KDE as part of a pilot for the Reading and Writing Curriculum Development Process. We used the Model Curriculum Framework to ultimately select and implement a high-quality instructional resource (HQIR).

Prior to my newest position at KDE, I was an academic instructional coach in Jefferson County. There I worked with educators to expand knowledge and beliefs about how we develop as readers and writers and transition to the use of a comprehensive literacy HQIR. Over the past 19 years, each of these experiences afforded me the opportunity to learn and grow, and I am thrilled to be able to continue to do so with each of you in our great Commonwealth.

In this new role, my aim is to serve our children by working with each of you. We are all teachers of reading and writing, regardless of our content area expertise. Together we can ensure that all students have access to high-quality instruction that will allow them to reach their goals.