Erin O’Leary works to ensure all students have what they need in order to be skilled, competent readers. In her role at Franklin Middle School, she provides instructional guidance and curriculum support, organizes events that promote literacy, and ensures our students have access to diverse, contemporary, high-interest reading material. She is also one-half of the duo known as The Crazy Reading Ladies. Their passion is putting the right books in the right hands at the right time and empowering teachers to be champions of literacy. They published the educator's guide to The Bletchley Riddle, a middle-grade novel written by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, in 2024. Ms. O'Leary is a member of the Massachusetts Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and the Penguin Random House Teacher Advisory Board. She is also a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner. She received her M.S.Ed. in Language and Literacy from Simmons University and has been a middle school reading specialist in Franklin since 2010.
Email: olearye@franklinps.net
Instagram: @FranklinMSReads
A twenty-minute Literacy block is embedded into each middle school day. This happens as part of Compass block.
The key is choice. Students can engage with reading in multiple ways: they may read a book independently, read a book with a group of friends, listen to a teacher read aloud, or enjoy a Playaway audiobook.
They are never told what to read. Our reading specialist, Ms. O'Leary, works closely with the Franklin Public Library to give our students unprecedented access to high-quality, engaging books. We encourage students to try a variety of formats, authors, and genres until they find something they enjoy.
Ask your student what they're reading (or read along with them!)