Claire Gunner is passionate about effective, engaging, and research-aligned literacy instruction and is currently a first grade teacher at Garrison Elementary School, a D.C. Public School. Claire also serves as a Curriculum Institute Fellow for D.C. Public Schools, developing early literacy curricular resources that are evidence-based, culturally responsive, and aligned to the Science of Reading. Claire is certified in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), which is endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). She earned her Master's of Education in Human Development from the University of Maryland College Park where she wrote her thesis on the role of self-efficacy in reading interventions. She is a doctoral candidate in Education Policy and Leadership with a focus in early literacy interventions at American University, where her research focus is in culturally responsive, student-centered literacy interventions. When she is not teaching, Claire loves to create abstract paintings and travel the world while learning new languages.