Authors and Experts
While our signature programs feature proven, time-tested techniques for instruction, we’ve also become experts in growing our approach to not only keep current with the latest in scholarship and technology, but also to set the pace for our competitors in both handwriting and spelling instruction.
Click on the banners below to learn more about the people, passion, and purpose behind our esteemed programs.
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting
The Zaner-Bloser Method
Since 1888, we have pioneered the publishing and teaching of handwriting, and remain to this day the leader in the field. The legacy of the company’s founders, Charles Zaner and Elmer Bloser, is one of excellence in both primary and adult education, in handwriting research, and in the development of new technologies to bring about a higher level of instruction.
Learn more about the Zaner-Bloser approach!
The Gold Standard in Instruction
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting/La escritura is the definitive method used by generations of American children. Our signature program features proven, time-tested techniques that don’t actually take a lot of time to implement.
Michael Sull
Master Penman, Handwriting Historian
Zaner-Bloser Consultant
Michael Sull is widely regarded as America’s most significant living Master Penman. A former lettering artist for Hallmark Cards and personal calligrapher for President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Sull is credited as being responsible for reintroducing our nation’s heritage of handwriting to today’s generations of students, both here in America and around the world. He is the author of several books considered modern classics in the field of handwriting, and as an instructor, he has conducted classes in over 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. He is past president of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting, and his penmanship artwork can be found in private collections around the globe.
Read Mr. Sull’s letter from the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Teacher’s Edition.
Debbie Diller
Texas Educational Consultant, Former Teacher
Author, Growing Independent Learners: An Online Workshop
Debbie Diller has been a national consultant since 2000. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Millersville University and Temple University and spent the next four decades as an educator. She's worked as a classroom teacher, migrant education teacher, Title I reading teacher, and literacy coach in Pre-K through grade 10 in diverse public school settings in Pennsylvania and Texas. Her love of teaching stems from her love of learning. "I have always loved learning. Becoming a teacher was a way I could share that love of learning with children and eventually, with adults.”
Read Ms. Diller’s thoughts on incorporating effective handwriting instruction in today’s classrooms from the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Teacher Edition.
Spelling Connections
Dr. J. Richard Gentry
Author, Spelling Connections and The Science of Spelling
With over 30 years of research, writing, and extensive classroom work with students and teachers, Dr. J. Richard Gentry is a nationally acclaimed expert in the field of literacy. His topics of study include early literacy and dyslexia, with a particular focus in the areas of spelling and beginning reading.
He has authored several professional books, blogs for the Psychology Today website, conducts spelling-related workshops around Texas and across the country, and is a regular speaker at national, state, and local literacy conferences. Dr. Gentry received a BA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a PhD from the University of Virginia.
Read excerpts from a conversation with Dr. Gentry from the Spelling Connections Teacher Edition.
Mark Weakland
Literacy Consultant & Coach
Author, Super Spellers: Seven Steps to Transforming Your Spelling Instruction
Mark Weakland holds a master’s of education degree from the University of Pittsburgh. During his twenty-three years in public education, he was a fourth- and fifth-grade learning support teacher, a reading consultant, and a Title I reading specialist, K-6. His work with struggling learners and students with disabilities has taught him that all children can learn a great deal, and this makes him passionate about best practice literacy instruction.
In 2014 Mark founded Mark Weakland Literacy. Through his business, Mark presents nationally, works regionally with school districts to strengthen their literacy programs, and regularly teaches in elementary and middle school classrooms.
Research—Not Reading—Based Instruction
Explicit instruction in handwriting and spelling supplements what students may—or may not—be getting from a reading-based program. Zaner-Bloser programs are grounded in research and proven effective for developing key skills, including reading!
Download relevant research to understand the crucial role handwriting and spelling plays in developing literacy skills for all students.