Mary Jo Fresch

Mary Jo Fresch, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita and Academy Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University, where she has focused on preparing teachers in grades PreK–8 for more than two decades. She holds a master’s degree in Reading Supervision and a Ph.D. in Reading, Language, and Literature, and her research centers on reading and spelling instruction in student‑centered classrooms, including the developmental aspects of spelling and its relationship to teaching and learning. Over her career, she has been an educator for more than 40 years, beginning as a third‑grade teacher, later working with adults with significant literacy needs, and subsequently teaching literacy methods courses at institutions including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Royal Melbourne Institute, Deakin University, and The Ohio State University.

Fresch is the author of numerous practitioner‑focused resources, including The Phonics Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Reading Teachers and its companion The Phonics Handbook Poetry Collection, 101 Decodable Poems for Reinforcing Sound Patterns, for which she developed phonics activities and classroom lessons. She co‑authored Partner Poems and Word Ladders for Building Foundational Literacy Skills: Grades K–2 and Partner Poems and Word Ladders for Building Foundational Literacy Skills: Grades 1–3, collaborating with Timothy V. Rasinski and David L.