Jill Allor Simmons

Dr. Jill Allor Simmons is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning at Southern Methodist University's Simmons School of Education and Human Development. She previously served as department chair and has established herself as a leading researcher in literacy acquisition for students with and without disabilities.

Her educational background includes:

• Ed.D. in Special Education from Vanderbilt University (1996)

Dr. Allor's research primarily focuses on literacy acquisition, particularly for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her work examines effective reading interventions, phonemic awareness instruction, and literacy assessment strategies. She has developed evidence-based curricula like Friends on the Block that target early literacy development for struggling readers. Her research bridges theory and practice, emphasizing practical applications in classroom settings for students with disabilities.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on literacy interventions for students with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her work consistently addresses the need for structured, explicit literacy instruction and examines how to effectively measure intervention fidelity and outcomes. She frequently collaborates with researchers like Al Otaiba and Conner on projects related to reading comprehension and assessment for diverse learners across multiple educational settings.

Dr. Allor has received numerous prestigious awards for her contributions to the field:

• 2000 Award for Outstanding Research by the Council on Learning Disabilities
• Co-recipient of the Best Article in Learning Disabilities Research and Practice for 1999
• 2012 Innovator Award for Outstanding Educator from International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council
• 2016 Rotunda Outstanding Professor award at SMU
• 2019 Ford Research Fellowship from SMU

Dr. Allor has been exceptionally successful in securing research funding, with nearly $10 million in external research funds throughout her career. Her most significant project is a $3.3 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (2020) to test the efficacy of the Friends on the Block literacy curriculum for students with intensive needs. She has also received over $1 million to support teacher preparation and development in literacy. As principal/co-principal investigator, she has led numerous projects focused on improving literacy outcomes for students with disabilities across various educational contexts.

Dr. Allor leads Project Intensity, a federally-funded research initiative examining the efficacy of Friends on the Block, an intensive text-based early literacy intervention for elementary students with intellectual and developmental disability. This work involves a randomized control trial to evaluate how this curriculum enhances reading and language outcomes for these students in real-world educational settings.