Degree	Area of Study	University
Ph.D.	Elementary Education, Emphasis: Literacy	The University of Alabama
Ed.S.	Teacher Leadership	Jacksonville State University
M.Ed.	Reading Specialist	Jacksonville State University
B.S.	Elementary Education	Jacksonville State University

Certificate Name	University
Instructional Leadership Certification	Jacksonville State University

---

Year	Award
2022	Most Outstanding Student Awards – Graduate Elementary Research Award, The University of Alabama, College of Education
2021	International Literacy Association Steven A. Stahl Research Grant Award
2021	Most Outstanding Student Awards – Graduate Literacy Award, The University of Alabama, College of Education

---

Dr. Dilgard explores professional learning, interventions, instructional strategies, and teaching methods for elementary literacy. Specifically, her research emphasizes:  

---

• Co-PI, Alabama Reading Initiative Higher Education Grant, The Legendary Teacher Project. (1/2026-12/2026) Total: $20,000
• Co-PI, University of Alabama Community-Based Partnership Seed Grant, Roll tide for reading: A library-based literacy partnership in Tuscaloosa county. (8/2025-5/2026) Total: $4,000
• Co-PI, Rising Tide Grant, Evaluating and enhancing the undergraduate experience for elementary education majors. (12/2024-6/2026) Total: $30,000

---

1. Dilgard, C. & Hodges, T. S. (2021). Beyond the scores: Digging deeper into miscues to adjust instruction. The Reading Paradigm, 14(1), p. 6-23.  
2. Dilgard, C. & Hodges, T. S. (2022). Leveraging literacy centers for phonics and fluency skill building in middle school. The Clearinghouse Journal, 95(1), p. 7-17. doi:10.1080/00098655.2021.2016565. 
3. Dilgard, C. & Si, Qi. (2022). A multimodal writing framework to promote agency. In Hodges, T. (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher writing practices for diverse writing instruction. IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-6213-3.ch007. 
4. Dilgard, C., Hodges, T. S., & Coleman, J. (2022). Phonics instruction in early literacy: Examining professional learning, instructional resources, and intervention intensity. Reading Psychology, 43(8), p. 541-575. doi:10.1080/02702711.2022.2126045. 
5. Dilgard, C., Hodges, T. S. (2023). Getting to the root of reading intervention for upper elementary. Journal of Literacy Innovation, 8(1), 23-39. 
6. Dilgard, C. (2023, April/May/June). Demarginalizing students through diverse literature access. Literacy Today, 40(4), 36-38. ​
7. Dilgard, C. (2023). Supporting teachers to increase morphology instruction in elementary grades (30419384). [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Alabama, ProQuest]. 

---

Memberships

• 2020 – present, International Literacy Association
• 2020 – present, Alabama Literacy Association
• 2021 – present, Association for Literacy Educators and Researchers
• 2022 – present, Literacy Research Association

External Service

• ALER Conference Reviewer (2026). Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, St. Petersburg, FL.
• LRA Conference Reviewer (2026). Literacy Research Association Conference, Honolulu, HI.
• EPP Literacy Coursework Internal Review Team (Spring 2026). Alabama State Department of Education, Montgomery, AL.
• Conference Proposal Reviewer, Topic 14 (2024). Literacy Research Association Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Journal Reviewer

• Reading Psychology
• Journal of Literacy Research
• The Reading Teacher
• The Elementary School Journal
• Reading and Writing Quarterly
• Reading and Writing Journal

---

Dr. Cortney Dilgard is a clinical assistant professor and the literacy program coordinator at The University of Alabama. She earned her Ph.D. in 2023 from The University of Alabama, majoring in elementary education with a literacy emphasis. She served as a former elementary teacher, literacy coach, and director of curriculum. Her current research interests include developing and implementing measures and professional learning to support pre-service and in-service teachers to instruct morphology; creating interventions, curriculums, and instructional materials to support students’ learning of morphology; supporting teachers to embed disciplinary literacy skills in math, science, social studies, and cross-curricular reading; preparing preservice teachers with the skills to teach literacy based on the science of reading; and mentoring literacy coaches to deliver professional development, form coaching partnerships, and foster self-efficacy for coaching.