Frances K. Mcglannan

McGLANNAN, FRANCES K., age 98, passed away Wednesday, December 20, 2017. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15, 1919 and was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Frances dedicated the greater part of her life to the understanding and education of children with dyslexia, as well as to the education and support of their families. In 1958, Frances set out on a now historical quest into the world of the child with specific reading/language based learning difficulties, into the world of DYSLEXIA. Her goal was to meet the academic needs of every child, in an ungraded program, rather than the lockstep approach of traditional education. Utilizing her own academically creative energy and scientific bent, she employed specific multisensory techniques, previously reserved for the blind and deaf, to teach the dyslexic child. With the production of a total linguistic curriculum, unavailable commercially at the time, she founded McGlannan School in 1964. Proof that multisensory teaching techniques can be effectively adapted to the classroom was established. Frances was a hands- on director, ever researching, revising and formulating methods, overseeing the global development of intelligent students whom she encouraged to keep learning. She graciously mentored and shared her research with professionals in the field. McGlannan School is in its 54th year as it carries on her legacy of evidence-based methodology and the overall development of each child. Articles regarding her research and employment of specialized techniques have been published by the Journal of Learning Disabilities, Time, Newsweek, Saturday Review, Spanish language magazines and more. As a nationally recognized pioneer in the field of dyslexia, Frances was honored for her contributions by the International Dyslexia Association, in their national office in Towson, Maryland. Because of her extreme love of children, hard work and conviction, she has touched a countless number of lives. Frances received a double major, art and education, from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She was a consummate student, a brilliant life-long learner and problem solver. She continued her education at the University of Miami determined to find answers about dyslexia. Frances was predeceased by her husband, Austin Joseph McGlannan, in 1996. They wed at the start of WWII which shaped the future of their loving and devoted marriage. Frances, who loved her family deeply, is survived by her son, Michael (Julia Fitzgerald) and daughter, Genevieve (Robert Shain), and grandsons, Austin James and Ryan Robert (Carmen), and great-grandson, Miles. Frances will be laid to rest at New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. There will be a memorial service in Miami, Florida on Thursday, January 11, 2018 at 7p.m. at Epiphany Catholic Church, 8235 S.W. 57th Ave. Miami, FL 33143. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory can be made to either the Frances McGlannan Foundation Scholarships for Specialized Schools (www.francesmcglannanfoundatiion.org) or the Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation (mchf.org/mcglannan).