Elizabeth Zagata

Overview

Elizabeth Zagata is passionate about improving outcomes for students with disabilities. She supports state and district clients in critically assessing and improving their special education policies, procedures, and practices. Her research focuses on the intersection of literacy and assessment with policy and special education law, and her dissertation examined the association between state-level dyslexia laws and rates of dispute resolution. 

As a special education systems improvement specialist, Zagata helps states and education leaders implement evidence-based practices for students with disabilities. She currently coleads the Effective Instruction area of the National Center for Systemic Improvement.

Before joining WestEd, Zagata was a teacher and Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) scholar with the National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention. Over her 15-year teaching career in both general and special education, Zagata taught in large and small districts in urban, suburban, and rural settings, covering every grade from preschool to high school. She maintains her CT and NY teaching certifications in special education, elementary education, gifted education, and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). She is also a certified dyslexia practitioner as recognized by the International Dyslexia Association. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching courses on diagnostic assessment and special education law, policy, and ethics at both the University of Connecticut and Sacred Heart University.

Education

• PhD in educational psychology, University of Connecticut 
• Program evaluation certificate, University of Connecticut 
• MA in curriculum and teaching, Teachers College, Columbia University 
• BSEd in elementary and special education, State University of New York at Geneseo

Select Publications

Zagata, E. (in press). Legal issues around dyslexia. In R. Umpstead Pratel (Ed.), Guide to special education law (2nd ed.). Education Law Association. ​

Zagata, E., & Pitt, P. (2024). Referrals, evaluations, and eligibility: The roadmap to qualifying for special ​education. In R. Umpstead (Ed.), Principal’s legal handbook (7th ed.) Education Law Association.

Kim, Y-S. G., & Zagata, E. (2024). Enhancing reading and writing skills through systematically integrated instruction. The Reading Teacher, 77(6), 787–799. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2307  

Zagata, E. (2024). DLD policy brief: A synopsis of federal-level dyslexia law. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 39(2), 57–59.  https://doi.org/10.1177/09388982241230759  

​Zagata, E., & Arsenault, T. (2024). Effective instruction and intervention in writing and mathematics: Supporting all ​language learners. National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention-2; Grant H325H190003. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. https://nclii.org/scholar-designed-courses/effective-instruction-and-intervention-in-writing-and-mathematics/  

Zagata, E., Reese, M. J., & Sinclair, T. E. (2024). “I didn’t sign up for this!”: Considering the impact of due process ​on teachers [White paper]. The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education. ​https://www.cadreworks.org/resources/literature-article/i-didnt-sign-considering-impact-due-process-teachers ​ ​  

​Zirkel, P. A., & Zagata, E. (2024). CADRE’s national data on the frequency of due process hearing decisions: Suggested ​adjustments. West’s Education Law Reporter, 422(1), 24–34.  

​Gentile, M., Zagata, E., & Sinclair, T. E. (2023). Challenges in paraeducator supervision. In J. DeSimone & L. Roberts (Eds.), Cases on leadership dilemmas in special education (pp. 168–179). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-8499-9.ch013  

Relyea, J. E., Cho, E., & Zagata, E. (2023). First-grade multilingual students’ executive function profiles and links to English reading achievement and difficulties: A person-centered latent profile analysis. Annals of Dyslexia, 73(1), 29–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-022-00272-2  

Zagata, E. (2023). Disputes of assessment and evaluation: An analysis of Connecticut due process hearings from 2020–​2022. Neag School of Education Journal, 1(1), 6–19.  

​Zagata, E., Kearns, D., Truckenmiller, A. J., & Zhao, Z. (2023). Using the features of written compositions to ​understand reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 58(4), 624–654. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.503  

​Zirkel, P. A., & Zagata, E. (2023). Evaluations under the IDEA: Substantive standards. Communiqué, 51(8), 31–33. ​ ​  

​Zagata, E. (2022). Superintendent relationships with school boards: Collaborating for student success. Center for ​Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation, University of Connecticut. https://education.uconn.edu/2022/05/26/superintendent-relationships-with-school-boards-collaborating-for-student-success/  

​Zagata, E., Payne, B., & Arsenault, T. L. (2021). Intensive intervention practice guide: Literacy supports for math content ​instruction for students with reading and language difficulty. National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention, U.S. Office of Special Education Programs.  ​https://nclii.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Literacy-Supports-for-Math-Content-Instruction.pdf  

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

AERA SIG Research in Reading and Literacy Graduate Student Award for Literacy Research Excellence (Honorable Mention)

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Discretionary Grant Peer Reviewer 

Neag School of Education Outstanding Student Researcher Award

Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Finalist

Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) Student Research Award

Grant Recipient, Office of Teacher Education, University of Connecticut

AERA Division H Mentorship Program

Jane West Spark Award, Teacher Education Division – Council for Exceptional Children

Emerging Scholar for William L. Boyd National Educational Politics Workshop, AERA

Inaugural Cohort, Leadership CEC, Council for Exceptional Children

Affiliate, Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation, UConn

Workforce and Employment Steering Committee, National Center for Learning Disabilities

Board member, Council for Educational Diagnostic Services

Board member, Division of Learning Disabilities

Recent Media Appearances

No easy answers as SK schools look for new superintendent, The Independent, July 7, 2023