PAOLA PILONIETA

Inspector

Dr. Paola Pilonieta is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and serves as the director of the Reading Education Minor. Paola began her teaching career as a first-grade teacher in a Catholic school in Miami, Florida. While teaching first grade, Paola completed her Ph.D. program and collected data that would eventually be published in The Reading Teacher and Reading Psychology.

Since arriving at UNC Charlotte, Paola has primarily taught undergraduate and graduate reading courses focused on early literacy (concepts about print, phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency) as well as reading courses focusing on vocabulary and comprehension instruction. In 2012 she led efforts to create the Reading Education Minor at UNC Charlotte, and since then has led several literacy-focused curricular revision efforts in her department. Paola’s research agenda focuses on emergent and early literacy and teacher education.

Dr. Pilonieta has authored over 35 publications in journals such as Reading and Writing Quarterly, Early Childhood Education Journal, Young Children, and Exceptional Children, and has delivered more than 40 conference presentations and workshops. She has also served as Co-Editor of Literacy Research and Instruction, a highly regarded peer-reviewed journal in the field of literacy. Most recently, Paola served as a UNC System Literacy Fellow.

Paola attended the University of Miami in Miami, Florida for her entire educational career. For her BA degree, Paola double majored in elementary education and French and earned an endorsement in ESOL education. Her Master’s degree is in reading and learning disabilities, and her Ph.D. is in reading education.