UFLI Academy

Overview

UFLI’s mission, and the overall goal of UFLI Academy, is to give educators the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to help their students become proficient, confident readers. Our motto, “strong teachers build strong readers,” guides our work.
This three-day conference-style professional learning event is designed for individuals who wish to enhance their practice with UFLI Foundations and learn directly from the UFLI team.

At UFLI Academy, participants will learn about:

In addition to building your knowledge about reading development, UFLI Academy will provide:

Event Details

What: UFLI Academy

When: July 28-30, 2025

Where: Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, Gainesville, FL

Registration Fee: TBD * Registration fee includes breakfast and lunch and a t-shirt

Register


Registration Coming Soon

Schedule at a Glance

Sunday, July 27, 2025

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Early Registration

Monday, July 28, 2025

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

Registration and Breakfast


8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Sessions


12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch


1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Sessions

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

Breakfast


8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Sessions


12:30PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch


1:30PM – 3:30 PM

Sessions

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

Registration and Breakfast


8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Sessions


12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch


1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Sessions

Travel Information

The UFLI Academy will be held at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville, Florida on July 28-30, 2025.

Lodging

For your convenience, there is a block of rooms reserved for us at the hotel conference center at a discounted rate. Please note that the cut-off date to book your room is Wednesday, July 2, 2025. After this date, rooms will be subject to availability. To ensure you secure your accommodation at the group rate, please use the following booking link: Book your group rate for UFLI Academy

Group Rate Deadline: Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Book Now

Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville

1714 SW 34th Street | Gainesville, Florida, 32607, U.S.A.
1 (352) 371-3600

Visitor Information

While you are here, discover all that Gainesville has to offer. Check out www.visitgainesville.com for outdoor recreation, restaurant recommendations, and other things to do.

If you would like to venture outside of Gainesville, the greater North Central Florida area also has a great deal to offer. Whether you are a beach-goer, an amusement park fan, or a nature enthusiast, there is so much to do. www.visitflorida.com/meeting-planners/convention-and-visitors-bureaus/

By Air

Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) is the most convenient airport for conference attendees. Located just 15 minutes from the University of Florida campus, GNV offers direct flights from major cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Miami. Attendees can easily catch a taxi, ride-share, or rental car from the airport to their hotel or the conference venue.

By Car

Gainesville is easily accessible via Interstate 75. Complimentary parking will be available for conference participants.

Can’t Make It to this Academy?

Don’t worry, we’re just getting started! We’ve got more PD opportunities in the works, both in-person and virtual.

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About UFLI

With the ultimate goal of improving student literacy, UFLI’s programs and resources aim to strengthen the knowledge and skills of practicing educators and build capacity in schools and school districts. Our work resides at the intersection of teacher development and reader development, guided by our belief that all children can learn to read, and that strong teachers build strong readers.

Since the center’s inception more than two decades ago, UFLI faculty have conducted innovative research on effective reading instruction and intervention, and developed nationally ranked graduate programs in special education with a focus on dyslexia. The creation, piloting, and launch of UFLI Foundations is the culmination of all of this work that came before it. Up to now, UFLI has offered fee-based in-person and virtual synchronous professional development to schools, school districts, state education agencies, community organizations, and more. Our implementation team facilitates sessions on elements of effective reading instruction generally, and in-depth sessions on implementing UFLI Foundations specifically. We also support instructional coaches and school leaders.

As a center within the University of Florida, UFLI is committed toUF’s core value of leaving the state of Florida, and the world,better than we found it.Our recent work has focused on the development, testing, and dissemination of UFLI Foundations, an evidence-based phonics program designed for all students in grades K through 2 and for intervention with older students.

UFLI Foundations has proven to be a remarkably effective program for teaching foundational reading skills, and its widespread use is thanks to the teachers who discovered it, tried it, saw their students’ reading proficiency soar, and shared their success with others. The spread was entirely through word of mouth, from educator to educator. Without a sales team, without an ounce of advertising, UFLI Foundations is currently used in more than a half million classrooms in North America alone.

A key element of UFLI Foundations is its educative nature.In other words, by following the program and implementing the lessons, the teacher will, in the process, become a more effective reading teacher. And by becoming a more competent, confident teacher, their students in turn will become competent, confident readers. The impact a single teacher can have on students over the course of their career is exponential.

UFLI offers fee-based in-person and virtual synchronous professional development to schools, school districts, state education agencies, community organizations, and more. Our implementation team facilitates sessions on elements of effective reading instruction generally, and in-depth sessions on implementing UFLI Foundations specifically. We also support instructional coaches and school leaders.

We are extremely excited to introduce a new professional learning model that will allow more educators to experience this type of PD from UFLI faculty and staff and improve their practice to impact countless students!