Dr. Lesley Sylvan is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Montclair State University. Dr. Sylvan is a certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) with extensive clinical experience working with school-aged children both in public school and private clinical settings. She completed a Master's degree in educational policy and management as well as a Doctorate degree in human development and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Broadly, Dr. Sylvan's scholarly interests center on the intersection between the field of education and the field of speech-language pathology. Within the intersection of education and speech-language pathology, she pursues research related to both the K-12 educational sector as well as issues related to higher education. She has authored numerous academic papers in these areas and is a regular speaker at academic conferences.

Related to K-12 settings, Dr. Sylvan’s research involves closely examining the work of school-based SLPs in public school settings with an emphasis on educational policies and educational reforms. Her forthcoming book by Plural Publishing, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: Implementation Tools for Speech-Language Pathologists in Education, provides answers to a range of questions related to educational policy and explores the applicability of the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to a speech-language pathologist’s role in schools. 

Related to higher education, Dr. Sylvan’s scholarly work encompasses issues related to the training and preparation of SLPs in higher educational settings. Within this area, she studies the implications of both program-level decisions (e.g. admissions requirements, coursework) and classroom-level pedagogical choices (e.g., course design, assignment selection) in departments offering degrees in speech-language pathology.

At Montclair State University, she teaches courses focused on language acquisition in children, language disorders in school-aged children, and research methodology. She views research mentorship as a key part of her teaching responsibilities and regularly publishes articles with Master’s-level students.

Centers on the intersection between the field of education and the field of speech-language pathology. Within the intersection of education and speech-language pathology, Dr. Sylvan pursues research related to both the K-12 educational sector as well as issues related to higher education.

Language disorders in school-aged children, special education policy, roles of the school speech-language pathologist, scholarship of teaching and learning, current practice patterns and personnel preparation needs in the field of speech-language pathology, multiple tiers of student support (MTSS) framework.

Language acquisition in children, language disorders in school-aged children, and research methodology. 

Expert on special education policy, frameworks to prevent school failure, and speech-language services in public schools.