By Meizhen Dang
I first heard the name Cathy Jackson in 2018 when she mailed in a pile of her little handmade books. Impressed as I was by their thoroughness, creativity, and completeness, we soon had our first meeting on publishing her reading program – Best Reading Phonics.
Since that day, we worked on publishing the books and workbooks, offering workshops, and travelling to Toronto for an event called Reading for the Love of It. We even built a dedicated website to host Cathy’s Best Reading platform. Cathy worked through all the details in the design of the games that reinforce learning.
The longer I knew her, the more amazed I became. I was impressed by her dedication, her determination, and her love for children, so obvious in the process of completing the Best Reading program. All she wanted was to provide the best learning resource for kids, parents, and teachers. She never compromised on the excellence of her program: from each word and punctuation mark to the sequence of the words’ appearance in the stories; from images to audio; from lesson plans to teaching tips. She truly wanted to make it the best reading program to help children learn to become confident readers.
In 2024, when we licensed Best Reading Phonics to Pakistan, the New Horizons team suggested changing the word “pig” in the program to better fit the culture. Cathy kept thinking about how to save the program without using the short vowel word “pig”. While she was on a treadmill, an idea popped into her head: “kid”. So, we changed the word in all the texts and images across the books and online reading platform so the program would be made suitable for Muslim countries.
Today, Best Reading Phonics, a comprehensive reading program created with care, love, and dedication in an Ottawa classroom by such a beloved teacher as Cathy Jackson, has gone beyond Canada’s borders. It now helps children in Pakistan, China, Korea, and beyond.
Sadly, Cathy was diagnosed with cancer. Yet even while undergoing treatment, she never stopped working or thinking about the readers of her books. One time, right after her radiation, she asked to come by our office to make a few changes in the program so teachers could more easily find the resources. I told her to go home and rest. We would make the changes and get that to her as soon as they were finished. Her priority was always the children, even before herself.
Cathy passed away on November 3, 2025. A few days before, she was still emailing me to check if all the changes for the Pakistan online program were complete.
Cathy Jackson was a humble and intelligent person, a perfectionist in her work as a dedicated educator. She had a remarkably sharp mind (even in the last days of her life). She always wanted to give the very best to her young readers and learners. Best Reading Phonics is one of her many legacies alongside all the children who learned to read and write because of her care, creativity, and commitment.
Thank you, Cathy. We miss you.
In honour of our beloved author, for any sale of Best Reading Phonics in 2026, we will donate 10% of profits to charities close to Cathy’s heart:
• Barrhaven Food Cupboard – supporting local families in need
• Ruddy Shenkman Hospice – providing compassionate end of life care
Discover Cathy’s legacy – Best Reading Phonics – here.
