Promoting the importance and enjoyment of reading outside of the classroom can help solidify students as lifelong readers. Events like literacy nights and book fairs demonstrate the value of books, while book distribution venues such as bookmobiles and Little Free Libraries expand the access to reading materials for those who need it most.

How can educators successfully organize these kinds of events and bring literacy into their community? Our next #ILAchat discusses this topic on Thursday, September 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Ahead of this chat, we asked educators how they engage their communities to promote literacy, and the responses were not only varied, but enthusiastic:

Organizing events like these come with challenges: What type of event do you want to host? How will this event be embraced by the students and the community? What format will best fit your intended audience? How do you attract adults and youth alike?

To answer these questions and more, we’ve asked Todd Nesloney and Travis Crowder to host our upcoming #ILAchat.

Nesloney is the principal of Webb Elementary in Navasota, TX. He is a White House Champion of Change, Texas Computer Education Association Teacher of the Year, National School Board Association 20 to Watch, and Center for Digital Education Top 40 Innovator in Education. Todd is also the coauthor of the hit book Kids Deserve It! and author of the upcoming book, Stories From Webb (to be released December 2017). Check out Nesloney’s TEDx talk for more on his experiences working with his community and why students need a cheerleader in their life.

Crowder is a middle school English/language arts teacher at East Alexander Middle School in Hiddenite, NC. He has taught for 10 years and has experience in both middle and high school levels. He believes reading and writing are the soul of a teaching life, and he strives to help his students and coworkers build robust reading and writing habits. 

Join us on Thursday, September 14, at 8:00 p.m. for our #ILAchat on promoting literacy through community events. We invite you to come with success stories, learning experiences, and questions about organizing and executing these events so that we can all learn together how to better serve students, families, and communities.