The International Literacy Association (ILA) held the ILA 2019 Conference in New Orleans, LA, from October 10–13, 2019. Thousands of educators, teachers, and researchers descended on The Big Easy to hear from notable speakers, engage in important conversations, and mingle with their fellow colleagues from around the world.

Throughout the three-day conference, attendees, both in person and virtually, flooded Twitter with conference quotes, photos, and discussion of literacy education using the hashtags #ILA19, #ILAequity, and #ILAresearch. Check out 40 tweets that captured the essence of this year’s conference.

https://twitter.com/rhenson80/status/1182096105175171073

https://twitter.com/librarypendley/status/1182630544665960448

On October 10, ILA 2019 held Institute Day, which offered interactive, full-day courses that allowed educators to take a deep dive into literacy topics with leaders in the field.


https://twitter.com/SOConnorLA/status/1182359296128049153


    https://twitter.com/colemanlah/status/1182307771678674944

The Welcome to ILA 2019 Event on Thursday night gave attendees the opportunity to enjoy pre-Core Conference festivities with countless exhibitors, treats, activities, and even a live New Orleans band to kick off the conference.

https://twitter.com/2018LATOY/status/1183244651266007041

The excitement continued into Day 2 as Core Conference attendees arrived at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center bright and early to hear keynotes Chelsea Clinton, Hamish Brewer, Pedro A. Noguera, and Renèe Watson.

https://twitter.com/EdnaAnafi/status/1182651011053305857

https://twitter.com/AmandaRapstad/status/1182655206745657344

https://twitter.com/M_Panozzo/status/1182665468819267586

https://twitter.com/sjimenez99/status/1182666673234612226

After his post-General Session book signing, Dr. Noguera led The Intersection of Literacy, Equity, and Social-Emotional Learning, offered as part of this year’s Equity in Education Program. Joining him was Jovanni Ramos, Justina Schlund, Kathleen Theodore, and Stephanie K. Siddens, all of whom drew on data and research to illustrate the role social-emotional learning plays in the literacy classroom.

https://twitter.com/clairemriddell/status/1182690411384655872

https://twitter.com/geralddessus/status/1182695529337315328

The first day of the Core Conference also welcomed Featured Speakers Dave Stuart and David Kirkland.

https://twitter.com/ATorresElias/status/1182728597628276737

https://twitter.com/LMuncherjee/status/1182753624004407296

On Saturday, October 12, roughly 250 educators showed up ready to learn at 7:00 a.m. sharp. Why? To see P. David Pearson lead a critical conversation about evidence-based instruction.

What Research Really Says About Teaching Reading—and Why That Still Matters also featured Nell K. Duke, Sonia Cabell, and Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon and attracted hundreds of additional viewers via livestream. It also generated request after request for additional programming and resources on the topic.

https://twitter.com/ShawnaCoppola/status/1182990843663269888

https://twitter.com/lyssareads/status/1182999416212508672

https://twitter.com/patjburke/status/1183013238662991873

Later that morning, the Equity in Education Program continued with Integrating Social-Emotional Learning in the Literacy Classroom featuring Kimberly Eckert,  Gerald Dessus, Shawna Coppola, Tiana Silvas, and Tamera Slaughter.

https://twitter.com/triciaebarvia/status/1183070998201094146

https://twitter.com/dylanteut/status/1183066778257313794

https://twitter.com/DrMaryHoward/status/1183058000052916224

Tricia Ebarvia and Donalyn Miller were Saturday’s Featured Speakers.

https://twitter.com/catydear/status/1183026952199950336

Children’s Literature Day took place on Sunday, October 13. The full-day event for educators, librarians, and children's literature enthusiasts featured keynote addresses by celebrated authors, interactive break-out sessions, presentation of the ILA 2019 Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards, and the opportunity mingle with featured authors.

https://twitter.com/shannonl73/status/1183376775096799232

https://twitter.com/shrtsmrtbrwnwmn/status/1183385258789691393

https://twitter.com/whitney_larocca/status/1183442978616025091

While thousands of educators joined ILA in New Orleans, hundreds of people across the world attended #LA19 virtually.

https://twitter.com/drdonvu/status/1182684584716070913

https://twitter.com/ShawnaCoppola/status/1183009672711868416

https://twitter.com/tenilleshade/status/1183370803200573442

Throughout the conference, a new theme emerged that resonated with thousands of attendees: Tell and write stories so you can be heard.

https://twitter.com/Jacquelyn_R_B/status/1183428614928457733

https://twitter.com/kgfletchy/status/1183126550742519809

The conference even gave rise to a new hashtag, “#ILATweachers,” which grew out of a workshop that took place Saturday morning.

https://twitter.com/AffinitoLit/status/1183033740433465344

https://twitter.com/PatriciaNewman/status/1183088690207350784

https://twitter.com/LoganBlock5/status/1183386372482195456

While sessions and panels sparked creativity, ideas, and thought-provoking conversations among attendees, many memorable moments were captured outside of the meeting rooms.

https://twitter.com/triciaebarvia/status/1183147681327337476

https://twitter.com/maciekerbs/status/1182701751675314176

https://twitter.com/M_Panozzo/status/1182727525363048449

https://twitter.com/Antley_DWord/status/1183118004101492736

#ILA19 may be over, but it’s never too early to start thinking about next year! Join us for ILA 2020, October 15-18, 2020 in Columbus, OH.