Carolyn Hunter Denny, president of Texas Association for Literacy Education (TALE) and instructional specialist for the elementary language arts department at Northside Independent School District took some time to share news from this recently-formed but thriving International Reading Association council.

Drew and Jack Cassidy with 
Marie Martinez, Treasurer of 
the UTSA student IRA affiliate, 
at the Starbucks event 

What are some exciting upcoming council projects?

We're starting an electronic journal. We have a call for editors out now. 

We have a session at the IRA Annual Convention in cooperation with the Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading and the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts.

Our next conference is set for October 12, 2013, at the Texas State University-San Marcos' campus in Round Rock, Texas.

We will be doing a comparison of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (state standards) and the Common Core Standards.

What types of literacy outreach do your state and local councils do?

We are planning a drive for books for summer reading.

What are the benefits of joining your council?

The benefits include making connections with other Texas literacy educators, receiving timely information on literacy issues, and our annual conference.

How does one join or become involved?

You can find membership info on our website: www.texasreaders.org. There you will also find information about submitting to our newsletter, contacting the board, liking TALE on Facebook, submitting to the upcoming journal, presenting at our conference, and reviewing conference proposals.

IRA members can read more about TALE in the upcoming issue of Reading Today.