Literacy Now

by Katie Branca

For many state councils, the balance between money and membership is a difficult one to find, especially with the challenges of an economic downturn. But for South Carolina, listening to the needs of the membership has pointed council leadership in the right direction.

From February 23 through February 25, the South Carolina State Council of the International Reading Association (SCIRA) will be holding its annual conference in Myrtle Beach, where convention-goers will experience a series of changes that have been in the works for the past five years. Many of these changes were made in response to membership requests. Immediate Past President Jean Brewington says they will also help balance the budget.

Meet Jean Brewington

Brewington, a member of the executive team that decided on and implemented these changes, has been a member of IRA for over 25 years and a member of SCIRA for over 20. With a master’s degree in Education in Reading from the University of South Carolina, and experience in the elementary classroom as well as in district administration, Brewington views literacy education from a few different perspectives. However, her goals and motivations have always remained the same.

“Our mission is to promote literacy through the improvement of reading instruction,” she said, adding the importance of fostering reading as a habit so that readers can use it as a lifetime tool for learning.

But, on a more simple level, Brewington said she has always focused on making people aware of all the opportunities to promote literacy. “Oftentimes educators will ask me to suggest a good book for a child to read or use in a study group,” Brewington explains, recalling how frequently she mentions the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in conversation. In fact, Brewington said she strives to promote literacy in every venue possible, whether it is face to face, in a newsletter, on Facebook or at the council’s annual conference.

Listening to Membership and Making Changes

Last year, Brewington and other SCIRA officers noticed that attendance on the Thursday night general session had declined significantly. SCIRA officials began to realize that teachers and school administrators simply could not leave their classrooms before the weekend. “The speaker was phenomenal but we realized we weren’t getting the bang for our buck,” Brewington said. “We knew we needed to make changes.”

After looking at membership data, brainstorming, and talking with other state leaders and conference planners, SCIRA chose to rework their conference schedule with teachers and school administrators in mind. Now, there are still general speakers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but the conference opens with a banquet on Friday night, featuring Jerry Pallota as the guest speaker, and members can choose to purchase tickets for the banquet alone. Saturday only tickets are also available, and the awards ceremony has been moved to Saturday so that all recipients can be present. In addition, SCIRA is offering Child Development Credit to college students studying education in the area.

“The motivation was to be more receptive to the participants’ needs,” Brewington said. “We knew that we were going to have to give up the Thursday night opening because of attendance and budget, but we knew we could redirect that to Friday night.”

For those literacy educators who can’t make it to the convention, SCIRA is also offering a one-day fall literacy workshop in Columbia, South Carolina. Members can purchase a ticket for $35 to attend breakout sessions, shop with book vendors, and create valuable local literacy connections. And for $50, nonmembers can attend as well, and $10 of that fee will give them an SCIRA membership.

“We wanted to offer more choices to better meet the needs of our attendees,” Brewington said. “There will be more options to choose from so that attendees can attend more events, be more involved, and get the resources that help them become literacy leaders.”

Beyond the Conference

SCIRA has also begun to make some behind-the-scenes changes that will balance the budget. Rather than holding their board meetings at Embassy Suites, a rental cost of $3,000 plus catering, they have found a local school that will rent space for only $100 and board members have agreed to provide food for the event. 

Board members, who once had separate rooms for every meeting, will also be rooming together, saving $400 per night, and $1,600 each year. And finally, with the changes in the convention schedule, the executive board will now arrive at convention on Wednesday afternoon instead of Tuesday, saving SCIRA even more on hotel expenses. SCIRA has also moved their newsletter online instead of having it published four times a year, a change that Brewington says has already saved a tremendous amount of money. “We do a journal once a year, too,” Brewington added, “and that’s about $20,000, but we still have people who want to hold something in their hands.”

Changes to Come

For the future, SCIRA has a few more changes in the works. To make the conference even more accessible to teachers, SCIRA hopes to coordinate the weekend of the conference with South Carolina’s professional staff development day, which will hopefully increase attendance and state-wide awareness of SCIRA as a resource. The executive board has also considered the possibility of changing the days of the conference altogether, so that the event would fall Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.

Brewington was careful to emphasize SCIRA’s commitment to listen to the membership and respond to its requests as a first priority. At first, when asked by members what changes she would like to see in the future, she replied, “What changes would you like to see?”

But, despite SCIRA’s willingness to react to the needs of the membership, there are a few central aspects of convention that Brewington thinks should stay awhile. “We know that teachers want to hear keynote speakers,” she said. “They need to hear the literacy leaders and they need breakout sessions to see what other teachers are doing.” And, perhaps most importantly, Brewington said attendees always need the opportunity to network. “[They like] networking, sharing, hearing ideas and beginning relationships.”

To register for SCIRA’s conference on February 23 to 25 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, visit http://scira.org/conference/. Or contact your local district coordinator for a paper registration form.

Photo caption: Jean Brewington; Tommy Preston, former President of the Student Body of the University of South Carolina (USC); Ellen Henricks, Executive Director of the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy; and Linda Grant, Chair of the Literacy Award Committee, celebrate a successful statewide literacy initiative featuring USC’s mascot “Cocky”

This article was printed in the February/March 2012 issue of Reading Today. Click here for more information about viewing the digital versions of Reading Today issues.

 

 

The International Reading Association’s Content Area Reading Special Interest Group (SIG) seeks an editor for its journal, effective June 1, 2012. 

The Content Area Reading SIG was formed to provide a forum where research and practice related to content area reading can be presented and discussed for the purpose of promoting reading comprehension in all disciplines and at all grade levels. 

The Content Area Reading SIG publishes the Journal of Content Area Reading, an international refereed professional journal. Articles published deal with literacy research and instruction in the content areas for preschool through high school and for college/university instruction. 

Beginning in 2002, the Journal of Content Area Reading has been published approximately once per year as a traditional print journal. In addition, beginning with Vol. 7, the Journal of Content Area Reading is displayed in EBSCO's Education Research Complete online database. 

To apply for the editor position, contact Mary W. Spor, Ph.D, at mwspor@aol.com. For more information about the Content Area Reading SIG, visit www.ucmo.edu/carsig/. 

 

International Reading Association (IRA) Global Operations Director Sakil Malik was present for Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid’s launch of the Global Literacy Professional Development (GLPDN) project at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, in December 2011. 

The GLPDN project’s goal is to enhance primary school teachers’ literacy instruction skills via mobile technology, aiming to provide training to 600 teachers in Bangladesh over the next three years. Nokia and Pearson Foundation will work with IRA and the Bangladesh Reading Association (BRA) to implement a pilot training project supported by professional development in the IRA Diagnostic Teaching Model (DTM) and literacy leadership development. The project is managed and conducted through IRA’s country affiliates. The Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) of the ministry of Primary and Mass education supports the project. 

For more information about IRA Global Operations, see /General/LocalAssociations/AsiCouncil.aspx.

 

Photo caption: Nokia EA country manager Abu Daud Khan, Bangladesh’s Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, and International Reading Association Global Operations Director Sakil Malik.

 

Estonia is a small Nordic country that celebrates high rates of literacy amongst its population. Yet, like most educated societies, teachers seek ways to improve literacy for all. Although literacy is high, parents are often uninformed on strategies to encourage and celebrate reading at home.

Since 2004 the Estonian Reading Association (www.lugemisyhing.ee, www.tallinn2011.ee) has conducted “Reading Nest” workshops for teachers to equip them with ideas and advice on how to create child-friendly, comfortable reading nooks in kindergarten and elementary school classrooms. These workshops use a variety of creative activities and games to support learning how to read. 

Reading Nest project won the International Reading Association Award for Innovative Reading Promotion in Europe 2009. Over those seven years while the Reading Nest Project has been active, almost 2000 teachers all over Estonia have attended the workshops. Now those teachers are willing and able to maintain better reading environments for children. The Estonian Reading Association has trained volunteer mentors who have spread their knowledge and know-how to other teachers in workshops. The enthusiasm of those mentors is the reason why this project has been so sustainable.

After success was gained from these services, it was decided that these techniques would be beneficial to parents’ understanding of developmental literacy approaches as well.

Adding Parents to the Mix

In 2011, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was named the European Capital of Culture and the Estonian Reading Association applied for and was awarded a grant from the organizing group to increase literacy by preparing a project called “Tallinn Reads in a Reading Nest” in Estonian, Russian, and English. This new program was to introduce techniques to help parents to support reading at home.

As a result on September 8, International Literacy Day workshops were given in ten different locations in Tallinn. Workshops were given by professional and experienced educators from the Estonian Reading Association. With funding support, the professional educators of Tallinn welcomed parents, grandparents and other caregivers to spend an afternoon exploring the topics of reading development, reading interest, supportive attitude, environment, and activities.

Parents were given training that answered such questions as:

• How to ignite and sustain interest in reading?
• How to help a child to become a reader?
• How to support a child’s reading development?
• How to create a supportive reading environment?”

In a friendly and encouraging atmosphere adults asked questions, shared examples, listened to advice, looked at books and played literacy games. The primary message was that reading is a process and everyone will learn to read at their own pace. Educators spoke to the fact that learning to read happens best in a caring, positive, fun and enjoyable environment. Parents were advised to give their children easy access to an abundance of print material (from labels and selfwritten notes to books and magazines).

Reading Regularly to Children

The most important piece of advice was for parents to regularly read aloud to their children. Teachers emphasized that listening to captivating stories and a beautiful rich language is a major influence in igniting reading passion in many children. At the “Tallinn Reads in a Reading Nest” workshops, parents were encouraged to set an example as readers, give a child new opportunities to share thinking, spend time talking about texts, and foremost notice and comment on the progress their children are making.

According to Sirje Torim, the project coordinator and Reading Nest Mentor of the Year, parents left workshops with a better understanding of how they already support their children’s reading development at home and were given more ideas on how to do it naturally. The feedback from workshop leaders and parents was quite positive and there were requests for more workshops in future.

 

This article was re-published from the December 2011/January 2012 print issue of Reading Today. Get news faster--join IRA today!

 

by Kathy Barclay

What’s the short scoop on the Illinois Reading Council (IRC)? IRC is an affi liate of the International Reading Association that serves approximately 5,000 members, publishes both a refereed journal and a quarterly newsletter, awards over $60,000 in grants for literacy projects in the state and internationally, and attracts over 3,000 attendees at its annual conference that yields a profit of over $320,000. IRA’s 2012 annual convention will take place in our “home court” next spring.

Like other state IRA councils, the IRC advocates quality literacy opportunities for all learners and serves as an organization to provide educators at all levels access to research, materials, and methodologies to promote and teach lifelong literacy and learning. Recognizing that its strength is in its membership, the IRC supports an active, well-organized system of local and special interest council and state committees that, in turn, provide a viable network for communication, exchange of information, and grass roots involvement of a diverse membership.

Local and Special Interest Councils

There are 27 local councils in communities in Illinois and five special interest statewide councils, including the Illinois Council for Affective Reading Education (ICARE), Secondary Reading League (SRL), Illinois Title I Association (ITA), College Instructors of Reading Professionals (CIRP), and the Illinois Language and Literacy Council (ILLC). In addition, there are 11 standing committees, 14 special committees, and two ad hoc committees. Among the committees are those devoted to legislation, studies and research, intellectual freedom, international, and RTI/Common Core. As one can imagine, when there are as many cogs in the wheel as there are within the IRC, high-quality, well-functioning leadership is a must!

Permanent Executive Office

Almost 25 years ago, the elected leadership of IRC had the foresight to realize the organization’s future role as a comprehensive state literacy organization within Illinois, and it voted to establish a permanent office staffed by a full-time Executive Director. Arlene Pennie has served as the Executive Director since the creation of the position, and the state IRC staff has expanded to also include an Assistant Executive Director, Carrie Sheridan; a Membership Coordinator, Brenda Ferrara; and an Exhibits Coordinator, Kendra Kornfeld.

Each year, the Board of Directors meets bimonthly to review state and local council events and activities. These regular meetings help us maintain a strong statewide connection and system of support and communication for our council and members. In addition, each summer the IRC hosts a three-day Leadership Retreat for Local Council Officers, State Committee Chairs, Regional Directors, and Executive Officers.

Expanding Use of Technology

Personal, face-to-face communication is augmented by our expanding use of technology. In addition to an everexpanding website, the IRC is now on Facebook, and has its own social networking site, IRC Ning, where members can create their own page, host discussions on topics of interest, share photos, post and retrieve conference handouts, and much more. A new Technology Committee facilitates use of technology during, and shares classroom tips, at each of our IRC board meetings.

Membership Values

Members may join a local council of their choice, with the price of joining the local council included in the $40 state membership fee. Local councils support their members in myriad ways. Most hold three or more local events annually, such as speakers, conferences, or Family Reading Nights at their libraries.

IRC’s five special interest councils also host regular offerings and special events throughout the year, including a stand of sessions during the annual statewide conference.

The Secondary Reading League (SRL) sponsors a number of annual events, including Illinois’ premier secondary reading and literacy conference with over 20 concurrent sessions featuring the latest best practice in reading and literacy instruction.

The College Instructors of Reading Professionals (CIRP) will be hosting a teleseminar, Chasing Grant Dollars, on January 30, 2012, to help members and other interested participants update their grant-writing skills.

The Illinois Council for Affective Reading Education (ICARE) is accepting submissions for Books Created for Illinois Students, By Illinois Students. This unique literacy project is designed to gather information about statues, memorials, or monuments in communities throughout Illinois.

The Illinois Language and Literacy Council (ILLC) hosts a statewide Young Authors’ Conference each May. Designed as a celebration to honor exceptional writing by students in grades K through 8, the conference provides an opportunity for these young writers to meet published authors and to hear how the authors themselves create the characters and stories that have become their books.

Illinois Title I Association (ITA) promotes successful instructional practices. ITA members are kept current on research, regulations, and policies associated with Title I programs in Illinois and the nation through regular meetings held throughout the year.

A full listing of these and other upcoming state and local events may be found on the IRC website at www.illinoisreadingcouncil.org/eventscalendar.html.

Publications

Members also receive our highly acclaimed journal and newsletter, both of which are packed with relevant and interesting articles and information about upcoming opportunities. The Illinois Reading Council Communicator is a quarterly newsletter to keep members up-to-date on current activities. The Illinois Reading Council Journal (IRCJ) is published four times a year exclusively for IRC members with topics, issues, and events of interest to teachers, reading specialists, and administrators involved in literacy programs at all levels of education. Both publications are also available online for IRC members.

Annual Statewide Conference

On March 15 to 17, 2012, the IRC will host its 44th Annual IRC Conference, “Literacy in the Land of Lincoln,” in Springfield, Illinois. This statewide annual conference is held each year in March, and features many popular authors, exhibitors, and the opportunity to network with friends and colleagues from all over the state. This year’s conference will feature sessions by Donna Ogle, Gary Paulson, Patricia McLachlin, Jack Gantos, Harvey Daniels, Sonia Whitaker, Victoria Risko, Sally Hampton, and Laurie Henry, to name but a few of the many authors and researchers scheduled to appear.

Grants and Awards

IRC has an exceptionally strong grant program aimed at promoting literacy development in the school and community and providing professional development opportunities related to the improvement of reading and writing instruction. Grant awards range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the project, and projects vary widely in topic.

We also confer a number of awards to recognize those individuals who have excelled in their efforts to promote literacy development within Illinois. These honors include the Barack Obama Library Award, the Prairie State Award for Excellence in Writing for Children, the Legislator of the Year Award, the Illinois Reading Educator of the Year Award, the Parents and Reading Award, the Gene Cramer ICARE for Reading Award, the Hall of Fame Award, the Illinois Reading Educator of the Year Award, and the IRC Service Award.

External Collaborations

Recognizing the importance of statewide collaboration for literacy, the IRC has established strong ties with several organizations and agencies in Illinois. Liaisons from the Illinois State Board of Education, the State Foundation for Literacy, the Rebecca Caudill Award Committee, and the Illinois School Library Media Association serve as members of the IRC Board of Directors. The Executive Director and representatives from the IRC are also frequent exhibitors at the national IRA conference as well as at conferences hosted by a variety of other professional educational and civic organizations.

Stimulating Professional Growth

The IRC’s mission is to stimulate the professional growth of literacy educators in Illinois. With support from IRA, the Illinois Reading Council continues to seek new ways to collectively foster the expansion of our vision within and beyond our state borders.

Explore our website at www.illinoisreadingcouncil.org or call our offi ce at 1-888-454-1341 to learn more about how you can establish and maintain a vibrant state council that truly serves to support and expand literacy in your state.

Kathy Barclay is professor and former chair of early childhood and literacy at Western Illinois University, and the editor for the Illinois Reading Council Journal.

 

This is an excerpt of an article from the December 2011/January 2012 print issue of Reading Today. Get the scoop faster -- join IRA today!