During its annual awards ceremony, the International Literacy Association recognized outstanding achievements in the world of literacy Sunday at the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston.
Hosted by Douglas Fisher, incoming vice president of the ILA Board of Directors, a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University, teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College, and member of the California Reading Hall of Fame, the ceremony applauded several honorees’ accomplishments in literacy excellence.
Guest presenters included Mary Ellen Vogt, Jerry Johns, Carmelita Williams, Jack Cassidy, Angela Rivell, Tiffany Sears, Carrice Cummins, and Nancy Frey.
Fisher said the ILA Awards are something special that he looks forward to every year.
“It’s something that ILA honors our own,” he said. “We have people in schools who transform lives and it’s important to recognize that.”
The 2016 award recipients were:
Technology and Literacy Award
Sara Hamerla, Framingham, MA, for Academic Conversations Promote Literacy for ELLs
Kaity Kao, Taipei, Taiwan, for Using Technology to Teach Literacy to the Advanced Student
Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading
Lori Helman, Minneapolis, MN
Outstanding Dissertation of the Year
Julie Learned, New York, NY
ILA Advocacy Award
- Illinois Reading Council, Louis Ferrolli, president
- Louisiana Reading Association, Brandi McNabb, president
- Keystone State Reading Association, Michael Williams, president
- Texas Association for Literacy Education, Robert Raymond, president
- Virginia State Reading Association, Tiffany Brocious, president
- Wisconsin State Reading Association, Susan Boquist, president
ILA Exemplary Reading Program Award
- R.J. Vial Elementary School, Paradis, LA
- Carlton Innovation School, Salem, MA
- Lake Orion Community School, Lake Orion, MI
- Joan Austin Elementary School, Newberg, OR
- Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary School, Campobello, SC
ILA Local Council Community Service Award
First Place – North Central Arkansas Reading Council, Angie Betancourt, president
Second Place – Tar River Reading Council, Denise Owens, president
Special Service Award
Lesley M. Morrow, Scotch Plains, NJ
William S. Gray Citation of Merit Award
Douglas Fisher, San Diego, CA
Other honorees included:
ILA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award
Primary Winners
Fiction: A Dog Wearing Shoes. Sangmi Ko. Random House.
Nonfiction: Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Lindsay Mattick, Ill., Sophie Blackall. Little Brown.
Intermediate Winners
Fiction: A Blind Guide to Stinkville. Beth Vrabel. Little Brown.; Hoodoo. Ronald L. Smith. Clarion.
Nonfiction: Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show on Earth. Laura A. Woollett. Chicago Review Press.
Young Adult Winner
Fiction: Denton’s Little Death Date. Lance Rubin. Knopf.
ILA Dina Feitelson Award
Susan Hopewell, Boulder, CO, and Kathy Escamilla, Boulder, CO, for “Struggling reader or emerging biliterate student? Reevaluating the criteria for labeling emerging bilingual students as low achieving”. Journal of Literacy Research, 46(1), 68-89.
Laura A. Woollett won the ILA Book Award for intermediate nonfiction for "Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show on Earth".
ILA Elva Knight Research Grant
Eric Claravall, San Francisco, CA, for project titled Fostering Historical Thinking to Develop Literacy Skills Among Middle School Students in Special Education
ILA Helen M. Robinson Grant
Colleen Whittingham, Chicago, IL, for Local Literacies, Preschool Practices, Sponsored Spaces: A Case of One Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Preschool Classroom
ILA Jeanne S. Chall Research Fellowship
Sarah Lupo, Barboursville, VA, for project titled Investigating the Relationship of Text Selection and Instructional Method to Adolescent Readers’ Comprehension Proficiency during Intervention
ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award
Irene Latham for Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole
ILA Nila Banton Smith Award
Shavonne Marie Jacobson, Troy, MI
ILA Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant
Amy C. Sippert, Oshkosh, WI
ILA Steven A. Stahl Research Grant
Margaret Troyer, Somerville, MA, for project titled Teaching by the Book: Teacher Implementation of a Reading Intervention
ILA Teacher as Researcher Grant
Danielle Rylak, Phoenix, AZ, and Erin Ruegg, Phoenix, AZ, for project titled How Can Spanish Trade Books Support Family Involvement and Improvement in Spanish and English Literacy for Dual Language Learners?
ILA Achievement Awards
Teacher Empowerment: Wisconsin State Reading Association
Community Engagement: Illinois Reading Council
Public Awareness: Keystone State Reading Association
ILA Distinguished Council Award
Virginia State Reading Association
Click here for more information about the ILA Awards and Grants program.