Literacy Now

1993 IRA William S. Grey Citation of Merit Winner

October 4, 2013

Anthony Vito Manzo, Tony, age 73, died on Saturday, August 17, released at long last from the relentlessness of pancreatic cancer. Tony was born in 1940, son of Vito and Gerolema Manzo of Brooklyn, and grandson of Antonio and Francis Manzo, and Giuseppe and Vita Distefano, all of Castelvetrano, Sicily, and each of whom he held close in his heart for all of his life.

Dr. Manzo was Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. There he founded and directed the Center for Studies in Higher-Order Literacy and the Education Unit of a unique Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program. He was a groundbreaking scholar, distinguishing himself early with a 1969 dissertation that was published in article form in the same year and is still widely cited in journals and textbooks in the field. His remarkable subsequent productivity was honored by a 1993 selection to join an elite group of academicians as recipient of the International Reading Association’s William S. Gray Citation of Merit for lifetime research and publications that have “vastly improved the instructional dynamics of countless classrooms and inspired the work of other scholars and researchers.” The doctoral students he mentored over a thirty-year career have made significant contributions to the field and have, in turn, mentored others. Tony was well aware that his reach always exceeded his grasp, and he left with many projects on the drawing board. 

In family gatherings, at the handball club or other social occasions, Tony could always be counted on for amusing anecdotes or mind altering opinions about history, politics, psychology, society, or life in general. Tony is survived by his wife Ula, children Maria, Lisa, Anthony, and Byron, and grandchildren Kristin, Claire, Sophia, Max, Ivan, Alexander, Gianna, Francesca, Nicolo, and Tommy John.  He treasured them each, individually, and followed and guided their life paths with high expectations for their success and happiness.

A private family burial was held at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest and a memorial service was held on Saturday, August 24 at O’Connor Mortuary, 25301 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, California.

The International Reading Association (IRA) is pleased to announce our Board nominees for 2014-15.

2014 Slate for IRA Board of Directors:
Donald Bear, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Julie Coiro, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island
Eric Cooper, National Urban Alliance, Syosset, New York
Lori DiGisi, Framingham Public Schools, Framingham, Massachusetts
Janice Dole, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Glenda Nugent, Private Consultant, Saint Peters, Missouri

2014 Slate for IRA Vice-President:
Diane Barone, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada
Brenda Overturf, Educational Consultant, Louisville, Kentucky

The election opens on December 16, 2013. The deadline to vote is 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Savings Time) on February 10, 2014. New Board members begin their terms at the IRA Annual Conference in May 2014.

IRA members who have provided IRA with a valid e-mail address and have opted to receive e-mails from IRA will receive your ballot by e-mail and can vote online. Visit the IRA member account page on Reading.org, e-mail customerservice@/, or call 1-800-336-READ to check and update your e-mail address.

IRA members who do not have valid e-mails or who have opted not to receive e-mails from IRA will receive paper ballots but will still have the opportunity to vote online.

More information about the nominees will be publicized on the Board Elections section of IRA's website and on Reading Today Online soon.

On Saturday, October 12, Dr. Jack Cassidy, received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Literacy Education at the annual conference of the Texas Association for Literacy Education (TALE). Also, the TALE Board voted to name the award in his honor. The award will now be called the “Jack Cassidy Lifetime Achievement in Literacy Education Award.”

Cassidy was one of the founders and the first President of TALE in 2011-2012. Texas is the second largest state in land area, and coincidentally Cassidy is one of the founders and first elected President of the Diamond State Reading Association (DSRA) in Delaware, the nation’s second smallest state in land area.

In the almost forty years between his first and second state presidencies, Cassidy was elected president of the International Reading Association and the Association for Literacy Education and Research (ALER - formerly the College Reading Association). In 1994, he received the IRA Special Service Award, which is given, from time to time, for unusual and distinguished service to the International Reading Association recognizing admirable service to the organization in some specific capacity or capacities, requiring special skills, knowledge, and creative effort. In 2007, ALER gave him the A.B. Herr Award for distinguished service in reading. It recognizes a professional educator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of reading. In 2010, Cassidy was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame, considered one of the most prestigious awards granted to those in literacy education.

Cassidy has over 100 national publications including over 50 nationally refereed journal articles, books, and book chapters. In addition, he has been an author, editor  or consultant on over a dozen series of texts and materials for children and youth. For 18 years, with various co-authors, he has written a column, “What’s Hot What’s Not in Literacy." The most recent column appears in the August/September 2013 issue of Reading Today. Longer discussions of literacy trends and issues (also with various co-authors) appear in a number of refereed journals, the most recent of which is the September 2013 issue of the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (“What Was Hot–and Not–in Literacy: What We Can Learn”). He has worked as a consultant for Educational Testing Service and was part of the Verbal Advisory Panel for the Scholastic Aptitude Test. In addition to hundreds of presentations in the United States, Cassidy has also presented papers in Australia (two times), Belgium, Canada (five times), Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Hungary (two times), Ireland (three times), New Zealand (two times), Philippines (two times), Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

In 2011, Cassidy retired as associate dean in the College of Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He is also Professor Emeritus at Millersville University (PA). Cassidy has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in reading from Temple University in Philadelphia.

The City of Sta. Rosa in Laguna, Philippines, celebrated International Literacy Day (ILD) on September 9 with Book Characters on Parade, a Slogan Contest, and Reader’s Theater. The event was highlighted by Honorable Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas reading to over 150 children in the People's Hall of the City of Sta. Rosa. The pages of the children's books she read were projected on a screen so that all attendees could read along. The Mayor also raffled off 20 bicycles to highlight one of the books she read in Filipino, “Ang Bisikleta ni Monmon.”

The Mayor has sustained her support for this annual literacy event in the city for the past seven years. The reading with the Mayor has always ended with each child having a book in his/her hand. Her advocacy models a significant adult in the community who values love for books and reading.

This activity is very much in line with the 2013 ILD theme adopted by International Reading Association, “Invent Your Future,” which was celebrated throughout the month of September. 

The City of Sta. Rosa’s ILD celebration was participated in by both public and private schools elementary pupils, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, government and non-government officials, the Dep. Ed. City Division, the Private Schools Administrators Association, Rotary Clubs of Sta. Rosa, the Reading Association of the Philippines, and parents. The President of International Reading Association, Dr. Maureen McLaughlin sent her greetings and message to the city stakeholders in education for all the things that they do to spread the good news of literacy and helping the children invent their future!

Furthermore the Reading Association of the Philippines under the leadership of the President, Melissa Orencia, a partner of the City in this yearly event, has scheduled a Kwentuhan sa Daycare and a Training of Daycare teachers before the end of
September. Likewise, Adarna House will donate books for the children who will participate in the kwentuhan.

For more information about the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP), visit http://rap.org.ph.

Sally (Rizalina) Labanda is a Past President of the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP) and a former International Reading Association board member.

On Monday, September 9, the International Reading Association (IRA) celebrated International Literacy Day with an exclusive event at The Whittemore House in Washington, DC.

The program centered on the theme of career readiness and featured speakers Alma Powell from America’s Promise Alliance, IRA President Maureen McLaughlin, and a panel including Glenn Marshall from the National Association for Manufacturing Excellence, English/Reading Specialist Ann Kennedy from Arlington Mill High School, Rich Carson from Rotary International, and Jaimie Matthews from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. IRA Director of Government Relations Richard Long moderated.

The event was enriched by a question-and-answer segment at the end, where attendees enjoyed the opportunity to ask the speakers questions and hear insightful responses to their organizations’ specific challenges.

Alma Powell

Alma Powell and Maureen McLaughlin

Ann Kennedy, Jaimie Matthews, Rich Carson, and Glenn Marshall

Glenn Marshall, Alma Powell, Maureen McLaughlin, Jaimie Matthews, Ann Kennedy, Richard Long, and Rich Carson

More details of the Washington, DC event and other projects in IRA’s International Literacy Day celebration will be featured in the next issue of Reading Today, IRA’s bimonthly member magazine. For more information about this event, read the press release.