Literacy Now

This year was filled with powerful moments at ILA. As we look to the next decade, we take a moment to remember beloved ILA members we lost in 2019. Although they are no longer with us, the legacies these literacy champions leave will live on through their work and the changes that have come about as a result of their enduring commitment to transforming lives through literacy.

Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins passed away on August 8 in Cape Coral, FL. Hopkins dedicated his career to writing numerous children’s books, which earned him the Guinness World Record for “most prolific anthologist of poetry for children,” with 113 titles to his name when the record was declared in 2011. As a former teacher and ILA member, he was known for his community service and dedication to providing resources to educators. His legacy lives on through pieces such as Wonderful Words: Poems About Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, Been to Yesterdays: Poems of Life, and many more.

Alan Crawford, emeritus professor of education at California State University, Los Angeles, passed away this summer. Crawford leaves behind a long legacy of championing best practices in literacy instruction, especially for English learners. A longtime member of ILA, he served as president of the California Reading Association from 1986 to 1987 and as a representative of the International Reading Association (IRA) to UNESCO for many years. In 2018, Crawford and his colleague, Charles Temple, were awarded the ILA Constance McCullough International Research Grant. With the funds, the two launched the Reading-Krio project, an effort to promote native language literacy instruction in Sierra Leone.

An early pioneer of ILA, Elizabeth Hunter-Grundin passed away on June 19. She and her husband, Hans, were dedicated to improving literacy throughout European schools, where they were based. Not only was she an ILA (formerly IRA) Board member in the 1980s, but she was also a past president of the United Kingdom Reading Association. As a researcher, teacher, and consultant in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, she focused on child-centered and holistic approaches to early literacy learning.

Professor of Reading Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Linda Dorn passed away September 18. As a former Arkansas Literacy Association and ILA member, she presented at over 300 state, national, and international conferences, including keynote addresses and featured sessions. Dorn was Reading Recovery Trainer and was past president of the Board of Directors for the Reading Recovery Council of North America. At the state level, she had testified to legislative and state agencies on literacy instruction, and her work continues to be influential in shaping educational initiatives in the state.  

Past president of the Salt Lake Reading Council and former ILA Board member Ethna Reid passed away July 13. She was known to many as a teacher, principal, supervisor, and director of the Reading Clinic in Granite, Ogden, and Salt Lake School Districts. Reid also was the founder and principal of Reid School, located in Salt Lake City, UT. As developer of the reading language arts program, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, she worked to train teachers in eight critical teaching behaviors that lead to student success. Because of the high scores the program received, Reid was awarded "Distinguished Professional Award" for her outstanding contributions toward the education of  children in the United States.

Past president of ILA Roger Farr passed away in September. Farr served as emeritus chancellor's professor of education and director of the Center for Innovation and Assessment at Indiana University and wrote numerous assessments, including both standardized tests and performance assessments. From 1968 to 1980 he was coeditor of Reading Research Quarterly. In 1984, ILA honored Farr with the William S. Gray Citation of Merit for outstanding lifetime contributions to the teaching of reading. That same year, he was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame.

Although these champions in literacy are no longer with us, their combined efforts have changed the way we teach and understand literacy. We celebrate their lives and the lessons these leaders leave behind as we continue to promote literacy around the world.

We have received messages from a number of you regarding inflammatory and inappropriate comments made at a recent conference hosted by a state chapter.

We want to make it clear that ILA does not tolerate speech that is harassing, threatening, or violent in nature.

In 2018, ILA implemented a Code of Conduct for Participants of ILA Meetings and Events to ensure that the ILA conferences and other ILA meetings and events are safe spaces for all involved.

Leaders of our state chapters, which host their own state conferences, are encouraged to adopt or adapt this Code of Conduct for their meetings and events as well.

Furthermore, ILA’s Member Code of Conduct sets forth an expectation for all members to “follow the ethical standards and best practices evidenced by this Code of Conduct at all times, including, but not limited to: behaving with common courtesy and civility; conducting themselves in a businesslike, ethical and appropriate manner; and not engaging in or facilitating any discriminatory or harassing behavior.”

ILA takes reports of misconduct very seriously. While our organization does not comment on active investigations or disciplinary procedures, we want to assure our members, conference attendees, and other stakeholders that we are taking the appropriate steps to address this situation and are looking at other safeguards we can put in place to avoid a similar incident in the future.

Lastly, we want to encourage those who have experienced or observed violations of either Code of Conduct to contact us by emailing safety@reading.org.

The ILA Board of Directors exemplify the best in literacy leadership. Through commitment, thought leadership, and expertise, each member is dedicated to ILA’s mission: to empower educators, inspire students, and encourage leaders with the resources they need to make literacy accessible for all.

The Nominating Committee seeks committed and capable candidates from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, experiences, professions, perspectives, and areas of expertise to serve on the ILA Board of Directors. Vital to the organization’s long-term success and financial health, nominees should be individuals who are dedicated to achieving ILA objectives, which include actively promoting ILA’s mission, ensuring effective organization planning, participating in all Board activities, and maintaining adequate resources.

Kia Brown-Dudley, current ILA Board Member and director of Literacy and Development at The Education Partners, was elected in 2019.

“ILA has been a trusted resource since day one of my career in literacy education, over 20 years ago,” Brown-Dudley said. “Joining the Board is my way of paying it forward—helping to advance equity, transforming literacy for future generations.”

Board members are asked to serve a three-year term (2019–2022) and should plan to spend at least 50 hours a year on ILA activities, excluding travel. Meetings are conducted face to face and virtually. Each Board member is expected to serve on one or more committees or task forces.

For Brown-Dudley, meetings are one of the best parts of the job.

“My favorite part of being a Member-at-Large is meeting, collaborating, and serving our dynamic, dedicated membership, as they work assiduously to make the transformative power of literacy accessible for all,” she said.

Wondering if you should apply? Brown-Dudley says to just do it! Whether you are an advocate, educator, researcher, or work in the public or private sector, you have a unique set of skills and experiences that will add value to the organization's leadership team.

Learn more about serving on ILA's Board of Directors, as well as how to nominate yourself or a colleague for one of the open positions, by downloading this guide. You can submit a nomination for yourself or a colleague through January 10, 2020.

Thousands of educators and researchers converged on New Orleans, LA, last month for the ILA 2019 Conference. Interactive panels, casual conversations, and thought-provoking sessions led to new themes emerging from the conference that sparked fresh ideas. 

Writing is a crucial skill to develop in our young learners. Regardless of the discipline they’ll eventually grow into, writing will inevitably be involved.

Nowadays, even writing proper emails is considered an important skill to learn. Therefore, helping young writers develop a strong foundation that will support a continual growth of their writing skills throughout their educational career is more important now than ever. The problem is, many students are averse to writing. Some struggle to come up with ideas to write about, whereas others just outright dislike it.