The International Reading Association is always eager to give our members tips and tricks for the classroom and for their own development. Our monthly e-newsletter, Inspire, is one of the tools we use to share best practices. In our efforts to keep the voice and advice found in Inspire fresh, we have invited three new voices to contribute to the newsletter and are excited to share their expertise in the coming year.

Cathy Collier is a certified reading specialist at Great Bridge Primary School in Chesapeake, Va. with an additional 15 years as a kindergarten teacher. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Special Education and is the immediate past president of the Virginia State Reading Association. Read more at her blog, The W.I.S.E. Owl “Where Instruction Supports Excellence.” On the site she shares best practices with fellow educators, with a focus on emergent readers. Follow her on Twitter at @Wiseowlcathy.

Brandi Leggett is a National Board Certified Teacher as a Middle Childhood Generalist. She received her master’s in Elementary Education from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. She currently teaches third grade at Prairie Ridge Elementary in Shawnee, Kan. Follow her class during the school year at Team Leggett.

Laren Hammonds teaches eighth grade language arts at Rock Quarry Middle School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her interests include media literacy, cross-curricular collaboration, and the design of learning spaces. Connect with her on Twitter where she goes by @_clayr_, or read more at her blog, Game to Learn.

Inspire is just one of the many benefits member access through the members-only section of Reading.org. If you don’t have access to the current or pasts issues of the newsletter, become an IRA member at /join.