Embracing Literacy 2025 Events

Introduction
Effective and informed leadership is essential for driving literacy initiatives and fostering the daily motivation needed to be the chief reminding officer and casting the vision, meeting the discrete mission goals, and transforming a system. In this session, we explore leadership moves that promote literacy excellence, from setting a vision to providing ongoing support and professional development. Participants will gain practical strategies for leading literacy improvement efforts within their schools or districts. The learning experience in this session comes from a six-day literacy leadership course.
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key leadership moves that drive literacy improvement, including vision-setting, strategic alignment, and consistent messaging.
   
2. Examine how leaders can serve as motivators, vision-casters, and chief reminding officers to sustain momentum in literacy initiatives.
   
3. Apply practical strategies from a research-based literacy leadership framework to support ongoing professional development and system-wide transformation.
   

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
  
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
  
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?
  

Introduction
High-impact literacy instruction begins when research moves off the page and into practice. This session empowers educators and leaders to close the gap between theory and action by translating the latest findings from literacy research into strategies that work in real classrooms. Participants will explore key research insights, learn how to critically evaluate evidence, and discover how to implement practices aligned with the science of reading. Designed for teachers, instructional leaders, and administrators, this session offers tools for making research-informed decisions that lead to better outcomes for all students.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Interpret current literacy research and identify its relevance to classroom instruction and system-level decision-making.
2. Evaluate evidence-based practices aligned with the science of reading for application in school or district settings.
3. Develop plans to integrate research-aligned strategies into ongoing instructional improvement efforts with fidelity and sustainability.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?

Introduction
Effective and informed leadership is essential for driving literacy initiatives and fostering the daily motivation needed to be the chief reminding officer and casting the vision, meeting the discrete mission goals, and transforming a system. In this session, we explore leadership moves that promote literacy excellence, from setting a vision to providing ongoing support and professional development. Participants will gain practical strategies for leading literacy improvement efforts within their schools or districts. The learning experience in this session comes from a six-day literacy leadership course.
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key leadership moves that drive literacy improvement, including vision-setting, strategic alignment, and consistent messaging.
2. Examine how leaders can serve as motivators, vision-casters, and chief reminding officers to sustain momentum in literacy initiatives.
3. Apply practical strategies from a research-based literacy leadership framework to support ongoing professional development and system-wide transformation.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?

Introduction:

What’s “reading science” got to do with English Learners? The short answer to this question is, “A lot.” A more informative answer requires answers to these questions, which this presentation targeted to educators in schools and classrooms will address: What’s the "science of reading”? How is it relevant for English Learners? What about bilingual education? When teaching reading to students simultaneously learning to speak and understand the language as they learn to read and write it, what’s the same and what’s different compared to teaching students to read who already know the language? What are some things that do and don’t work for teaching English reading to ELs? What about beginning and early literacy? Do foundational skill still matter?

Objectives:

• Define the “science of reading” and explain its relevance to English Learners (ELs).
• Differentiate between effective practices for teaching reading to native English speakers and ELs, identifying what remains consistent and what must be adapted.
• Explain the role of foundational skills in early literacy instruction for English Learners, including phonemic awareness, phonics, and oral language development.
• Describe key considerations in bilingual education and how reading science intersects with dual-language or multilingual approaches.
• Evaluate common misconceptions and ineffective practices in reading instruction for ELs and identify evidence-based strategies that support language and literacy development.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?