Join us for this three day event as we cut through the policy jargon to provide solid insights and illustrations into how literacy teaching practices can change in every classroom to transform student learning.
Anne Ruggles Gere is a professor at the University of Washington. Currently she is a professor at the University of Michigan. At the University of Washington, she founded and directed the Puget Sound Writing Program, where she directed an NEH-sponsored program on writing across the curriculum, from which Roots in the Sawdust: Writing to Learn Across the Disciplines (NCTE 1985) emerged. She has co-authored several books including Writing on Demand: Best Practices and Strategies For Success, Student Guide to Writing on Demand, Taking Initiative on Writing: A Guide for Instructional Leaders. Anne is part of the the NCTE Consulting Network and is an NCTE past president and past chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Susi Long is a faculty member in Language & Literacy and Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina. Since 1999, she has worked with cohorts of literacy coaches in the South Carolina Reading Initiative (SCRI). Her publications focus on early literacy, learning in culturally and linguistically diverse schools and communities, and teacher study groups. Her book, Tensions and Triumphs, discusses the results of a seven-year research study identifying the challenges new teachers face and how all concerned can help keep new teachers in the profession. Susi is part of the NCTE Consulting Network and has been
Tonya Perry is an assistant professor of English Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). A former middle and high school English teacher, she received the first National Technology Fellowship in English/Language Arts. A nationally-known consultant and speaker, she is also the author of The Tech Savvy English Classroom, Bringing the Outside In: Visual Ways of Engaging Reluctant Readers, and the recent NCTE publication, Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students.
Sarah Brown Wessling is a second grade teacher at Centennial Elementary School in Firestone, Colorado. She was a member of the planning team assembled to build the foundation and open the school in 2008. Prior to teaching at Centennial, she taught at Prairie Ridge Elementary, which is another school in the St.Vrain Valley School district. Lisa sits on the Positive Behavior Support and technology committees within her school. She is also a member of the Standards Alignment Committee and the Assessment Leadership Team for the school district. An avid supporter of building 21st century learning environments, she teaches professional development classes within the district on how to incorporate Promethean technology into the classroom.
Jeffrey Williams has been an educator for twenty years, teaching the majority of those, but also taking some time off to raise her family. She has taught in five different states, in public and private schools, 5th–12th grades, and in the areas of social studies and language arts. In 2007 she earned a Masters of Science in Education with an emphasis in Middle Level Education online from Walden University. Jennifer currently teaches 7th grade language arts at Westview Middle School.