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    J. Helen Perkins Named Vice President of ILA Board of Directors

    ILA Staff
     | May 22, 2023
    Helen J. Perkins_400w

    J. Helen Perkins, a professor of literacy at the University of Memphis in Tennessee, is the newly elected vice president of the ILA Board of Directors. Perkins has been serving as a Board member-at-large since 2020. Her new term begins July 1, 2023, and she will assume the presidency of the Board on July 1, 2024.

    An ILA member since 1998, Perkins has more than 43 years of experience in education, having served as a reading specialist, classroom teacher, literacy coach, and various other roles. She has been at the University of Memphis since 2005, where her scholarly work focuses on children of poverty, their literacy acquisition and enhancement.

    She has also served ILA in multiple capacities prior to her Board service, including coeditor of The Reading Teacher journal and a lead writer for Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals. Currently, she serves as a member of the Membership Committee and cochair of the Anti-Racism, Social Justice, and Equity Committee, and she is chair of ILA’s National Recognition Commission, which oversees the organization’s National Recognition program—a seal of approval for college and university literacy professional preparation programs.

    “I have had the pleasure of serving as a literacy advocate for the majority of my life. As vice president, I will continue to support ILA’s mission, strategic plan and goals as we advocate for students, families, educators and all stakeholders globally,” Perkins said. “My vision is for ILA to enhance our membership and global work, and to continue to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in all that we do.” 

    Three new Board members-at-large were also elected for the 2023–2026 term:

    • Young-Suk Kim, professor and senior associate dean, School of Education, University of California Irvine. Kim, an ILA member since 2022, is a regular contributor to ILA—having written multiple articles for Reading Research Quarterly, presented during digital events, and served as guest editor of the membership magazine. Her scholarship focuses on oral language, reading, writing, dyslexia, and higher-order cognitive skills.
    • Zoi Traga Philippakos, associate professor in literacy education at the University of Tennessee. Philippakos has been an ILA member since 2004. In addition to contributing to all three of ILA’s journals, she has presented during digital events and served as a member of ILA’s Writing Task Force. Her research interests include reading and writing instruction in K–12 classrooms as well as postsecondary strategy instruction with self-regulation, motivation, and teacher professional development.
    • James Darin Pope, deputy superintendent, Tuscaloosa City Schools, and adjunct instructor, University of Alabama. Pope, an ILA member since 2008, is focused on foundational reading skills and literacy across the content areas. An educator for 26 years, he has served on the Strategic Planning Committee on Teaching Reading and the Literacy Task Force of the State of Alabama.

    Kim, Perkins, Philippakos, and Pope were elected by ILA’s membership during the ILA 2023 Board Election, which was conducted online between March 27, 2023, and May 5, 2023. The new vice president and members-at-large will begin their terms on July 1, 2023.

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    Equity in Education Takes Center Stage at ILA and DSU Event

    ILA Staff
     | May 19, 2023

    meta-DSUEducators and school leaders from across the United States and from as far away as Trinidad and Tobago came together for “Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Through Literacy,” held at Delaware State University (DSU) in Dover, DE. The event, developed by the International Literacy Association (ILA) in partnership with DSU, focused on literacy teaching and learning practices that create inclusive sites of belonging and yield more equitable student outcomes.

    The face-to-face event, ILA’s first since COVID-19, featured an impressive slate of Delaware educators and administrators in addition to literacy leaders from across the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Among them: DSU alumnus Jahsha Tabron, Delaware’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

    Tabron, like fellow keynote speakers Michele Myers, an author and Wake Forest University professor, and Stephen Peters, education consultant and past president of the ILA Board of Directors, delivered the message that what students need more than anything is to be seen.

    “We tend to notice everything we think [students] are missing instead of the wonderful things they are coming with,” Tabron said. “We don’t need to change our students to see their assets and visualize their success. We don’t need to change students to teach them. We don’t need them to fit into our boxes. We need to get them to see themselves and be proud of themselves and live and grow beyond their boxes so they don’t continue to fit into small expectations.”

    DSU_Peters_680w
    “It’s good to know pedagogy and curriculum, but it’s better to know your students,” Peters noted, while Myers encouraged educators to reflect on why they had chosen the profession in the first place: “It’s not just what we do; it’s not just a job. It is our purpose.”

    Topics covered during the all-day event included planning lessons that centers today’s diverse student population; building foundational literacy skills through diverse, authentic children’s literature that honors backgrounds, identities, and cultures; using think-alouds to better understand students and promote comprehension growth; and coaching as a means of supporting equitable outcomes for students.

    Kenneth Kunz, president of the ILA Board of Directors and a session presenter, was thrilled to see the room filled with attendees who share in ILA’s mission of equitable access to literacy around the world.

    “When literacy changemakers intentionally enhance teaching to prioritize equity through access, [affirm] students’ identities, and [design] inclusive lessons, it is not at the expense of others,” he said. “In fact, we all become better together in this beautiful, diverse and globally connected world.”

    For more information about the event, visit literacyworldwide.org.

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  • Delaware 2022 Teacher of the Year to Deliver Keynote

    ILA Staff
     | May 05, 2023
    DSU_680w

    Jahsha Tabron, Delaware Teacher of the Year for 2022, is set to deliver a keynote at “Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Through Literacy,” a one-day event developed in partnership between the International Literacy Association (ILA) and Delaware State University (DSU).

    The event, which takes place May 19, 2023, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. ET, and will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center on DSU’s campus in Dover, DE, is geared toward K–12 literacy professionals as well as faculty at institutes of higher education in the Mid-Atlantic region.

    Tabron, an alumnus of DSU, currently serves as the ninth-grade dean of students at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, DE, and has worked in special education for more than two decades. Her areas of expertise include school leadership, social-emotional learning (SEL) and family engagement—the latter of which she says she sees as “the key to facilitating academic and emotional success.

    The program for the in-person event—ILA’s first since COVID-19 disrupted the organization’s annual conferences—features interactive sessions that directly support the state’s education goals for literacy and SEL, research- and evidence-based instructional practices, and inclusive classrooms. Presenters include an impressive list of other Delaware educators as well. Among them:

    • Amanda Bodine, Instructional Coach, Booker T. Washington Elementary School, Dover, DE
    • Teré Crawford, First-Grade Teacher, Towne Point Elementary School, Dover, DE
    • Yvette Davenport, Principal, Hartly Elementary School, Hartly, DE
    • Lindsay Osika, English Language Arts Specialist, Capital School District, Dover, DE

    Tony Allen, chief executive officer at DSU, will also deliver remarks.

    Nicola Wedderburn, ILA executive director, says the organization is thrilled to work with DSU, recently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the number 2 public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and number 8 HBCU overall.

    “Research has shown that belonging has an incredible impact on students’ socioemotional, academic and behavioral outcomes,” Wedderburn said. “DSU has created a culture of belonging on its campus and is shaping the next generation of educators to carry those principles into schools and classrooms.”

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    ILA Helps Fund Local Elementary School Library Rehab

    ILA Staff
     | May 03, 2023
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    When students at New Castle’s Pleasantville Elementary School return for the 2023–2024 school year, they’ll have access to a completely reimagined and redesigned library. A large donation from the International Literacy Association (ILA), made possible through a Delaware Community Foundation grant, will help fund the much-needed capital improvements.

    “We know that a great school library is the true heart and center of a school building,” said Pleasantville’s Principal Renee Griffith, who will help manage the grant. “These resources will help unlock the full potential of our school library and provide our school librarian with the tools needed to do what she does best: spark curiosity and foster a love of learning and reading in our students.”

    Fresh paint is just one of Pleasantville’s many planned upgrades, which also includes an influx of new books and materials, new shelving to house the collection, and even new flexible learning seating and tables.

    “This grant will truly help provide our students with the space they deserve to help inspire both curiosity and learning as well as helping to remove outdated books and providing our students with new and engaging books to access,” said Tom Gavin, supervisor of Instructional Technology & Libraries for Colonial School District. “It will also help us with our goal of making our school library an even stronger resource center for our students.”

    District Superintendent Jeff Menzer expressed his appreciation for the funding, adding, “In Colonial School District, we believe in the ‘Power of WE,’ the importance of partnerships and working together in our community to help provide access and opportunities for the students and staff of Colonial Nation.”

    ILA’s headquarters are in Newark, Del., and this donation marks one of several local initiatives the global organization is undertaking to support Delawareans.

    “We set the standard for quality literacy instruction around the world,” said Nicola Wedderburn, ILA executive director. “We are and will remain committed to offering high-quality resources and professional development that benefits Delaware schools and educators.”

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    International Literacy Association Accept Submission for 2023 Awards and Grants

    ILA Staff
     | Mar 06, 2023

    The International Literacy Association (ILA) opened the submissions process today for its 2023 awards and grants program—opening the door for the next generation of graduate students, teacher educators and scholars to receive support for their innovative leadership and research.

    But the awards don’t just recognize emerging stars. Opportunities such as the Diane Lapp & James Flood Professional Collaborator Award, which recognizes an ongoing professional collaboration between two or more people, and the William S. Gray Citation of Merit, a lifetime achievement award among the most prestigious in the literacy field, routinely recognize veterans of the field who have impacted everything we know about reading and literacy for decades.

    Previous winners representing those emerging and veteran leaders include Nell. K. Duke, Steve Graham, Sonia Cabell, Tricia Zucker, John Z. Strong, Elena Forzani, and Linnea C. Ehri—last year’s winner of the William S. Gray Citation of Merit.

    Individuals can nominate themselves or a colleague for one of the following opportunities:

    More information on each award, including eligibility requirements, can be found by clicking on the links above. Submissions, which will be vetted by teams of researchers and teacher educators from within the ILA network, must be received by March 30, 2023. For more information, visit the ILA awards and grants website.

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