Literacy Daily

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.

Professional development program in Italy receives literacy promotion award


The European Literacy Network has a long and well-documented history. In Denmark, approximately 70 years ago, our Scandinavian colleagues gathered to share knowledge on this very subject. The ideology of working toward literacy for all has endured and the activities have increased considerably. The Nordic collaboration evolved into some 30 European associations gathering under the umbrella of the International Reading Association (IRA), now the International Literacy Association (ILA). Today, we are the Federation of European Literacy Associations (FELA), the European partner of ILA.

In August, in Copenhagen, the 21st European and the 18th Nordic Conference on Literacy continued the tradition of disseminating research and practice. A total of 500 participants attended the conference, 385 with presentations. Both the speakers and the participants were from all over the world. The Nordic conference 70 years ago has transformed into a truly international conference. Literacy for all is a human right. The conference and the work all of us do is a representation of cohesive forces.

One of the initiatives of the European network is the Award for Innovative Literacy Promotion in Europe, which is presented at the European literacy conferences every other year (with the next in Dublin in 2021).

First presented in Brussels at the 10th European Conference on Literacy in 1997, the purpose of the award is to recognize, celebrate, and reward innovative work in Europe carried out by or for a FELA member association. It must constitute a change in literacy activities within the country and can involve pedagogy, research, contributions to thinking about literacy, professional development, remediation, organization of the association, publication, publicity, or recruitment of members.

The Awards Committee consists of past European chairpersons of FELA, formerly IDEC (International Development in Europe Committee) of IRA/ILA. The award has been presented to projects in Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and, this year, Italy.

The themes have included bibliotherapy for war-traumatized children, children’s literature, parents in prisons reading for their children, deaf children, Romani in libraries, and many more innovative literacy projects.

The recipient this year was Invito alla Lettura - Rai Scuola for its aim of improving the professional development of teachers in Italy in the field of literacy.

Invito alla Lettura is a distance learning program addressed to teachers of kindergarten, primary, and secondary school, and it includes three TV and web series of 30 episodes. Its main goals are improving the quality of teaching literacy and promoting good reading practices that can be replicated by classroom teachers. The program can reach a wide audience and those areas of the country where there is greater need for training, disseminating the new knowledge of literacy achieved today through international research. It is produced by the national TV service, RAI Cultura, and CEPELL, the Centre for Books and Reading, a branch of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

The project was initiated by Tiziana Mascia, a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education of the Free University of Bozen, whose research focuses on literacy instruction and professional development. She received the award in person during the conference on behalf of the youngest European member association of FELA, Associazione Literacy Italia.

To view the Invito alla Lettura episodes, visit https://www.raiplay.it/ricerca.html?q=invito%20alla%20lettura.

For information on the Award for Innovative Literacy Promotion in Europe, visit literacyeurope.org/awards.

Offering stories that reflect our contemporary communities is important for our children. “Let’s read the world” is a goal to champion! As a classroom and special education teacher, and now a university professor in curriculum, I’m interested in the opportunities we have in schools and libraries to teach so much more than literacy when we’re teaching the language arts. 

In my role as a researcher in children’s literature, I’ve been exploring patterns and trends that should be concerning to educators. How many of the titles we share in our classrooms reflect people with exceptionalities? Are we representing gender in diverse, nonstereotypical ways? Could we do better in messages that help save our planet, that inspire children to care for each other and themselves, that break down barriers?

I think of some amazing teachers I had in my own classroom contexts. Mrs. Gaston read aloud from Meindert deJong’s House of Sixty Fathers (HarperCollins) and—even today, almost 50 years later—I can recall everything about the way this exceptional story motivated discussions that we would not have initiated on our own. Mrs. Nichols shared Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (Macmillan) and Paul Zindel’s The Pigman (HarperTeen), two books I occasionally reread today for the courage they bring. But these teachers were the exception rather than the rule, and I continue to see classrooms where reading to students is not a key activity.

Some titles I share with my undergraduate students that bring currency and engagement to their preservice teaching experiences are Kai Cheng Thom’s From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea (Arsenal Pulp Press), Sara Leach’s Penguin Days (Pajama Press), Sara Cassidy’s A Boy Named Queen (Groundwood Books), Beth Goobie’s Jason’s Why (Red Deer Press), Pamela Porter’s The Crazy Man (Groundwood Books), Kate DiCamillo’s The Tiger Rising (Candlewick), Cynthia Lord’s Rules (Scholastic), Kenneth Oppel’s Darkwing (HarperCollins), Arthur Slade’s Dust (Random House), Mariko and Jillian Tamaki’s Skim (Groundwood Books), and Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse (Douglas &McIntyre).

If you are a teacher who shares great literature with your students, or a teacher educator who models readalouds, I am grateful. You truly make a difference!

Beverley Brenna (bev.brenna@usask.ca), an ILA member since 2009, is a professor in Curriculum Studies at the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. She has published more than a dozen books for young people including the Wild Orchid trilogy (Red Deer Press) about a teen with autism (winner of a Printz Honor Book Award, a Dolly Gray Award, shortlisted for a Canadian Governor General’s Award, and listed on CBC’s “Young Adult Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian”). She aims through her artistic work to address the gaps that she sees in literature for young people. Her most recent middle grade novels are examples: Fox Magic (Red Deer Press) explores mental health and suicide prevention and Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life (Pajama Press) invites discussions of diversity through LGBTQ+ characters.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of Literacy Today, ILA’s member magazine.

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.