SESSIONS
GET INSPIRED
WORKSHOP CONTENT STRANDS
Promoting Effective Practice & Instruction
Evidence-based practices and approaches for improving literacy instruction and student reading in and out of the classroom.
Let’s Get Aligned
Partnering for impact, building collective vision, and working together to support literacy across school, home, and community.
Families in the Driver’s Seat
Centering parent leadership, parent-driven models for learning, and parent-school-community partnerships.
Literacy and Social Justice
Justice, healing, and identity.
Leadership for Literacy
Cultivating literacy leaders and champions. Supporting system-level change.
Keynote Address with Kareem Weaver
THE LITERACY CRISIS:
WE HAVE THE TOOLS, BUT DO WE HAVE THE COURAGE
Returning to our symposium for the second time, we are happy to announce Kareem Weaver as our featured keynote speaker!
As the Co-Founder of FULCRUM (Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate), he is committed to improving literacy rates in California and across the country.
FEATURED PLENARY SESSIONS
The Science of Reading: An Equitable Approach to Reading Instruction for Second Language Learners
Kim Lockhart
Second Language Educator and Advocate for Students with Learning Disabilities
Learning to read is a basic human right. In February 2022, the Human Rights Commission of Ontario, Canada released a report following a two-year public inquiry into students’ right to read. The report concluded that “Ontario is systematically failing students with reading disabilities and many other students, too.” In this presentation, Kim Lockhart will highlight the Right to Read report’s recommendations, discuss how she fought to overcome systemic barriers, how she uses the Science of Reading in her Second Language classroom, and how she advocates for her students and their families to ensure they have not only an equal right to read but also an equal right to a future.
Assets Over Liabilities- Learnings from Black Wall Street Stock Market Summer Camp
Claudia Walker
Founder of HBCU Prep School and the Black Wall Street Stock Market Summer Camp
A facilitated session by Claudia Walker, Founder of HBCU Prep School and the Black Wall Street Stock Market Summer Camp, to evaluate where our personal assets lie and those of our students in order to build joy in our classrooms and achieve literacy justice.
Poet In Residence
Azariah Cole-Shephard
2016 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate
A special closing Poetic Snapshot of the Day by our Literacy and Justice for All Symposium Poet in Residence, and 2016 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Azariah Cole Shepherd
CONCURRENT SESSION WORKSHOPS
Blossoming with Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
Angela Cammarata (formerly Angela Dubuc)
National Literacy Consultant, Zaner-Bloser, Inc.
Phonemic proficiency is critical for literacy development. Students with well-developed sensitivity to the sound structure of language are better prepared to make connections between spoken and written language (speech to print). Teachers need to be given the tools to put the research of phonological and phonemic awareness into practice. This session will define and identify what is meant by phonological and phonemic awareness instruction and will provide teachers with the tools needed to embed them into their daily instructional practices so students can truly blossom in reading.
Case Study: How a Sobrante Park Leader is Building Authentic Partnership to Increase Reading Proficiency.
Elaina Amos-Lewis
Principal, Madison Park Elementary, OUSD
Dr. Sabrina "Bri" Moore
Executive Director, 3Ls Academy
In this case study, I will reflect on my leadership learning from partnering with two reading organizations 3Ls and Reading Partners. In this study, I will review my wonderings around the disconnect between leaders' knowledge on how to partner, and nonprofit reading organizations creating actual student reading achievement. Through experience and research, I will share my next steps for transitioning my school into a joyful, anti-racist, reading institution of learning for all my students.
The Intersection of Literacy Instruction and SEL
Erin Cox Carr
Director of Early Literacy, Aspire Public Schools
Lindsey Fuller
Co-Executive Director of the Teaching Well, Fuller Freedom Consulting
There is no denying that explicit instruction in both early literacy and SEL is essential within an elementary classroom. However, without understanding the reality of the intersection from the student's perspective, educators and school systems fail to address the whole scholar. Our session will discuss the intersection of literacy and SEL, providing some concrete best practices for educational systems to serve our scholars.
Code Cracking: Reimagining Schools’ Literacy Ecosystems
Michael Burks
Principal, KIPP: Bridge Rising Academy
Jessica Reid Sliwerski
Founder + CEO, Ignite! Reading
Jessica will offer insights on how her organization is not only reimagining the way kids are taught to read, but how literacy education is operationalized in schools. She will detail how a virtual, high-dosage tutoring model rooted in the science of reading is delivering effective solutions to the nation’s literacy crisis. Launched in Oakland and now in six states, her organization is creating new opportunities to advance equity and innovation when teaching children how to read. In addition to presenting tools to overcome learning loss, Jessica will demonstrate how fusing technology, a data-driven approach, and school-based partnerships can generate extraordinary outcomes for students.
Balanced and Equitable Social-Emotional Learning in and out of the Classroom
Latanya Brown
Program Manager, FluentSeeds
Kamye Hugley
Training and Coaching Manager, FluentSeeds
FluentSeeds' focus on balanced interactions is designed to support adults and children in feeling supported and respected wherever they are along their learning journey. While we are seeing increased awareness of social-emotional learning it is often used to police - rather than to support - Black and Brown children and adults. This workshop will provide concrete methods of embedding sensitive, culturally-aware, and responsive strategies to strengthen trust and build safe learning environments.
“Yes, All The Children Will Read!” From Theory to Application
Nancia Sterling (Nan)
Chief of Schools, New Schools for New Orleans
Jana Milan
Director of Programs, New Schools for New Orleans
How do you pull various teachers and leaders across schools and charter networks together? Engage them in how to become literacy teachers. Connecting theory, curriculum, and pedagogy does not happen organically. It has to be explicitly instructed, expected and delivered. This workshop will describe how New Orleans charter schools adopted high-quality ELA instruction and began to embed the science of reading in collaborative learning communities of K-2 teachers across schools.
Aligned and Evidence- Based Literacy Instruction Beyond the Classroom
Sara Rizik-Baer
Founder, Lead Consultant,
Rizik-Baer Education Consulting
Discuss the “Science of Reading” and ways in which your program can support evidence-based word-recognition practices beyond the classroom. This workshop will provide an overview of frameworks that inform structured literacy instruction and give you an opportunity to discuss ways in which your program can support children’s phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency development.
Developing and Coaching Teachers to Lead Successful Family- Educator Learning Accelerators!
Sara Farmer
Assistant Principal, Oakland Unified School District
Thiago Lima
Director of Professional Development,
Springboard Collaborative
Participants will learn about Springboard Collaborative's approach to orienting, coaching, and developing teachers, so that they can run successful family-educator learning accelerators. Family-educator learning accelerators include literacy-based goal setting, explicit small-group instruction, and family skill building, so that family members can become at-home reading coaches for their children. During this workshop, participants will explore Springboard Collaborative’s cadence and areas of focus during professional development and will walk away with tools and resources they can use in their school communities.
Cynthia Hadicke, Ed.D.
Director of Client Success and Implementation,
AIM Institute for Learning and Research
Implementation Science: What Leaders Should Know
Stephanie Stephens
Director of Professional Development Services,
AIM Institute for Learning and Research
When leaders adhere to Implementation science, the overall quality and effectiveness of educational outcomes improve. Leading literacy initiatives using implementation science allows school leaders to commit to the research and the theory behind effective reading instruction. “Evidence-based systems alone are not enough to create positive change in systems. Successfully adopting new programs and practices requires deliberate and focused efforts to change professional practice” (Lyon, 2017). This session will review best practices for successful literacy implementation in your school or district.
Partnering for Impact: How School Libraries Connect with Kids and Communities
Lisa Hobbs
Librarian, Crocker Highlands Elementary
Samantha Solomon
Teacher Librarian, Life Academy and United for Success Academy
This workshop introduces participants to the (sometimes overlooked) role of school libraries and librarians, focusing on the importance of free and independent reading for all students, resource curation, and community engagement.
VIRTUAL TALKS
OCT 12TH -14TH
“Books have never been enough”: Reading for racial justice
Savitha Moorthy
Executive Director, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
Andrew Grant-Thomas
Co-Founder and Co-Director, EmbraceRace
Roberta Gonzalez
Program Supervisor, San Francisco County, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
In recent years, racial and ethnic diversity in children’s literature has been gradually increasing. However, as author Grace Lin notes, “Books have never been enough. They are just tools, and tools must be used to work.” This workshop will focus on connecting book-sharing experiences to children’s lives, simultaneously promoting early literacy and language development and healthy, age-appropriate conversations about race and racial equity. By adopting a race-conscious approach to early literacy, families and educators can support young children in feeling affirmed in their own identities, appreciating human differences, and striving toward fairness and justice for themselves and others.
