ISSUED: 15 January 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Department of Education and Division of Graduate Studies and the Jefferson County Reading Council are accepting presentation proposals for the fourth annual Literacy Leaders Conference, titled “Read and Write to Excite!,” to be held Saturday, April 9, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in Erma Ora Byrd Hall. Anyone interested in making a workshop presentation during the conference should submit a proposal by February 1. Preference will be given to proposals that relate to the conference theme, are interactive, provide clear take-aways for conference participants, and include prekindergarten through 12th grade educators and higher education faculty members as presenters.
The conference is open to anyone interested in literacy instruction and will offer graduate credits, continuing education hours, and STARS documentation for some workshops attended by paraprofessionals. Workshops will focus on early education, elementary education, and secondary education and will include presentations by Shepherd faculty members and area teachers. Shepherd education students will also make poster presentations highlighting literacy methods they have researched. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Rebecca Harper, an assistant professor at Augusta University in Georgia. Harper’s interests include content area literacy, student conceptualization of writing, teacher beliefs, and critical literacy.
Dr. LeAnn Johnson, assistant professor of education, said the conference usually attracts about 150 participants.
The cost is $20 for preregistration, $40 for walk-in registration, and $167 for registration that offers graduate course credits. For more information on submitting a presentation proposal or registering for the conference, visit http://www.jcwvreads.org/. To register for graduate credits, contact Karen Rice at 304-876-5135 or krice@shepherd.edu.
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