It wasn’t just the sunny skies that were shining bright when Team READ USA joined hundreds of passionate literacy educators from across Florida for the 60th Annual Florida Literacy Association Conference in Orlando the other weekend!
READ USA Team at FLA 2025 booth.
The conference provided a variety of sessions for literacy instructors at all levels, from newly minted teachers to educators with years of experience. Several READ USA team members also presented sessions, leveraging their collective decades of experience to elevate the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom, including:
Dr. Rob Kelly, our President and CEO, helped kick off the conference sessions on Friday by addressing, “The Fluent Readers Playbook: Teaching for Fluent Reading Across Grade Levels and Content Areas.” His focus was on helping teachers better understand the components of fluent reading and how to quickly assess the effectiveness of their instruction.
Tabetha Cox, M.Ed., READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer, discussed, “Text Comprehension: From Low Cognitive Complexity to Deep Critical Thinking.” This session was similar to the fully packed session she led at the TEACH Conference in Jacksonville in November last year, where she provided teachers with insights on how to foster deeper reading comprehension through discussion and integrating reading and writing.
Judy Howard, M.Ed., our Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Literacy Institute Senior Director, leads all of READ USA’s Professional Development for Educators and Family Engagement initiatives. As such, she led a session that leveraged her years of experience in the classroom, administration, and working with parents in the community to discuss, “Early Literacy: How Teachers Can Help Parents/Families Build an Effective Literacy Foundation at Home.”
Of course, the conference had its fair share of fun, too! As the Diamond Sponsor of the conference, thanks to the generosity of a private donor, READ USA hosted the Future Teacher Breakfast and President’s Reception on Friday. Scholastic sponsored a special guest, children’s book author Lester Laminack, to speak at these events as well, which was such a treat for everyone who attended! Lester also served as the keynote speaker during the Author’s Luncheon on Saturday. (He is also a personal friend of our CEO, and we had so much fun with Lester while he was there!)
Exhibitors also filled the halls of the Florida Hotel and Conference Center, where READ USA was proud to provide free books to teachers courtesy of the Florida Literacy Association and publishers across the country. Jacksonville was strongly represented at the conference with San Marco Books and More also exhibiting and selling a variety of children’s and adult books.
Every attendee also received a copy of Oge Mora’s picture book, Thank You, Omu!, which was a Caldecott Honor recipient, Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, and Ezra Jack Keats Book Award recipient. As the closing session featured author, Oge – who is an award-winning collage artist and storyteller – also autographed copies of her book.
As the Conference came to a close on Sunday, it was clear the impact that had been made on the hundreds of teachers who attended! READ USA is thankful to the Florida Literacy Association, the FLA Board and Cabinet members (which includes several READ USA team members!), and the Conference committee for continuing the valuable tradition of this Conference in its 60th year!
If you’d like to learn more about the Florida Literacy Association and how to join, visit www.flareads.org.
Valuable Networking at School Boards for Academic Excellence Conference
Our President and CEO Dr. Rob Kelly attended not one, but two conferences last week alongside our Board Chair Ellen Wiss!
Through the generosity of a private READ USA donor, READ USA also sponsored this conference which gathered school board members from across the country to network and learn. Many Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) board members were in attendance as well.
Dr. Kelly spoke during the School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE) Breakfast on Friday morning. He also spoke at the beginning of one of the sessions about READ USA’s mission and progress towards closing the literacy gap in Duval County.
“We met with school board members from across the country, made several new connections, and learned some excellent insights,” shared Dr. Kelly. Those learnings included:
- Strategies to improve school attendance
- How others are achieving high literacy outcomes
- What’s coming down the education policy pipeline
- Skills to improve persuasive speaking and fundraising
Thank you to Jon Russell, SBAE’s Director of Network Engagement, David Hoyt, and DCPS School Board Member April Carney for inviting READ USA to participate!
Have You Seen the Bookmobile Yet?!
Last week, Mayor Donna Deegan’s River City Readers unveiled its brand-new Bookmobile – have you seen it yet?!
Funded entirely from private donations, the Bookmobile will visit public schools and libraries across Duval County throughout the year, giving children and young people the opportunity to receive free books.
During the unveiling event, Mayor Donna Deegan’s River City Readers also recognized the top 25 winners from the inaugural reading challenge she issued to young readers across the city last year. As a result of that challenge, students across Duval County read an incredible 3 million minutes citywide during the past year!
You can read the full list of winners – which includes a PreK student from Anchor Academy, one of our READ USA Literacy Tutoring sites! – here.
Congratulations to the award winners and to Mayor Donna Deegan’s River City Readers for the launch of the Bookmobile! Keep an eye out for it in your neighborhood – and be sure to visit Jacksonville Public Library’s Highlands branch on Saturday, Feb. 15th for its next public appearance!
Calling All Gregarious Folks: Here’s Your Chance!
Do you know a people-person looking for a new opportunity? Send them our way!
Through funding from the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, READ USA is offering a one-year, full-time service opportunity as a Volunteer Recruitment Associate. This opportunity will give practical work experience to an individual while adding capacity to READ USA and helping us continue to scale and grow our programming and volunteer engagement efforts.
Our wonderful volunteers are vital to our mission and work!
Share this email if you know an adult who:
- Has completed at least some college courses
- Wants to gain real-world, hands-on work experience
- Is passionate about uplifting our under-resourced neighbors
- Enjoys working with people who want to make a difference in our community and world!
The Volunteer Recruitment Associate will work alongside READ USA leadership to create, implement, and evaluate volunteer recruitment strategies. Measured over four phases during the year-long service opportunity, the Volunteer Recruitment Associate will essentially create a handbook for READ USA to use in perpetuity to strengthen our volunteer engagement.
Interested in learning more? Access the service opportunity description, read the program benefits (end-of-service stipend or education award, living allowance, etc.) and apply directly through VISTA here.
Thank you to AmeriCorps VISTA for this fantastic opportunity to help READ USA continue to grow our impact!
Children’s Book: The New Kid Has Fleas by Ame Dyckman
Illustrated by Eda Kaban
This is a hilarious story for K-2nd graders of a new kid in school who has apparently been raised by wolves – or at least that is what the students speculate!
This new kid is different. She dresses, talks, and walks different. Could she even have… fleas?!? One lone but curious kid wonders if living in a wolf’s den could be all that bad. Soon, they even venture to visit her in this mysterious wolf’s den. Will he have to eat a squirrel for a snack? Will they have to hunt? What will the parents be like? Are they wolves too? This book introduces karma, rumors, preconceptions, and being “the new kid.”
What is in the future for this new kid? Will she eventually find her pack?
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer
Parent Education Corner: Extending Engagement with a Text
After a shared reading moment between you and your child, the opportunity to expand on their understanding and connection with a text is just beginning.
For example, at bedtime, an activity to extend engagement could be a discussion of your child’s favorite part of the book.
It may be a pointed inference about what would happen if the ending was different. You could even ask your child to change the ending and make up a new one. How would their new ending affect the most important character in the story?
However, during the day, literacy extension could take the form of dramatic play, movement, art, or interactive writing and drawing. Here are some ideas:
Dramatic play: Assign character from the book and have your child act out the story with you. Pay attention to what your child comprehends about the actions, emotions, and conversations of the character they are portraying.
Movement: Does the book show emotion? Ask your child to find the parts where the character feels mad, sad, happy, or excited. Ask them to move like the character would. What would their face look like? How would their body move?
Art: Ask your child to draw, color, paint, collage, build with playdoh or clay, a scene from the story. What details did they add? Can they add more after discussion? I use the rule: 5 details, 5 colors, 5 labels, 5 words. This is a good start to get your child thinking about the details they noticed. It might even encourage the need to peek back at the text for ideas.
Interactive Writing and Drawing: Based on the topic(s) of the book, help your child create a list of feelings, character features, or setting details within the text. When the list is finished, ask them to choose a few and draw what they listed.
There are many ways to creatively express comprehension and important characteristics of a book. READ USA wants you to challenge yourself! Set some time aside with your child for engagement with a text or two!
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!