MDE To Host First Literacy Coaching Symposium

JACKSON, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE) – The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Elementary Education and Reading will host its first Literacy Coaching Symposium on June 7, 2016, in association with the 2016 Making Connections Conference at the Gulf Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.

The symposium is a one-day pre-conference institute designed to provide a focused professional learning opportunity for K-12 literacy coaches, reading specialists, instructional coordinators, and administrators who work directly with teachers to support literacy instruction.

“Literacy coaches provide on-site support to build teacher knowledge and skills in order to improve student outcomes. This symposium will give educators who serve in coaching roles the opportunity to explore successful strategies for transferring the theory of coaching into every day practice,” said Dr. Kymyona Burk, state literacy director.

This event is designed to promote collaboration among literacy coaches and to provide professional learning opportunities and resources, which will strengthen coaching capacity.

“With the implementation of the Literacy Based Promotion Act, we have seen first-hand the powerful impact that a skilled coach can have on instruction.  Drawing on this experience, we have secured some of the most  highly regarded trainers in the nation to design an intensive institute.  It is our goal to equip participants with the skills  necessary to support teachers in their respective districts as they provide students with rigorous reading instruction,” said Dr. Kim Benton, MDE chief academic officer.

Nationally renowned presenters including:

• Patti Montgomery, author and former executive director of the Office of Literacy for the state of Colorado;
• Dr. Enrique Puig, director of The Morgridge International Reading Center at the University of Central Florida; and,
• Kevin Smith, research alliance manager for the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast and president of the Florida Literacy Coaches Association, will deliver sessions, in addition to sessions offered by MDE literacy experts.

Interactive presentations will explore:

• Coaching Conversations
• The Principal & Coach Relationship
• The Coaching Continuum
• Best Practices in Literacy Instruction
• Scheduling the Literacy Block
• Data Walls & Professional Learning Communities
• Identifying Appropriate Interventions
• Literacy Coaching Tools & Instruments

The symposium will conclude with a panel discussion highlighting multiple perspectives on Overcoming Barriers to Coaching.

To register for the first Literacy Coaching Symposium pre-conference institute and the 2016 Making Connections Conference, go to s-resa.org and scroll to the bottom to see links to all.