Internationally Recognized Speakers To Address Reading Recovery Institute

10/1/02

DENTON — Three internationally recognized speakers — Janice Farmer Hailey, Steven Kellogg and Gay Su Pinnell — will address the more than 3,000 educators attending the Reading Recovery/Early Literacy Institute, hosted by Texas Woman's University Oct. 16-18 in Dallas.

The institute will take place at the Adam's Mark Hotel and is designed for teachers, administrators, school support personnel, parents and all persons interested in early literacy and intervention programs. Information about the institute is available by contacting the TWU Office of Lifelong Learning at (940) 898-3408, (800) 250-7808 or by visiting .

Hailey, a Reading Recovery trainer from new South Wales, Australia, has been involved in Reading Recovery since 1986. She first trained as a Reading Recovery teacher leader, then as a Reading Recovery trainer. She is the current Australian board member to the International Reading Recovery Trainer Organization. Her speech, titled "Teaching for Independent Problem Solving, the How, What Ifs and When of a Reading Recovery Lesson," will be Oct. 16 during the Reading Recovery Institute.

Kellogg, an author and illustrator from Essex, N.Y., will deliver his speech titled "Colleagues and Co-conspirators: The Art of the Picture Book" Oct. 17 during the Early Literacy Institute. Kellogg has loved picture books since he was a child and during his 30-year career has authored and illustrated more than 100 children's books. His work has been recognized with the Regina Medal, the David McCord Citation, the New England Booksellers Award and the Jo Osborne Award for Humor in Children's Literature.

Pinnell's speech, titled "Reading Recovery's Significance in a World of Change: Future Readers and Reading for the Future," will be presented Oct. 16 during a session designed for school administrators. Pinnell, a professor at Ohio State University, is a leader in the implementation of Reading Recovery in the United States and in the development of a project called the Literacy Collaborative.

More than 20 other experts on early literacy and Reading Recovery from the U.S. and abroad also will make presentations at the institutes.

The Reading Recovery program has a successful track record of helping poor readers and has been used in Texas schools since 1988. Nearly 300 Texas school districts use the program.

During the 12-to-20-week program, first graders who have difficulty reading and writing meet individually with a specially trained teacher for 30 minutes a day to improve their skills. Seventy-five percent of Reading Recovery students are considered average readers by the time they complete a full program, according to the most recent tracking data.

TWU is one of 23 Reading Recovery university training centers in the United States and one of only two universities in the world providing training for Descubriendo La Lectura, the Spanish language version of Reading Recovery.

Verizon is providing support for this year's institute.

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For Further Information Contact:

Roy Kron
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu