The IMSE Literacy Summit is back! The March 5th event will provide educators from the classroom to the district office with a full day of virtual engagement dedicated to enhancing literacy outcomes for all students.

 

Register for Summit Button

 

 

With a slate of powerhouse literacy experts, the Summit is designed to empower teachers, administrators and literacy advocates with expert insights, innovative strategies and proven tools for delivering comprehensive reading instruction that works. 

 


Featured Summit Sessions

 

One of the Summit’s featured speakers, Dr. Danielle “Nell” Thompson, a PhD CCC-SLP, coach, influencer, literacy leader, and teacher of teachers, will discuss how teachers can create positive, lasting change given the resources and opportunities they have in hand. Dr. Nell will share a real-life example of implementing a new literacy strategy at a Livingston, Montana school – explaining the challenges of introducing evidence-based protocols for screening and instruction and building a reliable curriculum from the ground up.

While we anxiously await her Summit session, Dr. Nell shared answers to a few of our burning questions as we kick off 2025. 

Q: What is the greatest challenge you have seen educators face in the communities you have worked in over the past few years?

A: At present, there are several challenges; however, I believe all of them – from managing diverse classroom ecosystems, understanding behavior supports, teaching literacy, etc. – come back to how we lead ourselves and how we lead others. These challenges are ever present, and for our educators to feel supported with sufficient resources and knowledge to meet the challenges in their classrooms head-on, it’s time for leadership to focus on the depth and breadth of the effort and expertise it takes to implement evidence-based systems and practices that support bringing the science of reading (SOR) to life in our schools.  This leadership focus is crucial for reaching sustained outcomes where educators feel supported in working through classroom-level complexities while knowing those leading the work are going the extra mile to find the solutions necessary for the communities they serve.

For example, recently I was asked to help support a district in reflecting on what has happened since their move away from a balanced approach.  In this reflection we realized that the district and school leadership teams seemed to view aligning to the science of reading (SOR) as a one-and-done decision where they supported the allocation of funding for a new SOR-aligned curriculum and purchased CERI-approved SOR teacher training and released all the work to the teachers.  While the leadership team moved on to the next initiative, teachers barely knew what fidelity to a curriculum versus fidelity to student need meant and they had no coaches to support the shift towards building their SOR-aligned practices and knowledge base after they finished their online course. 

I’d argue that these leadership moves are only the initial moves in a long-term project.  They are necessary but insufficient when rebuilding systems and fine-tuning instruction aligned to evidence-based reading practices.  Our schools will rise to high levels of literacy outcomes when leaders own the fact that literacy instruction and student outcomes – and the continuous iterative processes of reflecting on them and growing them – must always be a priority if they are to reach and teach all children to read.  Reaching this level means the great literacy leaders will create communities of educational leaders accountable for making consistent decisions to calibrate systems (assessment, MTSS, peer learning processes, etc.) so that educators can be urgent and efficient in the moment while delivering on the promise of teaching all students to read.

Q: What are you hoping educators will gain from attending your session at the IMSE Literacy Summit 2025?

A: I hope educators will become aware of their own ability to be implementation scientists, and that their voices help the scientists of reading understand how to evolve through complex problems found in all systems and classrooms.  My colleague and first-grade teacher will share her story of implementing an innovative, evidence-based oral language curriculum.  Her knowledgeable and empowered educator voice will inspire you and remind you that we are all working to make decisions and make them right for the students and communities we serve.

Q: What would you like to see teachers focus on in 2025 when it comes to literacy?

A: This is not an easy question!  As with all things in life, every human – with all their knowledge and skill – exists within systems that impact how they express who they are.  My greatest wish for all educators is to focus on caring for themselves and growing. If we all focus on becoming better literacy teachers and leaders, we’ll all get better, and our communities will, too.

Q: What would you like to see from school district leaders in 2025 when it comes to literacy?

A: Since we are now at a place in history where the science of reading is defined and has become the foundation for many of our literacy expectations, I’d like to see leadership teams move towards searching for reasons why we might be wrong—not for reasons why we must be right—and revising our views based on what we have learned. After all, as Adam Grant notes, “The purpose of learning isn’t to affirm our beliefs; it’s to evolve our beliefs. We all have blind spots in our knowledge and opinions.”

 

In attending the IMSE Leadership Summit, we’ll offer you thoughtful ponderings and reasons why we might be wrong while supporting what we have gotten right. We’ll also help you consider how to navigate the course towards your vision.

 

There are more great insights to be gleaned from Dr. Nell and the other speakers lined up for the March 5th Summit. Don’t wait! Register for your spot at Literacy Summit now.

All registrants will receive a recording of the summit and a CE certificate for attending. The recording will be available for 6 months after purchase. 

 

 

Like what you read?