President's Message:

A number of well-qualified candidates for Reading Coach of the Year have been submitted. I am impressed to see how many dedicated coaching professionals work in Florida, with vast knowledge and experience. I hope we can continue this valuable work we do providing help and guidance to teachers and students!

As I read philosophies, resumes, and recommendations I realize how important it is for us, as coaches, to reflect on our practice. Many times we dwell on the obstacles we face in our role as literacy leaders, instead we need to focus and reflect on our successes. We are making a difference in schools. We are helping our peers along their professional careers paths. We are helping to impact students’ lives.

This reminds me of the book Teach with Your Strengths: How Great Teachers Inspire Their Students by Rosanne Liesveld and Jo Ann Miller. In the book the authors explain the impact teachers have on their students’ lives. Great teachers and not so great teachers have a lasting effect on students, some for the good and some not. It’s important for us to know our faculty and staff and find their unique talents and strengths. Our job is to recognize those qualities and help them develop as great teachers.

Beryl Rogers, M Ed.

A Message from the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse

CALL FOR LCC TOOLS

Would you like to submit a tool for use by literacy coaches to the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse (LCC), a joint effort of NCTE and IRA? The LCC is soliciting tools that will be peer-reviewed by members of the LCC Literacy Council for potential publication in the LCC website. Deadlines for submission of tools are October 31, 2008; February 15, 2009; and May 15, 2009.

LCC Literacy Council hopes to greatly broaden and expand working coaches' voices and participation in the LCC through this effort. The LCC also hopes that researchers will consider publishing observation tools that they have developed. Such tools can be valuable resources for other research, program evaluation, and development of individual coaching skills.

Tools on all topics related to literacy/ reading, instructional coaching are welcomed. Specific examples of tools would be helpful to other coaches are: quality tools used to document one's work as a coach, guides for observation of instruction, rubrics for observing instruction, and so on.

Submission Information (pdf)

A Message from the Dyslexia Research Registry:

The purpose of the Dyslexia Research Registry is to facilitate research in the understanding of dyslexia. We are inviting families who have a child with severe reading difficulties who would like to participate in reading research studies to join the registry. We will then notify families of research studies being conducted by the Learning Disability Center at Florida State University that are appropriate for their family in Florida.Families may then choose the studies in which they want to participate.

We are also recruiting educators and other literacy professionals who would like to participate in research. For more information contact Dr. Megan Bakan at bakan@psy.fsu.edu or 1-866-290-2456 or visit our website.

PDF Information Brochures for educators or families.