SESSIONS >
• Presenters
• Final Conference Agenda (PDF)
• Monday Sessions
• Tuesday Sessions
• Wednesday Sessions

READING INSTITUTE EARLY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT STRAND: BIRTH TO THIRD GRADE SESSIONS
Nationally recognized researchers, evaluators, and practitioners will present both new research findings and time tested best practices that enhance scientifically based reading instruction. You are invited to explore the challenges and solutions to implementing sound reading programs with your peers and with the Nation’s leading experts.

Please return to this page periodically for ongoing updates!


Presenters

PLENARY SESSION SPEAKERS
Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana
Dr. Meléndez de Santa Ana was confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the Department of Education by the U.S. Senate on July 24, 2009. In this position, she plays a pivotal role in policy and management issues affecting elementary and secondary education. She directs, coordinates and recommends policy for programs designed to assist state and local education agencies with improving the achievement of elementary and secondary school students. She helps to arrange financial assistance to local education agencies whose local revenues are affected by federal activities. She also serves as the principal adviser to the U.S. secretary of education on all matters related to pre-k, elementary and secondary education. Prior to arriving at the Department, Meléndez served as superintendent of the Pomona Unified School District (Calif.). Two high schools in the district were ranked in 2007 by U.S. News & World Report as among America's top 500 high schools out of 18,000 nationwide. She also designed and launched a mathematics and science magnet school and a charter school for grades 7 through 12 at-risk students. Dr. Meléndez worked on district-level reform in her position as program manager at the nonprofit Stupski Foundation, where she focused on creating high-performance learning organizations to raise student achievement and close achievement gaps. Dr. Meléndez earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where she was in the Rossier School of Education program specializing in language, literacy and learning.

Catherine Snow
Dr. Snow is an expert on language and literacy development in children, focusing on how oral language skills are acquired and how they relate to literacy outcomes. Snow has chaired two national panels: the National Academy of Sciences committee that prepared the report "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children," and the Rand Reading Study Group that prepared "Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension." Her research activities include a longitudinal study of language and literacy skills among low-income children who have been followed for 15 years since age three; following the language development of young children participating in the Early Head Start intervention; studying the vocabulary development of first- and second-language learners; and considering aspects of transfer from first to second language in the domains of language and literacy. Her book, Preparing Our Teachers: Opportunities for Better Reading Instruction, is one of several efforts she is involved in to develop consensus among teacher-educators about what pre- and in-service elementary teachers need to know about language and literacy. Snow has also written about bilingualism and its relation to language policy issues such as bilingual education in the United States and in developing nations, and about testing policy. She is currently involved in efforts to improve middle-school literacy outcomes, in partnership with other Boston area researchers and the Boston Public Schools. She received her Ph.D. from McGill University in Canada.

Michael Kamil
Dr. Kamil is a Consulting Professor, for the Psychological Studies in Education, School of Education, at Stanford University. His work is concerned with the effects of technology on literacy and its acquisition. His research determines the types of materials that are best suited for use in beginning reading instruction and the appropriate balance between applications of technology and the demands of literacy. He also conducts research with English language learners. A current study of his examines the effects of recreational reading of information text on reading achievement of ELL students. He is currently a member of the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and on the Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Educational Psychology. Dr. Kamil previously served on the RAND Reading Study Group and the National Institute of Child Health and Development National Reading Panel. Dr. Kamil earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS
Anita Archer
Amy Baker
Stephen Barkley
Rita Bean
Elizabeth Bright
Anneta Buenger
Shari Butler
Elizabeth Cardenas-Lopez
Kathi Cooper
Amy Correa
Rachel Demma
Lexie Domaradzki
Nell Duke
Christine Dwyer
Susan Ebbers
Patricia Edwards
Linda Espinosa
Ann Fiala
Alice Furry
Irene Gaskins
Nina Gonzalez
Margo Gottlieb
Trudy Hensley
Tina Herrington
Marla Hunt
Kelly Hunter
Janice Im
Sandra Jones
Michael Kamil
Janette Klingner
Vicki LaRock
Kathleen Lord
Jana Martella
Lesley Maxwell
Michael McKenna
Margaret McKeown
Kristina Najera
Florence Nelson
Susan B. Neuman
Cindy Parker
Shira Peterson
Craig Ramey
Sharon Ramey
Tim Rasinski
Andrea Reade
Jo Robinson
Marsha Roit
Sharon Ruiz Van Vleck
Emily Russin
Sarah Sayko
Bryan Schultz
Tom Schultz
Catherine Scott-Little
Rebecca Silverman
Jan Silverstein
Peggy Simon
Jill Slack
Martha Smith
Catherine Snow
Dorothy Strickland
Linda Sullivan-Dudzic
Teri Talan
Shane Templeton
Alice Thomas
Sheryl Turner
Sharon Walpole
Gerrit Westervelt
Caroline Wilkinson
Barbara Willer
Maryanne Wolf
Cheryl Young

• For more information on our speakers, click here to view speaker bios.
• To view the complete roster of sessions, go to Draft Presenter and Topic List.