Bice to Speak at UA Childhood Literacy Summit

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One in four Alabamians is functionally illiterate.

The statistic, according to the Literacy Council of West Alabama, is heavily linked to poverty and crime. The trend starts much sooner, though, as nearly 60 percent of children across the country aren’t reading at the appropriate grade level, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

There may not be a catch-all solution to improving literacy rates, and, in turn, increasing the chances for overall academic and personal success. But to help improve literacy rates, The University of Alabama’s College of Education has partnered with the Alabama State Department of Education and AdvancED to host a dynamic, collaborative summit.

UA will hold “Lifting Literacy, Lifting Lives: A Statewide Summit to Discuss Literacy Issues in the Education of Early and Emergent Readers,” a one-day summit that will feature researchers from UA, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vanderbilt University and Florida State University May 7.

Teachers and administrators from K-12 schools across the state will also hold lecture sessions.

The summit will be held at the Bryant Conference Center on the UA campus. Registration is $75 and can be completed at http://literacysummit.ua.edu/.

“There’s a logical progression that if you can read well, you can do well in other things,” said Dr. Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the UA College of Education. “Problems with early childhood literacy is well documented in Alabama.

“What we’re expecting to do with the summit is start a conversation about issues related to literacy that we hope will travel with participants back to their schools and homes and that will result in collaborative engagements dedicated to improving childhood literacy.”

Dr. Tommy Bice, Alabama State Superintendent of Education, will deliver the afternoon keynote address at the summit.

Dr. Lesley M. Morrow, professor in Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education, will deliver the morning keynote address. Morrow is coordinator of the school’s literacy program. She specializes in early literacy development and the organization and management of language arts programs.

“We know that reading is the cornerstone to learning in all areas,” Bice said. “In Alabama, we have made great attempts at increasing literacy, including implementing the Alabama Reading Initiative, which provides professional development, literacy coaches and local support to school systems.

“Still, the insurmountable challenge of abject poverty and inadequate learning environments creates barriers for too many children on the path to becoming proficient readers. We owe it to the students, and to ourselves, to continue to be innovative and make literacy a top priority in Alabama.”

Drs. Carol Donovan, Nicole Swoszowski and Diane Sekeres, of the UA College of Education, will be among the featured researchers who’ll speak at the summit.

Donovan, director of the Belser-Parton Literacy Center at UA, will provide an overview of the value of informational texts in support of vocabulary growth and reasoning through ideas and concepts.

Donovan said there are numerous contextual factors that can impact learning and achievement, and all, like backgrounds and quality of teachers, must be considered when pinpointing areas in which to improve literacy rates.

Improving literacy across the entire spectrum is key, and the solution can be as simple as increasing the volume of reading.

“By age 3, there’s a 30-million word gap for children in poverty, so what could we do about it?” Hlebowitsh said. “We could spread the word. One of the best investments parents can make is give their children good exposure to language – read to them, speak to them.

“It sounds simplistic, but that’s the beauty to it. Lots of words in the experience of a child adds up to good preparation for reading and for later school success.”

Hlebowitsh said the UA College of Education will host similar summits each year, though themes will vary.