Registration Deadline: October 26, 2001
“Join the Rainbow of Readers” is the theme of the annual statewide reading conference hosted by the Arkansas Reading Association (ARA). The conference will be held November 15-16, 2001, at the Excelsior Hotel and Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
The ARA conference will feature nationally known literacy experts and children’s authors, as well as outstanding Arkansas educators and authors. Dr. Jeanne Paratore, associate professor of education at Syracuse University, will open the conference activities on the morning of Thursday, November 15, 2001, as the first general session speaker. Dr. Paratore's current research interests are in three areas: literacy assessment, classroom-grouping practices for literacy instruction, and family literacy. She serves as an advisor to the Intergenerational Literacy Project and is a former board member of the International Reading Association (IRA). On Thursday evening, an autograph/storytelling party, “Rainbow of Authors,” will be held which will feature well-known Arkansas authors.
On Friday, November 16, 2001, Dr. Roger Farr, Chancellor for the Center for Innovation in Assessment at Indiana University, an expert in the area of student performance assessment will be the featured speaker for the second general session. Also, on that day, a “Book and Author Luncheon” featuring, Avi, whose works were featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as a breakfast serial last spring, will be held. Luncheon tickets are $25.
Another of the authors to be featured during the conference is Dr. Gloria Houston, author of award-winning books telling stories taken from the lives of her family members and set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. One of her more familiar books is “My Great Arizona.”
Other authors and educators such as Dr. Diane DeFord, John Gile, Carol Otis Hurst, Bruce Lansky, and John Shefelbine will provide entertaining and informative sessions throughout the conference. Sessions are designed for educators and administrators at all grade levels.
Full conference registration (Thursday and Friday) is $50 for IRA members and $65 for nonmembers. A registration form with the conference schedule and list of speakers can be obtained by accessing the website of the ARA at www.arareading.org.
Hotel information is provided on the last page of the registration form. Hotel reservations must be made prior to October 14, 2001. Registration deadline is October 26, 2001.