While educators have been debating the “right” way to teach reading for decades, student progress continues to lag. The science of reading is clear and our students deserve access to instructional practice that is rooted in the research. During this one-day, in-person professional learning experience, participants will have the opportunity to hear from a national literacy leader and explore best practices for aligning their work with the research.
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2022
Location: ETV Idea Lab in Columbia, SC
Cost: $40 per person (includes continental breakfast, lunch, materials, and tote bag)
8:30–9:00 am: Registration and continental breakfast
9:00–9:30 am: Opening
9:30–11:30 am: Morning session facilitated by CC
11:30 am–12:15 pm: Networking lunch
12:15–2:15 pm: Afternoon session facilitated by CC
2:15–3:15 pm: Closing keynote (virtual)
Keynote presented by Linda Diamond and Kareem Weaver
Linda Diamond is the founder and former president of Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE), a professional learning organization that serves schools, districts, and state agencies in improving literacy and math achievement for all students. Ms. Diamond is the author of three widely used professional books for educators: Teaching Reading Sourcebook, Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures, and Vocabulary Handbook. Before her work at CORE, Ms. Diamond served as a K–12 district administrator, a middle school and elementary principal, a high school teacher, and a senior policy analyst in an education think tank. She is now spending part of her retirement overseeing the National Council on Teacher Quality’s revision and implementation of the Reading Foundations standards portion of the Teacher Prep Review.
Kareem Weaver is the Co-Founder of FULCRUM (Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate). Kareem previously led the Western Region for New Leaders, a leader development organization that supports the professional growth of teachers and administrators and prepares them to serve schools and communities desiring improved outcomes. Prior to New Leaders, Kareem was an award-winning teacher and administrator in Oakland, California, and Columbia, South Carolina. Kareem has an undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, and a master's in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina. He is a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the National Council on Teacher Quality. His professional heroine is the late, great Marva Collins.
Facilitated by Katharine Bonasera, Keri Bartholomew, Jennifer Shriver, and Dr. Alisha Green
Katharine Bonasera is Manager of Educational Partnerships for Collaborative Classroom. She has over 14 years of teaching and leadership experience in urban school environments, serving as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal. In addition to her school-based experience, she has coached early-career Teach For America teachers and serves as an advisor with Relay Graduate School of Education's National Principal Academy Fellowship. She is passionate about cultivating school environments that foster connection, equitable practices, and the opportunity for all community members to thrive.
Keri Bartholomew has been a lead educational consultant with Collaborative Classroom since 2009. She holds an MA in Teaching Early Childhood Education with a focus on Language and Literacy from National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois. With over 20 years of experience in public education, Keri has facilitated professional learning with preservice and inservice educators in the areas of reading and writing development, intervention, and social-emotional learning. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences and worked with schools across the country as an independent literacy consultant. She has also served as an adjunct instructor teaching literacy courses at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.
Jennifer Shriver is the Vice-President of The Reading League South Carolina. She has over 15 years of teaching experience in the Upstate of South Carolina, serving as classroom teacher, Literacy Coach, Literacy Interventionist, and RTI Coordinator. She began learning about the Science of Reading in 2011 with the completion of Augustine Literacy Training. She obtained Associate Level Orton Gillingham Certification at the Dyslexia Resource Center in Columbia, SC. She is dedicated to bringing support to teachers as they expand their professional knowledge of how children best learn to read.
Dr. Alisha Green is the District Liaison of The Reading League South Carolina. She has over 28 years teaching experience in Title 1 schools in the Upstate of South Carolina. She has served as classroom teacher, adjunct instructor, MTSS Coordinator and Director of Literacy. She supervises reading coaches, reading interventionists, and school level MTSS point-of-contacts to ensure the district remains in compliance with the legislative requirements set forth by Act 284 (Read to Succeed) and Act 213 (MTSS legislation). She first began learning about the Science of Reading in 2007 when she began her doctoral work evaluating the academic effects of Behaviorism and Constructivism on reading achievement in young children. Dr. Green has completed the first year of LETRS professional learning and is currently enrolled in year two of the training.
Registration Fee: $40 per person
Payment Options: Credit card, e-check (ACH), or purchase order
Registration Deadline: September 30, 2022
Refund/Transfer Policy: Deadline to submit requests for refund and transfers is September 30, 2022. Requests must be in writing. Email requests to events@collaborativeclassroom.org
Meals/Drinks: Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Registration Method: Online registration only
Attendance Certificates: Certificates will be provided by email within 30 business days after the event.
Our staff and facilitators prefer this hotel: Hampton Inn Columbia-Downtown Historic District