Pitt and Beginning with Books Center for Early Literacy To Cosponsor Oct. 4 Early Literacy Conference

September 27, 2002

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh School of Education and the Beginning with Books Center for Early Literacy will cosponsor the Early Literacy Conference, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Oct. 4 in the University's William Pitt Union Ballroom, 3959 Fifth Avenue, in Oakland.

Workshops highlighting the latest research and best practices in promoting early literacy development will take place throughout the day. Rita Bean, a professor in Pitt's School of Education; Susan Sauer, a reading coach with the Pittsburgh Public Schools; and Roberta Schomburg, chair of Carlow College's Department of Education, will lead a panel discussion titled "Literacy Instruction for the Young Child."

The conference's featured speaker will be Dorothy Strickland, professor of reading at Rutgers University. Strickland is a former classroom teacher, reading consultant, and learning disabilities specialist. She has received the International Reading Association's Outstanding Teacher Educator of Reading Award, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) award as Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts, and the 1994 NCTE Rewey Belle Inglis Award as Outstanding Woman in the Teaching of English. Strickland's recent publications include "Beginning Reading and Writing," the third edition of "Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs," and "Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers: Strategies for Classroom Intervention 3-6."

Noted children's authors Marc Harshman and Cheryl Ryan, coauthors of "Red Are the Apples," also will speak during the conference. The author of numerous children's picture books, Harshman has taught composition and creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia Northern Community College. Writing about Harshman, Contemporary Authors commented that "[He] portrays everyday people in folktale-like circumstances, giving his works an air of timelessness."

Tickets are $69.00 per person and include a continental breakfast, lunch with the authors, and a reception with Strickland. For more information, or to make reservations, call 412/361-8560.

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9/27/02/tmw