Greetings!  We hope that you enjoyed the first meeting in our Literacy Teacher Educator Series and that you will join us for the second meeting—to be held on Tuesday, January 27^th, 2009 from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Bethel University (the Eastland Room in the Academic Center).  The topic of our second meeting is “Preparing Teachers to Teach Reading in K-12 Schools:  Redesigning Preparation Programs & Continuing Professional Development.”   Dr. Alan Farstrup, Executive Director of the International Reading Association, will be our featured speaker.   After Dr. Farstrup speaks, we will examine our course syllabi in light of the research and newly proposed BOT standards, and discuss strengths and areas of concern re: course content, assignments, and assessments.  In essence, the January 2009 meeting kicks off several linked sessions where we will work together on the best ways to prepare teachers at the preservice level (early childhood, K-6 and 7-12).

1.  Two copies of your preservice literacy course syllabi (reading, writing, language arts, children’s lit.) for early childhood, elementary, middle and secondary content reading courses (you will use one copy during the workshop and we’d like to retain one copy of all syllabi for a master file, please.)

2.  The notebook of materials you received at the Nov. 21^st Literacy Educators Meeting—we will use the 2010 IRA standards and the proposed BOT standards from this notebook as well as refer to other documents; we will also provide other items for you to place into the notebook for use at future meetings

If you have any questions about the Tuesday, January 27^th meeting, please contact me as soon as possible.  Because this meeting is an invitation only/RSVP event, we are not able to accommodate additional guests other than those pre-registered and confirmed.  Please email me by January 16,^th  2009 if you are able to attend our second meeting.

I look forward to seeing you very soon.

Sincerely,

Deborah Dillon

dillon@umn.edu

Guy Bond Chair in Reading

  & Professor of Literacy Education

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

330B  Peik Hall, 159 Pillsbury Dr. S. E.

Curriculum & Instruction Department

College of Education & Human Development

PH: 952.944.2142