GCCC GENERAL MANAGER TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN READ-IN CELEBRATION DURING NATIONAL READING RECOVERY & K-6 LITERACY CONFERENCE

(Columbus, February 8, 2019) – Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) General Manager John Page will read a series of four poems by Nikki Grimes as part of the National African-American Read-In portion of the 2019 Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference on Monday, February 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. during the general session.

“I am honored to be asked to add to Reading Recovery’s legacy of participating in the annual National African-American Read-In during this conference focused on propelling young students to greater success in school and life by encouraging reading proficiency,” said Page.

The National African American Read-In is the nation’s first and oldest event dedicated to diversity in literature. It was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month and has reached more than 6 million participants throughout the world.

The general session Page is joining will feature keynote speaker Lucy Calkins, an author, professor and founding director of Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Calkins will focus on “Holding Fast to What Matters Most” in the teaching of reading to students. The 2019 National Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference returns to the GCCC and Hyatt Regency Columbus from February 9-12.

The conference includes full-day pre-conference institutes, local and national presenters, and keynote speakers C.C. Bates and Gail Carson Levine in addition to Calkins. Bates, an associate professor of literacy education and director of the Clemson University Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Training Center for South Carolina, will speak about “Intentional Teaching and Learning” at 10 a.m. Sunday, February 10. Children’s author Levine will follow on Tuesday, February 12 at 10:30 a.m. with a keynote address titled “Dragons, and Fairies and Elves, Oh My!”

“We’re expecting an increase to more than 2,700 at the conference this year,” said Vicki Fox, director of communications for the Reading Recovery Council of North America (RRCNA).

Exhibit hall hours will be:

• February 9 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

• February 10 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• February 11 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

As the nation’s premier conference for kindergarten through Grade 6 literacy, the event will involve more than 2,700 attendees, 130 speakers, 100 sessions, 60 exhibitors and four days of learning for classroom teachers, literacy coaches, school administrators, superintendents, intervention specialists and additional educators from 48 states and four countries.

Reading Recovery is an early intervention program for lowest-performing first-grade students who struggle learning to read and write and offers more research proving its effectiveness than any other beginning reading program.

Reading Recovery has served millions of students since its inception in the United States in 1984 and includes strong professional development for teachers who also share their expertise with other students in the school.