By Callie Buys
BYU students and faculty members will join Utah educators and parents this weekend for a lesson in literacy.
The 37th annual conference of the Utah Council of the International Reading Association will be held Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.
The conference will include speeches by nationally known reading educators and writers, as well as workshops and panels by local teachers and authors.
'They bring in national presenters that local teachers may never have an opportunity to participate with,' said Lynne Greenwood, reading specialist for the Utah State Office of Education and state liaison on the UCIRA board.
The UCIRA-Utah''s chapter of the International Reading Association-aims to strengthen language literacy by teaching educators learning strategies, promoting literacy projects and becoming a professional advocacy voice for literacy.
It provides a link between governments, universities and public schools in Utah.
The UCIRA has 14 councils, including student councils at Weber State University, Utah Valley State College, Southern Utah University and one set to begin meeting at BYU in December.
The International Reading Association, the largest non-profit organization in the world dedicated to reading and literacy, has nearly 100,000 members worldwide, said UCIRA state coordinator and BYU professor Dr. Sirpa Grierson.
'We''re working with literacy throughout the world,' Grierson said.
This year''s conference theme, 'Making a world of difference,' emphasizes the organization''s global reach.
The conference generally draws between 600 and 800 participants, Grierson said.
'We really make an effort to have all entities of education involved with us,' Greenwood said. 'It really ties the whole state together.'
Margie Brown, an English and reading teacher at Canyon View Jr. High School in Orem, has attended the conference many times.
'I always learn something new, and it kind of pumps you up professionally,' she said. 'A lot of times you can bring things back to your own school that you can share with other teachers. It really helps with disseminating information, new developments, and new teaching strategies.'
BYU graduate student Jeffra Burke will be attending the conference, and has been working with faculty members and other students for the past few months to organize the BYU council.
'We''re really excited about starting this,' said Burke, 31, a graduate student in education from Mirror Lake, New Hampshire. 'It will be great for anyone who is interested in reading, but especially for the education majors.'
The BYU council will host guest speakers and provide ideas for classroom activities, Burke said.
In addition to sponsoring educational opportunities, the IRA also advocates legislation.
Greenwood''s lecture at the conference focuses on federal and state legislation affecting reading; Grierson will be going to Washington D.C. in February to lobby for issues that affect reading in Utah.
'We''re taught how to become advocates,' Grierson said. 'We lobby in all kinds of different countries.'
The organization strives to help teachers and schools meet state and federal reading requirements, including the Reading First program of the No Child Left Behind legislation.
Local councils participate in global outreach projects, such as collecting books to send to different countries, as well as other local programs that encourage reading and literacy.
'If its literacy related, we''re usually there,' Grierson said. 'We have a lot of clout for what happens in any literacy issues.'
Conference activities Friday include an awards banquet and celebration to honor outstanding reading programs and educators.
Speakers at the conference include Michigan State University reading professor Richard Allington, author Sneed B. Collard III, author and illustrator Chris Soentpiet, IRA board member Rebecca Olness, author Linda Cornwell and National Louis University professor Camille Blachowizc.
The conference, open to the public, costs $105 for both days or $70 for one day for the general public, and $80 for both days or $45 for one day for UCIRA members. Student discounts are available.