Brunswick, GA –Dr. Patricia A. Edwards, Distinguished Professor of Language and Literacy, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, will be visiting the Brunswick campus of the College of Coastal Georgia on Friday, February 20, as a special guest of the School of Education and Teacher Preparation. Dr. Edwards will also be the featured speaker at the second Family Literacy Forum, “1, 2, 3 – Read with Me,” to be held Saturday, February 21, 1-3 p.m. at the Risley Annex on Albany Street in Brunswick.
Dr. Ronald S. Reigner, who holds the Community-Supported Professorship in Early Childhood Reading and Language Arts in the School of Education and Teacher Preparation at Coastal Georgia, is working with local educators in arranging both events.
Friday’s program, which will be held from 10 a.m.-3:15 p.m. in the Southeast Georgia Conference Center, will focus on local educators, community literacy organizations and leaders, and College education majors. The session is open to the general public, but reservations should be made by contacting Dr. Reigner, rreigner@ccga.edu. Following Dr. Edwards’ presentation, a panel of representatives from the Georgia Reading Association will join her on stage for an interactive discussion with the audience followed by break-out sessions. Laura Kipp, School Improvement Specialist/ELA Consultant – First District RESA is co-coordinator of the program with Dr. Reigner.
Saturday’s interactive program, designed for parents and children at the pre-k, kindergarten and early elementary school level, is free for participating families. Dr. Edwards will be the keynote speaker and College students will be working with the children, facilitating literacy-based activities designed to encourage reading. Dr. Reigner partnered with Marihelen Newman, Title I Parent Coordinator, Glynn County School System, to organize this second session in the Family Literacy Forum series.
Dr. Edwards is past president of the 70,000-member International Reading Association and was elected in 2012 to the Reading Hall of Fame. She is an internationally-recognized literacy expert with an insightful understanding of the impact culture, identity, poverty, and equity exert in parent involvement; home, school and community partnerships for literacy initiatives; early literacy; and family/intergenerational literacy. Dr. Edwards is the author of Tapping the Potential of Parents: A Strategic Guide to Boosting Student Achievement Through Family Involvement, a Scholastic Teaching Resources publication.
Dr. Reigner’s Community-Supported Professorship, made possible by restricted gifts to the College Foundation, was created to improve early childhood literacy rates and enhance educational success for children in Glynn County and the region. Supported activities include developing and delivering training programs to improve skills and outcomes for area children’s education and care programs as well as facilitating the design and oversight of field and service-learning placements and serving as a College liaison to community childhood literacy programs.
College of Coastal Georgia
John Cornell
O: 912.279.5703
C: 912.223.9997
jcornell@ccga.edu