Schedule (9:00 am - 3:10 pm):

Arrive & Sign in: 8:00 - 8:45

Welcome / Opening: 9:00 - 9:15

Keynote #1: 9:15 - 10:15

Cycle A Breakout Sessions: 10:30 - 11:00 & 11:10 - 11:40

Lunch & Networking: 11:40 - 12:40

Thank you to B & M Catering for providing lunch! Enjoy their salad and sandwiches outside at one of our many picnic tables. Opportunity to participate in a tour of the farm or a guided, outdoor meditation and enjoy conversation afterwards about the farm’s mission connections over fresh garden snacks. 

Keynote #2: 12:45 - 1:40

Cycle B Breakout Sessions: 1:50 - 2:20 & 2:30 - 3:00

Ending Gathering (outside): 3:05 - 3:10

Keynote Descriptions

Brandee Lapisky

Role: Director of The Compass School

Title of Keynote: Harnessing the Winds of Literacy Change

Description: The winds of literacy change are gusting through Rhode Island and across the nation. For those striving to harness this wind, it can feel like we are trapped in a wind tunnel, or worse, a destructive hurricane. Yet schools that successfully harness this literacy wind power by adjusting their sails and supporting their crews, find themselves sailing at new speeds toward an exciting destination of student achievement. Director Brandee Lapisky will share the Compass School’s journey, revealing how they harnessed the power of the literacy winds of change. 

Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan

Role: Literacy and Multilingual Learner Expert

Title of Keynote:

Description:

Breakout Session Descriptions

Brandee Lapisky & Heather Ballantine

Role: School Director & Literacy Coach

Title of Session: Planning Session: Launching Literacy Transformation

Description: Review, share, plan, and create resources, structures, and systems to launch and sustain literacy transformation in your setting. Recommended for educational leaders and coaches. 

Dawn Carusi, Ed.D, C-SLDI

Role: Literacy Specialist at Tools4Reading/95 Percent Group

Title of Session: Using Sound Walls to Support & Advance Reading Instruction

Description: Using a sound wall can transform instruction. Because of the Science of Reading, we are more aware of the role of phonetics and phonology in developing beginning reading and spelling skills. Developing phonemic proficiency must happen before the development of automatic sight word reading. Explicitly teaching the sounds, along with placement and manner of articulation, makes learning more concrete for students. During this session, participants will be introduced to the purpose and set-up of a sound wall, the sound wall daily routine, and how a Sound Wall supports all learners in all phases of reading development.

Cara McDermott-Fasy Ph.D., NBCT

Role: Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, Rhode Island College 

Kirsten Ebersole LaCroix, M.Ed

Role: Senior Director, Center for Leadership and Educational Equity (CLEE)

Carolyn Obel-Omia Ph.D

Role: Associate Professor, Department of Elementary Education, Rhode Island College 

Others TBD 

Title of Session: The Science of Reading In Higher Education

Description: This panel presentation will highlight refinement and enhancement efforts at Educator and Instructional Leader Preparation Programs across that State geared towards realizing every students’ right to read. The session will feature stories from a variety of key stakeholders such as faculty and leadership/teacher candidates as well as resources utilized. Future directions for this work will be discussed.

Brittany Ciullo

Role: Speech-Language Pathologist, PhD Student at University of Massachusetts Amherst

Title of Sessions: Supporting Oral Language Skills Throughout the School Day

Description: This workshop will focus on building students’ oral language by creating opportunities for them to practice their expressive language skills and brainstorming simple, actionable ways to incorporate these practice opportunities throughout the school day.

Shannon Saglio 

Role: Instructional Coach 

Title of Sessions:

Session 1 Description: Creating Inclusive Classrooms with Explicit Instruction for Secondary Teachers 

This session will help secondary teachers create inclusive classrooms using explicit instruction. Explicit instruction can be a powerful instructional framework to help all students succeed, including those with learning disabilities and multilingual learners. We'll focus on how explicit instruction supports reading, analyzing complex texts, and writing in disciplinary subjects. 

Session 2 Description: Creating Inclusive Classrooms with Digital Accessibility Tools 

Description: This session will focus on how digital accessibility tools can create inclusive classrooms. The session will showcase popular tools like Read&Write, Immersive Reader, Translation Tools, Kami, and more! We will end the session with a preview of AI tools.

Decoding Dyslexia Rhode Island (DDRI)-Lise Moloney Vice President of DDRI and Tori-Jessop-Crowley Director of Policy and Public Outreach 

Title of Sessions: A Collaborative Approach to Addressing Dyslexia

Description: Dyslexia is a neurobiological language-based learning disability that impacts a student’s ability to decode, encode, and to read fluently. In this session attendees will discuss the preventative model for addressing dyslexia in schools and how to build a collaborative approach to support the needs of students with language-based learning disabilities in the classroom. 

Kendal Martes 

Role: Director of the Sally Borden Program at Friends Academy 

Title of Session: Using Assessments to Guide Instruction 

Description: This session will help educators better understand types of assessments for students with language-based learning differences, as well as how to interpret the assessment results for the purpose of instructional planning. An overview of differentiating between dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) using assessment tools will also be discussed.

Vanessa Harwood Ph.D., CCC-SLP & Alisa Baron Ph.D, CCC-SLP 

Role: Assistant Professors in the Department of Communicative Disorders URI 

Title: Neurobiological Markers of Language and Literacy in Monolingual and Bilingual Students. 

Description: Bilingual students are a critical population of learners in US schools; however, compared to monolingual peers, less is known regarding their neurocognitive learning profiles.  We will share research findings from a pilot study on literacy development in monolingual and bilingual students which used  EEG and eye-tracking technologies, along with a comprehensive investigation of the home language and literacy environment.  Practical applications of the findings including what it may mean for educators working with bilingual students will be discussed.  

Natasha Feinberg Ed.D., NBCT

Role: Associate Professor, Department of Elementary Education, Rhode Island College 

Title of Session: Literacy Coaching: Supporting Change within Your School 

Description: This session will focus on an overview of coaching models that can be utilized by all educators whether in a classroom setting or in a formal coaching position.  The focus is on how to support change as schools embrace the Science of Reading.  Keegan’s “ways of knowing” are explored.

Nicole Bucka

Role: BRIDGE-RI

Title of Session: You’ve Got a Literacy School Improvement Goal - Now What?!!

Description: BRIDGE-RI, the home of MTSS in RI, is a professional learning platform designed to increase school and district implementation of MTSS and evidence-based practices with fidelity by providing resources and effective learning opportunities for educators. BRIDGE-RI stands for Bridging Research, Implementation, and Data to Guide Educators in Rhode Island. It is state and federally-funded (so free to you) and not for profit. BRIDGE-RI aims to strengthen collaboration, communication, and leadership to promote equitable outcomes.