69th MRA Conference: Full Schedule

Add sessions to your personal schedule to register your attendance (Check-In).

10:30am EST

Rookie to Rockstar: Empowering New Teachers for Long-Term Success LIMITED

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EST

Infusing the JOY framework into our comprehensive professional development by unleashing the potential of new teachers, guiding them with support around the four pillars throughout the year, and fostering a culture of joy, excellence, and lifelong learning.Our comprehensive mentor training program is designed to empower and equip new teachers, prevent burnout, and ensure long-term success.

Speakers

Kate Rossetter

Engagement and Literacy Educational Consultant, EduKateR- LLC

Annemarie Johnson

Saturday March 8, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am EST
Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)

Literacy Coaching

Strand(s) Advocacy, Literacy Coaching and Leadership, Literacy Educator Preparation

2:30pm EST

High-Impact Literacy Tutoring: Interventions and Strategies to Move Under-Performing Students Forward FULL

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST

River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

This session will report on a university partnership that entails tutors working in schools with under performing students. There will be audience participation that highlights specifically promoting love, joy and passion for reading. Further, high-impact tutoring strategies and interventions will be featured that include: Getting to know our students as the heart of differentiating tutoring.

Speakers

Margaret Policastro

Department Chair, Professor and Director of Language and Literacy, Roosevelt University

Dr. Policastro is a professor of language and literacy at Roosevelt University where she is the director of the Literacy leadership MA program and the founding director of the Summer Reading Clinic. She teachers graduate and undergraduate courses in Language and Literacy. Dr. Policastro... Read More →

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

Elementary (K-5) Literacy Coaching Middle School to Post Secondary (6-12+)

Strand(s) Advocacy, Early Language and Literacy, Foundational Reading Skills

12:30pm EDT

Silent Sustained Reading in High School: Fostering a Love of Reading in the Classroom and Building a Culture of Literacy within the School LIMITED

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

In this inspiring session, teachers will learn how we are creating a culture of literacy within our department and school by utilizing a strategic system of SSR, which embraces goal setting, metacognitive thinking, sharing progress, celebrating personal reading, and collective growth. As classroom teachers in the field, our resources will be embedded in the presentation for you to copy and adapt for your context. Just add books!

Speakers

Mrs. Becky Gerhart

High School English Teacher, Mason County Central

Teaching English full-time since 2008. Mother of 7-year-old boy/girl twins. I fly kites on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Katarina Moore

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

Middle School to Post Secondary (6-12+) Literacy Coaching

Strand(s) Advocacy, Foundational Reading Skills, Literacy Educator Preparation

1:45pm EDT

Braided Pathways: Funding Literacy Innovations LIMITED

Sunday March 9, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT

River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

Unlock the secrets to successful grant writing in this engaging session! Discover five essential principles for securing funding to fuel projects aligned with the literacy essentials. "Read it in" as you uncover key insights into the grant-writing process, and "Write it out" with powerful strategies to craft winning proposals. Plus, gain access to a Padlet packed with tools to support your journey. Best of all, you’ll learn about any grants that are open and ready for submission right now! Don’t miss this opportunity to turn your ideas into funded realities—let’s make grant writing fun and rewarding!

Speakers

Carol Ann Paul

Manager of State and Federal Programs and Special Populations, Wayne RESA

Carol Ann Paul is the Manager of State and Federal Programs and Special Populations at Wayne RESA, bringing over 20 years of experience in education. With a career spanning elementary through collegiate levels, she has held key roles including Reading Specialist, Executive Director... Read More →

Dr. Leah van Belle

Senior Consultant, Learning and Impact, Detroit Parent Network

Leah serves as Senior Consultant for Learning & Impact with Detroit Parent Network and is Part-Time Faculty at Eastern Michigan University. A proud Detroiter and first-generation high school graduate, her professional and community work have focused on literacy access and equity... Read More →

Sunday March 9, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

Appropriate for All Levels

Strand(s) Advocacy, Assessment and Evaluation, Literacy Coaching and Leadership