2006 Annual Conference Information

Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel
711 N.W. 72nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33126
(305)-261-3800
OR
Follow this link to make hotel reservations online and get special hotel rates during the conference.

Special rate for conference attendees: $119/night for reservations based upon availability.
As of April 1, 2006 Parking $5/day
Overnight Parking $8
$8 in-and-out same day
Free airport shuttle available every 25 minutes.

Links to Other Area Hotels

General Session Speakers

Bob Wise was named president of the Alliance for Excellent Education in February 2005. His passion for education and experience as a leader and successful coalition-builder is helping the Alliance ensure that every child becomes a high school graduate prepared for success.
As governor of West Virginia from 2001-2005, Wise fought for and signed legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program, which helped thousands of West Virginia students remain in the Mountain State for college. Gov. Wise also established a character education curriculum in all state schools and created the Governor's Helpline for Safer Schools.
In 2001, Gov. Wise proposed salary bonuses for teachers who achieve National Board Certification, which helped triple the rate of certified teachers in the state. And Education Week's 2004 Quality Counts report gave West Virginia its highest cumulative grade of all fifty states.
Gov. Wise earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1970 and a Juris Doctorate from Tulane University College of Law in 1975. He recently earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He and wife Sandy live in Washington, D.C. with their two children.

Timothy Shanahan is Professor of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he is Director of the UIC Center for Literacy. He has been Director of Reading for the Chicago Reading Chicago Public Schools, a school improvement effort serving 437,000 children. His research focuses on the relationship of reading and writing, school improvement, the assessment of reading ability, and family literacy. He has published more than 100 research articles, chapters, and books on literacy.
Professor Shanahan is President of the International Reading Association, and he is on the Advisory Board of the National Family Literacy Center. He served on the White House Assembly on Reading, and the National Reading Panel, a group convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Development by the request of the U.S. Congress to evaluate research on successful methods of teaching reading. He currently chairs two other federal panels: one that is reviewing literacy research on language minority children and one on preschool and family literacy.
Shanahan received the Albert J. Harris Award for outstanding research on reading disability from the International Reading Association, the Milton D. Jacobson Readability Research Award also from IRA, the Amoco Award for Outstanding Teaching, and the University of Delaware Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement. He was inducted into the Illinois Reading Council Hall of Fame in 2002. He is a former first grade teacher.

Dr. Janet Allen is an international consultant recognized for her literacy work with at-risk students. She is also a well known author of books such as Yellow Brick Road, Words, Words, Words, and Tools for Teaching Content Literacy.

Luncheon Speakers

Chris Crutcher is an author and therapy consultant who has a BA in psychology and sociology. He is the author of several novels which include Whale Talk, Chinese Handcuffs, and Athletic Shorts. He is also a popular columnist and public speaker. He is the recipient of several awards including the 1993 ALAN Award for Contribution to Young Adult Literature and the 1998 National Intellectual Freedom Award (NCTE/SLATE).

Sharon Draper is an award winning author, educator, speaker, poet, and National Teacher of the Year. Her books include Tear of a Tiger, Forged By Fire, Darkness Before Dawn, and Romiette and Julio, to name a few.

Featured Speakers

Evan Lefsky (Ph.D.) is the Director of Secondary Reading with Just Read, Florida! Prior to coming to the Department of Education, Evan was a reading coach and specialist at Mount Dora High School. He was also a high school reading and English teacher and department chair at Mount Dora High School. Evan earned his B.S. from Florida State University in English Education, M.Ed. in English/Language Arts Education from the University of Central Florida, Ed.S. in Reading Education from the University of Florida, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Reading from the University of Florida. At the University of Florida, Evan taught graduate reading courses in Content Area Reading for intermediate and secondary education majors. While teaching at Mount Dora High School, he created a school-wide literacy initiative, Content Area Reading Education (CARE) that is now in its 6th year. He has also served as Assistant Director of the Central Florida Writing Project, coordinating professional development in the area of writing for Lake County Schools. Evan has presented at numerous conferences including the International Reading Association (IRA), National Reading Conference (NRC), and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Contact information: Just Read, Florida! Florida Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1501 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400 Phone: 850-245-0503 Email: evan.lefsky@fldoe.org

Enrique A. Puig has over 25 years of teaching experience and is the Director of the Florida Literacy and Reading Excellence Center, a project of Just Read, Florida, at the University of Central Florida. His expertise in literacy education and coaching has been called upon by colleagues in school districts across the country and at the Ohio State University, Texas Tech University, Purdue University, and the University of Central Florida. He has presented at national and international conferences. The Florida Department of Education has recognized him as a Title I Distinguished Educator. Enrique has co-authored The Literacy Coaching: Guiding in the Right Direction due out in June 2006.

ReLeah Cossett Lent, a secondary teacher for over twenty years, is now a national educational consultant. As author of a recently published book, Engaging Adolescent Learners: A Guide for Content-Area Teachers, she focuses on issues of student engagement, adolescent literacy and censorship in schools. She previously co-authored two books, At the Schoolhouse Gate and Silent No More, books that won Lent and her co-author Intellectual Freedom awards from the American Library Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Plus Sessions on:

Reading Endorsement Updates
Literature Circles
Differentiated Instruction
Coaching
Comprehension
Engaging Students
Reading Leadership Teams
Reading in the Content Areas

2006 Secondary Reading Council ConferenceApril 21-22, 2006at Sheraton Miami Mart HotelMiami, Florida

Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel 711 N.W. 72nd Avenue Miami, FL 33126 (305)-261-3800OR Follow this link to make hotel reservations online and get special hotel rates during the conference.