On November 17-18, 2011, over 300 Michigan literacy educators trained in Reading Recovery and several school district administrators participated in the annual Reading Recovery Council of Michigan Institute at the Somerset Inn in Troy. The theme of the institute - A Legacy of Literacy: 20 Years of Reading Recovery in Michigan – recognized the work of Reading Recovery educators who have taught 95,000 of Michigan’s most challenged first grade literacy learners in Reading Recovery since its establishment in Michigan in 1991. Institute attendees participated in 30 sessions related to literacy teaching and learning in Reading Recovery, with three of the sessions designed specifically for administrators. [See RRCM 20th Annual Institute Program Agenda]
On Thursday, the keynote address was presented by Lyn Sharratt and Bill Hogarth, senior administrators, York Region School District (Toronto, Canada). Under Sharratt and Hogarth’s administration, the 140,000-student school district fully implemented Reading Recovery in each of its elementary schools. Their work is featured in a book by Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan, Realization: The Change Imperative for Deepening District-Wide Reform (2009) published by Corwin Press. On Friday, Mary Rosser, Director of Reading Recovery and Literacy Partnerships at the University of Maine, gave the keynote address Language, Literacy and Learning: How Teacher Knowledge Contributes Towards Achievement, Acceleration, and Success for ELL learners. Professor Rosser challenged the audience to consider each student’s home and family culture and their literacy learning strengths to provide optimum support for children’s learning.
Planning for the annual institute began over a year ago with Maeghan McCormick, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, Jackson County Intermediate School District Reading Recovery Site serving as Institute Program Chair and Dr. Mary Lose, Associate Professor and Director of the Reading Recovery Center at Oakland University serving as advisor to the RRCM Board and the Institute Planning Committee.