WEST GROVE, PA — Avon Grove School District (AGSD) literacy leaders were selected to present at the Keystone State Literacy Conference (KSLA) at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center on November 27-29, 2022, as a result of the measurable literacy growth of learners throughout the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The theme for the 2022 conference was “Literacy Lessons,” which provided the opportunity for AGSD’s Kristin Bulgarelli, Kim Hall, Kelly Harrison and Patti Schmaltz to showcase the lessons learned and results achieved throughout their literacy initiative.
The district consistently works to ensure that literacy is the foundation for all learning. In fact, the theme of “Illuminating Literacy” has been a staple for AGSD for several years. The literacy theme became more strategic in the 2021-2022 school year, as the need to address learning loss grew apparent after the pandemic. At Penn London Elementary School and Avon Grove Intermediate School, the district made efforts to provide professional development to teachers, which improved instructional practices.
Bulgarelli and Janine Presloid, a literacy consultant from the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU), teamed up to provide a presentation titled, “Differentiating Professional Development: Make a Difference When Developing Readers” at the conference. Their session demonstrated how the CCIU and AGSD partnered to support teachers in grades 3-4 by using data to plan for and deliver intentional, flexible, small-group instruction framed through the science of reading.
Hall, Harrison and Schmaltz provided a one-hour overview of the systematic process used in a large K-2 building to provide differentiated professional learning opportunities for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers. The collaborative approach increased reading scores and created significant improvements in reading classrooms throughout the school.
The Keystone State Literacy Association annual conference is an exciting opportunity for professional development, networking and sourcing materials for classroom use. The conference consists of a broad audience, including classroom teachers, reading specialists, curriculum specialists, administrators and other educators.
To learn more about the Keystone State Literacy Association Conference, visit https://ksla.wildapricot.org/Conference.
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