Meet keynote speaker, Dr. Terrie Noland
Terrie Noland is a bold champion of leadership development as the single greatest factor in literacy transformation. As a former educator, school leader, and Vice President at Learning Ally, she continues to provide strategic insight to organizations and schools looking to make sweeping leadership moves in literacy. With a doctorate in Literacy and Educational Leadership and Maxwell Leadership certification, Dr. Noland inspires through keynote speaking, mentorship, and leadership development content. Her philosophy: great leaders cultivate success in others. Known for her contagious energy, she empowers others to discover the transformative power of literacy and leadership. Outside her work, she tutors children, mentors emerging leaders, and envisions a world where leadership unlocks limitless possibilities.
Conference Schedule:
8:00-8:45 am Registration & Breakfast
8:45-9:00 am Welcome & Introductions
9:00-10:00 am Keynote
10:15-11:15am Breakout Session #1
11:30-12:30 pm Breakout Session #2
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch/Visit Vendors
1:30-2:30 pm Breakout Session #3
2:45-3:45 pm Breakout Session #4
4:00-4:15 pm Reflections & Closing
Breakout Session Information
Thank you for your patience as we continue to add our breakout sessions. Each conference block will feature five breakout options. Please check back soon for the full lineup!
Breakout Session 1: 10:15am-11:15am
From Grammar to Savory Sentences: Write with Ease with Colleen Zink
Drawing upon knowledge gained from William Van Cleave, this presentation will take attendees on a journey of learning about grammar, syntax, and paragraph writing. The content begins with the basics by establishing a common vocabulary (subject, predicate, clause, phrase). Unlocking the structure of various sentence types while incorporating grammar instruction will be highlighted. Continuous interactive aspects of the presentation will engage the audience members in writing activities, as we would have our students do, to build connections and achieve a greater understanding of sentence structure, parts of speech, and paragraph writing. The remainder of the presentation will focus on practical, multisensory ideas to use with students to deepen their knowledge of syntax and writing, which ultimately, directly correlates to the improvement of their comprehension.
Colleen Zink, a 25-year veteran educator, is a Fellow in the Orton-Gillingham Academy and serves as the K-12 Literacy and Dyslexia Coordinator for Blue Valley Schools.
Responsive Teaching: Tier 1 Differentiation with Dr. Shelley Blackwell and Dr. John McCormick
This session provides a quick overview of the MTSS framework and its role in supporting all learners. We’ll focus on Tier 1 differentiation—why it matters, its impact on student success, and practical strategies for making it happen. Participants will learn how to strengthen core instruction through intentional planning and responsive practices that meet diverse needs within the classroom. Administrators and teachers will leave with actionable tips to enhance Tier 1 differentiation and create a strong foundation for MTSS implementation.
Dr. Shelley Blackwell, elementary administrator and literacy specialist, is passionate about leadership and advancing language and literacy education. She created open-source morphology and orthography curricula for teachers. Dr. McCormick serves as a Blue Valley instructional coach, empowering educators through collaboration, data-driven practice, and purposeful professional learning to elevate student achievement across classrooms.
Sound Sense: Making Phonological Awareness Come Alive with Leah DeYoung
This session focuses on active, multisensory routines that help students internalize the sound structures of spoken language—an essential foundation for reading and spelling. Participants will learn how to use movement, manipulatives, and oral language play to support sound isolation, blending, segmenting, and manipulation in engaging, developmentally appropriate ways. Attendees will leave with simple, high-impact activities that can be implemented immediately in whole-group and small-group instruction.
Leah DeYoung has worked in ELA and Special Education settings for 25 years. She currently serve as an CALT at Eagle Heights Elementary. Outside the classroom, she works as a virtual therapist and advocate for Nashville Dyslexia Center. She also works to promote structured literacy as a board member for KS/MO IDA and as an ambassador for the Reading League of Missouri.
Engaging Grade 4-12 Students in Academic Discussion with Lisa Klein
This workshop equips educators with research-based strategies to facilitate meaningful academic discussions that deepen comprehension, build critical thinking skills, and enhance content knowledge across all subject areas in grades 4-12.
Lisa Klein is co-editor of Keys to Early Writing and Keys to Content Writing and a contributor to all Keys to Literacy professional learning offerings. An experienced educator, she provides strategic oversight of relationship management in service of literacy initiatives and leads the Relationship Management team at Keys to Literacy.
Breakout Session 2: 11:30-12:30PM
Structured Literacy Applies to Language Comprehension Too! with Dr. Trina Spencer
The science of reading movement has focused primarily on explicit, systematic phonics instruction to the neglect of explicit, systematic language comprehension instruction. Dr. Spencer will provide an in-depth tutorial on the characteristics (i.e., explicit, systematic, cumulative) of structured literacy applied to language comprehension. She will show examples of evidence-based, multi-tiered language instructional and assessment tools. Teachers will receive a Structured Literacy Checklist for Language Comprehension and practice evaluating the quality of curricula. They will be equipped to use the checklist to examine their current (and future) instructional programs. They will also be able to download an assessment tool (for PreK to Grade 8 students) for free that helps teachers measure all the language comprehension strands for screening and progress monitoring purposes.
As a reading scientist, Dr. Spencer designs structured oral language instructional programs and assessment tools that help educators promote strong language foundations of literacy. Dr. Spencer currently serves as a Professor and Director of Juniper Garden Children’s Project, University of Kansas.
Breakout Session 3: 1:30-2:30PM
Beyond Memorization: Practical Strategies for Home and Classroom with Dr. Shelley Blackwell
Ever wonder how to practice spelling at home without endless memorization? This session explores how the reading brain learns to spell and introduces structured literacy strategies for teachers and parents. We’ll cover sound-spelling mapping at both single- and multi-syllable word levels, hands-on activities for practicing heart words, and techniques for identifying and correcting spelling errors in connected writing. Participants will learn how to analyze error types to target instruction effectively and leave with practical, research-based tools for home and classroom use. Interactive practice included!
Dr. Shelley Blackwell, elementary administrator and literacy specialist, is passionate about leadership and advancing language and literacy education. She created open-source morphology and orthography curricula for teachers.
Before Print: Strengthening Oral Language to Drive Literacy Learning Success with Dr. Kim Moody
This interactive session explores how oral language forms the foundation for skilled reading within the Science of Reading and structured literacy. Participants will examine the essential language components—phonology, vocabulary, syntax, and discourse—and how each supports decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Through hands-on activities, sample lessons, and modeled strategies, teachers will learn practical ways to embed rich oral language experiences into daily instruction. Attendees will receive classroom-ready tools, including routines for dialogic reading, morphology-rich conversations, and structured academic talk. Participants will collaborate in small groups to analyze student language samples, try out scaffolds for diverse learners, and adapt materials to their own grade levels. Attendees will leave with actionable practices that immediately strengthen literacy learning for all students.
Dr. Kimberly Moody is a professor at Wichita State University and director of CLEAR, where she advances research-based literacy practices through educator preparation, statewide partnerships, and community-engaged initiatives. Her scholarship emphasizes structured literacy, executive function, and strengthening protective factors that improve youth academic outcomes.
Breakout Session 4: 2:45-3:45PM
See It. Say It. Move It. Master It. with Leah DeYoung
This session introduces practical, multisensory routines that bring phonics instruction to life. Participants will learn how to intentionally integrate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile techniques to strengthen sound–symbol connections and support accurate decoding and spelling. We will practive routines to deepen orthographic mapping and build automatic word recognition. Attendees will leave with simple, high-impact strategies that can be used immediately in whole-group instruction, small groups, or intervention settings—no special materials required.
Leah DeYoung has worked in ELA and Special Education settings for 25 years. She currently serves as an CALT at Eagle Heights Elementary. Outside the classroom, she works as a virtual therapist and advocate. She also works to promote structured literacy practices as a board member for KS/MO IDA and as an ambassador for the Reading League of Missouri.
Utilizing Data-Based Decision-Making to Support Students with Reading Difficulties with Alex Fender and Thomas Hurford
Learn how to use student data and problem-solving processes to screen, support, evaluate, and monitor students with reading difficulties. Participants will learn about screening and intervention components, specific learning disabilities in reading, the identification of disabilities in the school setting, and how to use student data to inform decision-making. We will review key tenets from the scientific literature, problem-solving models, federal and state guidelines, and expert recommendations. Innovative and practical strategies will be demonstrated so that team members can collaborate in providing high-quality services for students with goals that are strategic, data-based, and aligned with student success.
Alex Fender is the director of evaluation at the Center for Reading and a nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP) with a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She has worked for more than 13 years in the fields of psychology and education, serving as a school psychologist, psychological associate, and researcher.
Thomas Hurford is the director of intervention and professional development at the Center for Reading, where he trains interventionists to use evaluation results and Structured Literacy strategies to implement science-based reading intervention. Previously, Thomas was a school psychologist for over a decade working in central Kansas and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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