Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 1/11/99
      Contact:                           Carol Dotson   25
EARLY LITERACY INITIATIVE SEMINAR FEB 3 & 4 AT SLU
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Early Literacy Initiative Project will
host an informational seminar February 3 and 4 at KIVA and the University Center. 
     The seminar, open to teachers, educators, administrators and undergraduate education
students, will include sessions about effective instructional practices, classroom management,
and assessment. Teams of teachers from area schools participating in Southeastern's Early
Literacy Initiative Project will conduct breakout sessions in the afternoon, continuing the Early
Literacy focus. 
     Keynote speakers to be featured at the seminar are authors Dr. Linda Dorn from the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Joetta Beaver, an educational consultant with
Celebration Press. 
     Dorn, the co-author of Apprenticeship in Literacy, will speak on the principles of
apprenticeship learning and classroom management that supports literacy acquisition in the early
grades. She will give the keynote address on Wednesday, February 3at 9:45 am. Beaver is the
author of Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), the state mandated reading assessment for
students in grade 1-3. She will speak on Thursday Feb. 4 at 9:45 am.  Following her address,
Avril Font, a representative from the Louisiana Department of Education will discuss the current
statewide implementations of the DRA. A panel of educators will then discuss perspectives on
training and implementation of the Developmental Reading Assessment. 
     There will also be a Reading Recovery   strand which will include breakout sessions on
Wednesday afternoon and a "behind the glass" demonstration lesson. Reading Recovery is an
early intervention program for first graders who are experiencing difficulty in learning to read. 
     Early literacy displays and book vendors will also be available during the seminar,
including an Early Literacy library display to be presented by Loranger Elementary of
Tangipahoa Parish. 
     There is a $20.00 registration fee for the two-day seminar. For more information contact
seminar coordinator Denise Slocum at 504-549-5263 or by email at dslocum@selu.edu.

                                          -SLU-
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