International Reading Association's 48th Annual Convention

Press Events will be held in Room 204A of the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive, Orlando, Florida, May 5 and May 6; Press room telephone: 407-685-4400.

#1: WHAT:*A press briefing and webcast on research results of the National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction and the publication of the results, Prepared to Make a Difference. *Webcast instructions: Go to www.reading.org, click on the link to register, and input information as requested.

WHEN: Monday, May 5, 2003, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (ET)

WHO: Cathy M. Roller, Director of Research and Policy, International Reading Association, and James V. Hoffman, professor, Language and Literacy Studies, University of Texas at Austin, English Language Arts Education Center

DETAIL:National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction is a three-year research effort devoted to the study of excellence in four-year undergraduate teacher preparation programs in the United States. The research was conducted at eight sites: Florida International University (Miami, FL), Hunter College (New York, NY), Indiana University (Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN), Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA), University of Nevada, Reno (Reno, NV), University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX), University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, TX), and University of Sioux Falls (Sioux Falls, SD). These sites were selected through an open application process that identified excellent programs at various kinds of universities and colleges. They include large and small, public and private, and homogeneous and diverse institutions. There were three studies: Features of Excellence Study, Teacher Educator Survey, and Beginning Teacher Study. These three studies examine important relationships among teacher preparation programs, beginning teachers' reading instruction, and children's reading achievement.

Roller and Hoffman will discuss the results of the National Commission research.

#2: WHAT: *A press briefing on "The Importance of Early Reading and Family Literacy"

WHEN: Tuesday, May 6, 2003, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (ET)

WHO: *Lesley Mandel Morrow, president-elect of the International Reading Association and professor and coordinator of graduate literacy programs at Rutgers University in New Jersey

*Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, codirector of the High/Scope Early Childhood Reading Institute and president-elect of the National Reading Conference *Lea McGee, codirector of the High/Scope Early Childhood Reading Institute and president-elect of the National Reading Conference

DETAIL: Three leading reading and literacy organizations--the International Reading Association, the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, and the National Reading Conference--will promote the importance of early reading and family literacy.

At the press conference, the three organizations will point to a new book entitled Family Literacy: From Theory to Practice, published by International Reading Association and edited by codirector of the High/Scope Early Childhood Reading Institute, Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, and Barbara Krol-Sinclair.

Morrow will speak about the International Reading Association's preschool initiatives in professional development; DeBruin-Parecki will talk about Family Literacy: From Theory to Practice, which presents critical scientific literature on family literacy and translates that into effective practice for educators; and McGee will talk about the literacy work of the High/Scope Education Foundation and the National Reading Conference.