Presented by D. Lacy Asbill, Founding Director, Reading with Relevance
Moderated by Terrie Noland, CALP, Doctoral Candidate, Ph.D. in Literacy

Sponsored by Learning Ally

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Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
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If there was ever a time to center our teaching practice around social and emotional learning (SEL), that time is now. SEL skills are urgently needed as young people and adults alike are relying on their own coping mechanisms to support themselves through the anxiety, uncertainty, frustration, and grief brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culturally relevant books are a powerful resource for building these skills. Diverse reading can assist students in better understanding their emotions, identities, and experiences while helping educators explore meaningful topics in their classrooms—be they on-site or virtual. Join this edWebinar to learn some equity-driven best practices for integrating social and emotional learning into your teaching using the power of relevant reading!

This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

About the Presenter

D. Lacy Asbill is the founding director of Moving Forward Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on students’ emotional well-being as a critical strategy for improving their academic achievement. Founded 15 years ago in Oakland, CA, the organization has served more than 10,000 of the most underserved youth in their community and trained over 500 young adults to serve as a new generation of educational leaders. Lacy’s proudest professional accomplishment is her role in authoring Reading with Relevance, a literacy program that guides students and teachers through the process of reading relevant, culturally diverse, socially and emotionally rich literature. Now, Lacy is on a mission: sharing and scaling the program she’s built for (and with!) her students, to inspire relevant reading experiences, heartfelt conversations, and instructional breakthroughs in classrooms across the nation.

Lacy earned her bachelor’s degrees cum laude from Mills College and her master’s degree from San Francisco State University. She continues her passion for academic scholarship through a research associate role with the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. Lacy serves as the board chair of the Oakland Literacy Coalition, creating a community in which all young people learn, and love, to read. Lacy has been honored with the Hitachi Young Entrepreneur Award, was named Woman of the Year for Assembly District 15, and received Special Congressional Recognition from Barbara Lee for her work in her community. Lacy’s favorite moment of each day? Being smacked repeatedly with a book her toddler urgently wants to read together—a beautiful reminder that books serve as a powerful force for connection.

About the Moderator

Listen. Learn. Teach. It’s that simple. Terrie Noland uses this philosophy as an innovator and a motivator, and it’s evident as she leads, coaches and mentors thousands of K-12 educators about the science of reading each year. She has a unique perspective on the need to unify all stakeholders around a vision for education to smash the reading divide for the millions of struggling readers. Her daily mission is to add value to educators to help influence transformational changes in school districts across the country by addressing the needs of marginalized students. Terrie seeks to share her expertise and passion, to encourage, and to illuminate a path towards success and measurable outcomes.

If you looked at Terrie’s resume, you would be confused. Her undergraduate and graduate degree work placed her in the field of criminal justice. However, it was through continuous listening and learning that led her on a journey in education starting out in preschool teaching and administration, then becoming a Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP), and currently working towards a Ph.D. in literacy and educational leadership from St. John’s University. Terrie is also a John Maxwell certified speaker and coach.

As Vice President of Educator Initiatives at Learning Ally, Terrie works to ignite enthusiasm and excitement by building champion educators and administrators on creating cultures of literacy and learning.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

Join the Empowering Struggling Readers community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Learning Ally is a leading education solutions organization committed to transforming the lives of struggling learners. The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is a proven reading accommodation comprised of human-read audiobooks, student centric features and a suite of teacher resources. Used in more than 17,000 schools, this solution successfully helps students with reading deficits become engaged learners and reach their academic potential.