A primary goal is to successfully guide students along the journey to literacy, but some educators do not sufficiently understand the pathway themselves. Join authors and Renaissance literacy experts Drs. Michelle Hosp and Gene Kerns for insights on how to best chart this path.

Topics for exploration include the following:

• the importance of assessing phonics skills to develop strong readers

• profiles of struggling readers in later grades

• research on which reading skills are the most predictive of future success

• the truth about common misconceptions, from the role of phonemic awareness to the claim that phonics instruction can’t be “fun”

• how growth trajectories vary among student groups

• the rates of growth necessary to make substantive changes in students’ academic realities and how often our interventions achieve them

Presenters:

KEYPHONICS FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY

Michelle Hosp

Michelle Hosp, PhD, has over 25 years of experience working in education. She has worked directly with students, educators, families, and researchers as a school psychologist, professor, and Director of the Iowa Reading Research Center. In addition to her work at Renaissance, she is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a focus on reading, assessment, and data-based decision making. Prior to joining Renaissance, she developed KeyPhonics, and is the lead author of a best-selling book “The ABCs of CBM: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement (2nd Ed)”. Michelle earned her Master of Science in School Psychology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and her Doctorate in Education and Human Development from Vanderbilt University.

VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER

Gene Kerns

Gene is a third-generation educator with teaching experience from elementary through the university level, in addition to K–12 administrative experience. He is currently chief academic officer for Renaissance and has presented a national and international conferences including SxSW.edu, ASU/GSV, the Global Education Technology Forum of China, and London’s Westminster Education Forum. His former clients include administrators’ associations across the US and the Ministry of Education of Singapore. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Longwood University in Virginia and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Delaware. He is the co-author of three books:inFormative Assessment,Unlocking Student Talent, andLiteracy Reframed.

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