Pam Minard: Excitement for the 2022 In-Person Conference!

CCIRA Literacy Conversations

Pam Minard: Exciting Features of the 2022 Conference

00:00:00 Molly Rauh
Hello and welcome back to this CCIRAA Literacy Conversations podcast. I'm your host, Molly Rauh with my co-host...

00:00:08 Jessica Rickert
...Jessica Richert. Today's podcast features Pam Minard CCIRAs 2022 conference chair. We chatted a lot about the exciting opportunities, both learning and fun to get you rejuvenated. Join us on the journey to literacy and learning at the 2022 CCIRA conference, Feb 10, the 11th and 12th. All right, we have Pam Minard back on to talk about the conference. She had previously promoted the conference, but now we're moving the conference to from 2021 to 2022. So we're really excited to hear about some speakers and different things, because the conference is just around the corner. So Pam, tell us again about your thinking behind the theme of Journey.

00:00:57 Pam Minard
Sure, my initial thinking was that journey that I see my students going through becoming literate in their lives, and how it's not just a quick journey. It can take a while. And then I thought about the journey in my own - journeys as a reader, as a teacher, as a bike rider. And just, you know, just takes time. When I first started mountain biking, I spent more time on the ground than I did on the seat of my bike, but I didn't give up, and that's what I want for my students. I want them to feel the challenge, but not give up. So that's kind of where my thinking was in 2019 when I chose the theme of Journey. Now, as we're moving into 2022 Journeys taken on a whole different meaning. And that is the Journey of covid and the postponement and the journey that we're all going through collectively across the world, not only in literate lives, but in our lives. So I could not, you know, I could not have picked a better conference theme that related to both education, personal lives and what's happening in the world than "journey." So we continue on like we always do.

00:02:18 Molly Rauh
Well, I like the analogy that you mentioned with your biking mountain biking, and how you spent more time with your butt on the ground, then on the seat. And I feel like we're all feeling that as teachers right now, like the world has changed a little bit, and we're feeling a lot of hard days. But, you know...

00:02:37 Pam Minard
Right.

00:02:37 Molly Rauh
We get back on, and we keep writing. And so I really like that. I think that suits the world we're in right now, and the what you've dealt with trying to revise this conference now for, you know, first, to put it online. And then now again, to put it back in person, but I'm excited for you that we get to be in person and we get to have, you know, a real face-to-face conference with presenters. So my first question for you is, what are - I'm not, I'm not going to narrow you to 1 because that's just mean, three presenters and there's probably 50 to 100 that you're excited about, but three prisoners you're really excited to see at your conference this year.

00:03:18 Pam Minard
Okay, I did a lot of thinking about this this morning. And of course, while I was inviting presenters who has been act impactful in my life as a teacher, and I have to say, above all else, Ellin Oliver Keene. I would say, if you have not had the opportunity to sit in the room and listen to her speak, it's just a session that cannot be missed. I feel like every teacher has to experience Ellin Oliver Keene. Just to tell you a little bit about her. She's a local. She's from Colorado. She has been a staff developer, nonprofit director, adjunct professor. She's been with Denver's PEBC for about 16 years, the Public Education and Business Coalition. She works with schools in the United States and abroad. She has an emphasis on long-term school-based PD and strategic planning for literacy. That is a mouthful that might sound intimidating to listen to somebody talk about this. But every time I have heard her, it's just such common sense. And she's so easy to listen to and has so many great ideas. So on top of all of that, that she's, that she does interactive life, she's also written some books. She's been a co-author. I met her through a book 20 years ago, The Mosaic of Thought. It's been rewritten, not rewritten, but added to in the past 20 years. But I had no idea that that's who she was until I met her through CCIRA and then realized, oh my gosh, you made an impact on me 20 years ago. So that is my number one advice to conference attendees, whether you're a new teacher, middle of your career, end of your career: she is absolutely should be on your list if you haven't heard her. She speaking on Friday again, only one session, and it's from 915 to 10:45, it's session 308. That's my number one recommendation. Shall I keep going?

00:05:24 Jessica Rickert
Well, let me pop in, because I have to emphasize what Pam said, like, I love people that can entertain and educate me, and especially when you're at a conference and you're going from session to session to session. And just like Pam said, like Ellen, is that they she has the research to back her, but she's funny, she's engaging. And yes, it's just things that you can take directly back into your classroom the next day. Always enjoyable and such a hit.

00:05:54 Pam Minard
Yeah. So she's my number one recommendation. Number 2 and 3 are both in the world of writing. And a lot of you might not know, but we do survey our attendees, our board of directors, our local councils for, who do you want to see? So these two people came up with on those lists of who would you like us to invite to the conference? And they are Whitney La Rocca and Brian Kissel. They both really speak a lot to writing. Whitney is the author of Patterns of Power. I've heard great things about her. I've never attended one of her sessions. I plan on attending this year, but she says that her book offers practical classroom, ready advice to take into teaching the conventions of writing to the next level. I know a lot of us struggle with teaching writing, and I am always happy to have some practical strategies to put into my practice with writing. Nicely, she's got two sessions. She's a Thursday presenter. In the morning, she's going to focus on first grade through fifth grade. And then in the afternoon, she's going to focus on pre-k through first grade. So I really like that really narrowed down emphasis of this is what you can do with our first graders that are just learning to write, just wrapping their heads around those ideas of being a literate writing person, to the pre-k's that you're going to be interpreting pictures, that they're drawing and having more rich conversations with them than maybe production of writing. So that's one that I'm definitely going to attend. Again, she's a Thursday speaker. And then Brian is also a Thursday speaker, and he's going to talk again. I love this that they're both really there for the primary, primary students. So Brian's got a session that's K through 2. And then another one that's three through six. So he's going to go a little bit higher, but all about writing and having these conversations that we need to be having with kids about race, gender, ability, language, poverty. So really, I'm really curious to hear both of them. They came highly recommended to me.

00:08:15 Jessica Rickert
And Whitney's going to be on the podcast later in January too. Yeah. So we'll hear more from Whitney. I think Brian's going to write a blog to in January. So we'll get more information for both of them. So those are my two biggie's for writing on Thursday. And then I cannot leave out Angela Myers. I attended. I think it was the 2012 conference. When we had a huge snowstorm, one of our presenters called it snowmageddon in Denver and said, he had never seen a snowmobile riding down the middle of the highway, which was the case in Denver that weekend. But Angela came in as a pinch-hitter, and she was known at the time for a TED Talk that she gave called You Matter. And it was just so emotional. And so awesome to hear her talk about how we all need to matter. So she's been working on this mattering as a topic for several years now, and she's going to speak in a session later in the day on Thursday, called literacy, reimagined and just taking our literate lives, pre-technology into technology. And then her evening session on Thursday will be it's called Mattering is the Agenda. So please, I would encourage everybody to attend that it's from 4:30 to 6:00. You will probably walk out with wet eyes. She's just an amazing speaker, just makes you have that warm, fuzzy feeling inside when you leave her sessions.

00:09:56 Molly Rauh
Well, and speaking of places, you get warm fuzzy feelings. I feel like one thing that is underutilized by new conference goers is General Sessions. Like some people just don't recognize, like that's there for everybody. You don't have to sign up for it, you just go and you enjoy the great speakers. And I feel like General Sessions, I always get, you know, they're the kinds of sessions that you're either, like laughing out loud. There have been ones where all up dancing around the room, there's probably some video from me, at a conference where I am for once being lively instead of a wallflower . There are, you know, sometimes they get you to cry. I've never teared up so much as I have at General Sessions. So who are some of our great General Session speakers that we get to look forward to?

00:10:50 Pam Minard
I'm glad you brought that up, because Lucy Caulkins is going to open our conference. So that should be amazing. If you haven't had the opportunity to hear Lucy again, I would highly recommend her. She's just a phenomenal speaker again. So, real. So common sense. So, you know, evolutionary, she changes her thinking when it's appropriate to change your thinking, and she shares it with everyone. So she's going to be great on Thursday morning. And then Georgia Heard is Friday morning. She's known a lot for her writing and her poetry. So, she'll be, you know, I don't know if you remember Heart Maps, but that came from Georgia Heard. So she'll be talking about engaging students with their heart in writing. So then we have Angela as the Thursday evening speaker. And I'm drawing a blank. Oh, Julia Torres will be Friday evening speaker. She's a librarian from Denver Public Schools; brings a great lens of diversity and teaching through texts that disrupt our normal thinking. So let's stop using The Grapes of Wrath and use some more current novel studies that will talk to the experience of people in the past 15-20 years instead of 40, 50, 60 years. And let's get rid of all those off and not get rid of them. That's quality work. But a lot of that work that I studied when I was a teenager was written by 40 year old men in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I can't really make those connections to those people in my life. So disrupting our thinking about texts that we share, and then luncheon speakers, we have Gordon Korman, who is amazing. He's a gifted writer. He's on, I think he's surpassed his hundredth book, or it's in publication.

00:12:49 Molly Rauh
He's about to. Yeah. So yeah, we got to interview him. So if you haven't listened to that podcast episode, jump back, hear a little about his upcoming books and his recent books.

00:13:02 Pam Minard
Yeah, yeah, he will be very entertaining.

00:13:05 Molly Rauh
He's an fun and interesting guy.

00:13:10 Pam Minard
Mhmm. We have a decline that's been doing some staff development in the Denver area. So really speaking to literacy and getting, really working within the schools. So if you are having her as you staff developer, it would be really cool to come to her luncheon and experience her in a different venue. And then Gary Brooks is coming back our friend from the south. He's sure to be an absolute, hilarious luncheon speaker. And then on Saturday, we have Colby Sharp along with John Schu, "Mr. Schu Reads", and Rhonda Jenkins, a librarian in Illinois. So they're banding together to speak to if you build that bookshelf, they will read those books. So, access to great books for all students in your classrooms.

00:14:05 Jessica Rickert
And I know that there are some people out there right now that are thinking I can't come to the CCIRA conference, because I just can't get a sub, like there's just - we understand the sub shortage. So what a great opportunity to come for three hours on Saturday, we have a one-day only option. And those people are amazing. We interviewed Colby on the podcast. I had never heard him. And he was so awesome. Just, just again, a down to earth person, you know, people have seen Mr. Schu. So I think that the combination of those three people is going to be a great boost if you just need a little bit of PD and just take 3 hours on your Saturday for yourself to come and see them.

00:14:48 Molly Rauh
Yeah. And I think, you know, it's important to note that like Colby is still in the classroom. So you get somebody who's got that like day-to-day there. He's living what we're living. And John Schu bring so much energy. So if you're tired and you need, you know, kind of juiced up, and you know something to get you through the rest of the school year, man, there's no one better to kind of absorb some energy from like, last time I saw him, he's literally running around the room, handing out books. And he's like, I need to get a book, and you like, he just has great energy. And so I know we all kind of face some teacher tired. And for me, this conference is just to get energized and get excited about bringing things back to my classroom. So yeah, even if you can't get a sub go for that Saturday to get some energy from some amazingly energetic and awesome educators and librarians. And you know, just great stuff.

00:15:46 Pam Minard
Yeah, I can't. And this podcast without mentioning to incredible authors. That's a good thing. You didn't hold me to one, because it's not going to happen. But Avi, who's been around forever, has won many Newberry Awards, a lot of other awards for his writing. He's a local to Colorado. He lives in Steamboat and is so excited to come and speak during two sessions and sign books. You might be familiar with this book Papi. He's got a lot of just incredible great series, and now he's taking those books and turning them into graphic novels. So he's moving over to the, to the genre that our students are showing that they're really enjoying these days. And then the other is Alan Gratz. Oh my gosh, if you have not read Refugee yet, I would highly recommend it. I was just telling the person I was driving home from work about it. I had to send her a link to get the book on Amazon. She's actually a teacher from Spain and said, oh, I want to read it, but it has to be in Spanish for me to truly understand it. And sure enough, it's been translated. So since Refugee, though, he has authored another book that came out in 2021, that he was so excited to come to the conference and share about 9/11. And then he's still written another book, and it's about it's another refugee story. I can't remember the title. It's something like out from the darkness about, you know, not hiding anymore, because you're an immigrant. So just amazing stories. Refugee takes like four vignettes, and you hear a little bit about each story. And then at the end, they start getting woven together. It was amazing.

00:17:34 Speaker 1
And it's like a middle school book, but it was incredible to read. And I gave it enough of a book talk in our 15-minute drive home that third grade teacher that I teach with just has to have it to read it. So so those two, I would highly recommend. And, you know, just everybody that's coming is such great quality. Pernille Ripp is, her sessions are filling up really fast. Yeah, that Cris Tovani another local that's coming. And Beth Skelton, if you've been in her ELL workshops. Oh my gosh. And if you haven't, and you need strategies for teaching vocabulary to your ELL students, she's the person to go to. So, yeah, I could just go on and on.

00:18:16 Speaker 1
And Beth is definitely a font of knowledge. That's another one if you're looking for a little preview. If you're a little hesitant to sign up for the conference, we have a podcast from her too. And like we get so much information from her. So just imagine, you know how much more you could get if you get to see her and like, be there for her presentation versus, you know, just a little snippets you get on our podcast. So yeah, great speakers so excited for them. And this I know this isn't as much your side of conference planning Pam. So Jess, if you want to pop in and share some things, there's lots of other opportunities at the conference as well. So there's presenters and speakers, but there's other little places to network. So, like last our last recording, we talked about the Early Career Network. So what are some other things that maybe are going on as part of the conference that people who haven't been there might need to be aware of? Or, you know, take opportunities to take advantage of?

00:19:23 Jessica Rickert
I would say the exhibit hall is going to be different this year, and it's not just going to be in one big room, but it's going to be lining the hallways in the Westin. And if anybody has not been in the Westin Hotel it, it looks like a mountain lodge like it's so cool. So you feel like a little bit of a retreat anyway. And then we're also doing something different with, we're not having one big bookstore. We're going to have some smaller book stores. And so those will be throughout the exhibit hall. So, you can kind of connect with different vendors. And there's people selling like scarfs and reading programs and books and all different kinds of things. So that's kind of cool. Entertainment-wise, actually, this hotel is awesome because it's right next to a skating rink. And so if you want to do just like a team bonding event, you can go ice skating, and there's just ice skating sessions there. There's also a really nice nice restaurant and a bunch of restaurants around there. There's a Dave & Buster's. So this is more not the academic, but the fun, which I think is a I think is a big part of the conference is it's a time to go and learn, but also reconnect with either people you do work with or other people you don't work with so that social piece that it's important too. So lots of things within walking distance of the hotel, which are, which is awesome.

00:20:53 Pam Minard
Yeah. And one other opportunity for some entertainment Stan Yan will be back drawing caricatures of teachers. So free of charge, I think he does put out a tip, jar, but it's kind of fun to see what you look like in character.

00:21:10 Molly Rauh
Yes. And it, yeah, if you haven't gone, he does that. He's done that the last couple conferences, right? And yeah, his, even, even if you don't go get yourself done, because you're nervous like, go watch, he's awesome. Give him a tip because he works hard and he, you know, he does that just because he's a really awesome guy. So I love that you guys mentioned some of the features of the new location. So if you didn't quite catch on to that, the Westin is a new location for us. So trying something new, but we think it's going to be exciting to kind of get out of the, you know, like, I guess I'll call it the Deep City and, you know, get to a place where there's some views where we have a little bit better access to restaurants and things so that people can really maybe make a mini vacation out of it too, you know, again, going back to that theme of we're all a little tired. And this is a great way to get rejuvenated. I think some people say, oh, my gosh, it's a professional conference, like I just don't have the energy for that. I don't want to do that right now. But oh, man, like, make a vacation of it. Go have fun with some teachers. Go learn some things, go get excited, network with some people, make some new friends, invite them to dinner with you. You know, whatever fills your bucket like it's a it's a good time to be had by a whole lot of teachers.

00:22:34 Pam Minard
Another great thing about this venue is no more buses, no offsite parking. The Westin has a ton of parking right around the hotel, and then their offsite parking is within walking distance of the hotel. So depending on the weather, you might have to wear your boots, but you won't have to be waiting for a bus and dealing with the bus situation. So we're really excited to to have that.

00:23:04 Molly Rauh
Yeah. So come join us for our inaugural Westin year to enjoy all our nice new perks.

00:23:11 Jessica Rickert
And registration is still open. It'll still be open through January. But what a great opportunity we have a break coming up, and it doesn't take a lot of time to register. You can go to CCIRA.org to look through the sessions that are available. And we have had many people on this podcast. If you want to check them out, they give little teasers or see what they're about before you register. That would be a great way to spend some of your winter break after your relaxing. And we just hope that everybody signs up. We can, if six teachers from a school come then a principal comes for free. So we are just excited to have this in person conference and gather back together and generate some excitement within the the teaching field again. So any last words, Pam or Molly.

00:24:11 Molly Rauh
Do you have the specific date for when registration closes? So people know, you know, for so are procrastinators know when they're out of luck for, you know, off site registration, pre-registration.

00:24:25 Jessica Rickert
It will probably be around January 30th, 31st. So we don't have an official one, but just plan on the 31st being the close date.

00:24:35 Pam Minard
Yeah. And we do offer on-site registration. It's just a little bit more expensive than pre-registration. So but we won't turn you away.

00:24:51 Molly Rauh
Yeah. So for the real procrastinators, just show up. Yeah. So any last thoughts Pam. Any other things you're excited about to mention?

00:25:02 Pam Minard
No, I'm just excited that it's happening. I mean it's been a journey for sure. And we are 100% having an in-person conference. The presenters and speakers, speakers and authors that I've spoken to are so excited to be in person. They don't care if they have to wear a mask. They don't. You know, they feel comfortable. They've all had their vaccinations and their boosters and they're ready to share their knowledge again in person with teachers. They have truly missed these experiences.

00:25:36 Jessica Rickert
Well, we hope to see you all at the 2022 CCIRA conference. Thanks for joining us. Pam.

00:25:44 Pam Minard
My pleasure. Can't wait to see you in 2022.

00:25:50 Molly Rauh
Thanks for listening to CCIRA literacy conversations podcast to find out more about CCIRA go to CCIRA.org. On CCIRA.org, you can join as a member, or find great resources like our professional development blog, which posts every Tuesday and has a variety of guest writers on an awesome selection of topics CCCIRA is a professional organization of Educators and community members dedicated to the promotion and advancement of literacy. We also have a Twitter account @ColoradoReading. You can find us on Instagram @CCIRA_ColoradReading. Or you can find us on Facebook, where we also have a members only group that we're trying to build. And our Facebook account is CCIRA Colorado Reading. We'd love to hear more from you. And again, if you're looking for new content, please send any questions or things you'd be interested in seeing from CCIRA to [e-mail]. Thanks for listening and have a great week.