The Mississippi Literacy Summit

The Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction at the University of Mississippi, along with the Honorable Phil Bryant, 64th Governor of Mississippi, and Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith, invite you to a literacy summit to:

• Hear how Mississippi went from 49th in the nation in fourth grade reading to a top ten state, from the legislators, teachers, coaches, and business leaders who did it
• Learn how the 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act got passed, why the third grade reading gate was the hardest vote in the bill, and why the state held the line when it would have been easier not to
• Understand what it took after the signing: coaches in the lowest performing schools, screening in kindergarten, every K-3 teacher retrained, and a decade of leadership that did not let up
• Meet the people shaping literacy policy in Mississippi and across the country, and hear what should come next
• Watch a third grader read aloud

Future teachers, this morning is for you as well. Seats are reserved for University of Mississippi students, and there is no better way to understand the work you are preparing for than to hear it from the people who changed what reading instruction looks like in this state.

The summit also marks the unveiling of two books. Unveiling the Mississippi Miracle: Inside the Movement That Changed How a Nation Teaches Reading is the inside account of how the law was fought for, passed, and made to work. The Boy Behind the Mississippi Miracle is a children’s book about a boy in South Jackson who repeated third grade and the teacher who taught him to read. That boy grew up to be Governor. Books will be available, and the authors will sign copies at the close.

Doors open at 8:15. Accommodations: a block of rooms is held at the Inn at Ole Miss for the night of Monday, October 26. Call the Inn and use code 1026USSECR.

Presented with the support of Empower Mississippi and the Mississippi Business Alliance.