Registration is now open for Mount Saint Mary College's 28th Annual Conference on Literacy, spearheaded by the college's Collaborative for Equity in Literacy Learning (CELL).
The theme this year will be "No Time Like the Present: Promoting and Validating Young People's Worlds Through Literacy." The conference will take place on Saturday, March 26 at Mount Saint Mary College, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh, N.Y.
The registration fee is $30, $20 for local Reading Council Members, or $10 for full-time students. The registration form can be found at www.msmc.edu/literacy
The conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration. Workshops will take place throughout the day, with the keynote speech by author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczk at 11:30 a.m.
Krosoczk's books appeal to a wide range of children and young adults. His graphic novels include the Lunch Lady and the Star Wars: Jedi Academy series. Hey, Kiddo, a National Book Award Finalist and the Harvey Book of the Year in 2019, describes his childhood through words and art. Because his mother struggled with substance abuse, his maternal grandparents adopted him when he was three. Both grandparents drank, smoked, and adored Jarrett. This loving and challenging environment left an indelible impact on his development as an artist and writer.
Established in 2012, CELL provides tutoring and out-of-school literacy activities for children pre-school to grade 12 with a focus on reading, conversation, and activities. It explores multicultural books, offers family literacy programs, and more. Each semester dozens of Mount teacher candidates, graduate and undergraduate, help instill a love of reading in local youth as part of their community fieldwork requirement.