Reading Matters to Maine’s Sixth Annual Conversation about Reading

Phonics for the Struggling Readers in Your Classroom: Why? When? How? with Eileen Harris, Psy.D.

Will this work? with Alexis Kiburis, Psy.D.

Monday, October 19, 2015, University of Southern Maine, Portland Campus, Talbot Lecture Hall #103 at Luther Bonney Hall, 85 Bedford Street. 6:30-8:30 PM.

Free public forum. Open to all. Contact hours available for teachers.

Co-sponsored by Southern Maine Area Resource Team (SMART) for Schools at USM and USM’s Literacy, Language, and Culture Program

As keynote speaker, Dr. Eileen Harris will introduce the rationale for direct, systematic phonics instruction for Tier 2 struggling readers. She will then present ten sample activities that effectively address specific student deficits in the alphabetic code. Note that the principles of this type of instruction span all levels from children to adults, including English language learners. Dr. Harris is a licensed psychologist and school psychologist. She has over 25 years of experience in the area of diagnostic evaluation, prescriptive programming, and teacher consultation. Additionally, Dr. Harris is a Wilson Language System trainer.

Following Dr. Harris’ address, Dr. Alexis Kiburis will present two years of compelling student progress data from the SMART Learning Lab on USM’s Gorham campus. This Lab provides free and low-cost small-group tutoring to K-5 struggling readers. Dr. Kiburis is a nationally certified school psychologist. She was involved in the planning for the Lab, was director of the Lab for its first two years, and provided professional development and supervision for all tutor trainees. Additionally, Dr. Kiburis is trained in Orton-Gillingham and Direct Instruction reading methodologies.