What: 12th Annual Denton Area Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading (TAIR) conference sponsored by North Star of Texas Writing Project at the University of North Texas and North Texas Area TAIR
When: 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 28 (Saturday)
Where: Guyer High School, 750 Teasley Lane, Denton
Cost: Teachers, administrators and parents: $25 for early registration by Sept. 17 or $40 for late or onsite registration; Denton ISD teachers: free; UNT students: $10 or free if enrolled in Foundations of Bilingual and English as a second Language or Cross-Curricular Literacy Materials and Resources
Contact: Carol Wickstrom at carol.wickstrom@unt.edu
DENTON, Texas (UNT) — Critically acclaimed author Matt de la Peña — who is known for such young adult novels as “Ball Don’t Lie,” “Mexican WhiteBoy” and “We Were Here” — will speak Sept. 28 (Saturday) at the 12th Annual Denton Area Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading (TAIR) conference, sponsored in part by the North Star of Texas Writing Project at the University of North Texas.
Thirty breakout sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, including a session on the process of writing led by UNT alumna Joan Curtis. Curtis, the Denton ISD coordinator for sixth through 12th grade language arts and world language, wrote a children’s book, The Number Fairy, a book about celebrating birthdays.
The conference is open to those who work or plan to work as educators, and parents are encouraged to participate in the conference as well, said Carol Wickstrom, associate professor of teacher education and administration in UNT’s College of Education. North Star of Texas Writing Project is a professional development network that provides many different services to support student writers and their teachers. Teachers conduct classroom research about how to help English learners build their academic writing skills.
“Parents are the first models,” Wickstrom said. “They are the first teachers. And while they are at this conference, they will see the way teachers are willing to give up their free time to learn more about the craft of teaching.”
Discussion about literature will be encouraged at the conference.
“It’s powerful to hear others talk about reading and writing and making these connections to special books,” Wickstrom said.
About the North Star of Texas Writing Project at UNT
The North Star of Texas Writing Project at UNT partners with schools in several North Texas school districts to support individual teachers. North Star works to empower students by empowering their educators through a professional community. For more information about the project visit www.northstaroftexaswritingproject.org/
About Matt De la Peña
De la Peña also wrote “I Will Save You” and the award-winning picture book “A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis.” He is also the author of a middle-grade novel, “Infinity Ring: Curse of the Ancients.”
About UNT’s College of Education
UNT’s College of Education prepares students to contribute to the advancement of education, health and human development. Founded in 1890 as a teacher’s training college, UNT now enrolls more than 4,000 students in the College of Education, which consists of four departments — counseling and higher education; educational psychology; kinesiology, health promotion and recreation; and teacher education and administration. UNT’s College of Education certifies about 1,000 teachers a year — making it the largest producer of new teachers in the north Texas region. Students are also prepared for careers as researchers, counselors, leaders, physical activity and health promotion specialists, child development and family studies specialists and more.