June 8-10, we invite Kindergarten through Grade 3 educators – who open the world of words to children – from around southern Idaho to come to Ketchum/Sun Valley for three days of lively discussion and learning with preeminent literacy scholars and colleagues.

Wednesday-Friday
9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day
The Community Library
Ketchum, Idaho
We’ll dig into reading research and discuss:
- A common definition of the science of reading
- The components of structured literacy
- Brain science
- The impact of phonemic awareness on literacy
- The unique qualities of English speech sounds
- Building oral language proficiency
- Principles of spelling
- The science of social-emotional learning
- Teaching English language learners
- And more!
The Summit is FREE and is open to approximately 36 participants from around southern Idaho. Each participant will receive an honorarium to provide support for associated travel and lodging: $200 for teachers from Blaine County; $500 for teachers traveling from outside of Blaine County. The honorarium will be paid at the end of the Summit on June 10. Continuing education credit will be available through Northwest Nazarene University.
Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided each day. On June 8 and 9, participants may choose to attend additional evening programs with the scholars that will be open to the public.
In the following 2022-23 school year, the participants will be invited to at least three Zoom check-ins with the group to continue to share ideas and best practices as we work together to promote a culture of literacy across southern Idaho!
Lead Scholars
Antonio Fierro, Ed.D.
is a leading consultant on reading with particular expertise pertaining to Spanish-speaking English language learners.
Anne Whitney, Ed.D
has co-authored multiple books on teaching reading and writing, and she has particular expertise in speech-language pathology
Judi Dodson, M.Ed.
is a national literacy consultant and a special education teacher who has done extensive educational work in Peru.
Carol Tolman, Ed.D
has 25 years of experience in public schools at elementary and secondary schools and has written and co-authored multiple books.
Join us to:
- Build connections with other early literacy teachers around southern Idaho
- Feed your passion for reading
- Share ideas on how to create a culture of reading in our communities
- Dig into the science of reading
- Grow your toolkit of teaching strategies and activities
Registration for the Early Literacy Summit closed on March 1, 2022. For more information, email Jenny Emery Davidson or call 208.806.2620.