Literacy Matters - Winter 2020

Letter from the President South Carolina International Reading Association Becomes the Palmetto State Literacy Association

Vickie Brockman

Reading Matters Make it Matter Reading Matters Make it Matter

became Palmetto State Literacy Association in May 2019. With this change, some local councils have changed their names, and others have kept their current names. The PSLA Executive Committee believed it would be prudent also to change the name of our publications to reflect the organization's name. Reading Matters is now Literacy Matters . SCIRA Speaks is now PSLA Speaks .

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” As the South Carolina International Reading Association (SCIRA) moves forward becoming Palmetto State Literacy Association (PSLA), the Board of Directors hopes this Shakespearean quote applies to this organization. A few years ago, the International Reading Association (IRA) became the International Literacy Association (ILA). This change did not impact the work of the organization, only the way the organization does business with state associations. After two years of working through this change with the ILA, SCIRA officially

Vickie Brockman Immediate Past President

Letter from the Editors

Lisa D. Aker & Koti L. Hubbard

coach. She received her Ph.D. fromVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Lisa’s research focuses on teacher professional development, literacy coaching, early literacy intervention, and metacognition. Her research has been published in The Reading Teacher, Reading in Virginia, Effective Practices in Online Teacher Preparation for Literacy Educators, and Best Practices for Literacy Leaders Key to School Improvement: 2nd Edition. Koti L. Hubbard is an early childhood education faculty member in the College of Education at Winthrop University. Prior to joining the faculty at Winthrop, Koti received her Ph.D. in Literacy, Language, and Culture from Clemson University. Koti has spent much of her career as a kindergarten teacher working in rural schools in South Carolina, which included those considered Title I. As a native of South Carolina and attendee of rural schools herself, she considers serving teachers and students in South Carolina an important endeavor. Her research primarily focuses on supporting and understanding young children’s engagement with and discussion of texts and the integration of children’s culture into classroom instruction. Koti’s recent publications include a book chapter on young children’s reading motivation and a manuscript on the use of picturebooks in social studies instruction. We are proud to serve you as the new editors. We hope that you enjoy this issue and if you have something that you would like to contribute please consider publishing your work in Literacy Matters.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to a new decade! Just as each new year brings a fresh start the SCIRA and Reading Matters are beginning a new chapter. It is with pleasure that we bring you the Winter 2020 issue of our journal under the new name Literacy Matters: The Journal of the Palmetto State Literacy Association. While we have updated our name to reflect the changes in practice and policy as well as our affiliation with the International Literacy Association we will still maintain our dedication to developing a journal for

Lisa D. Aker

educators and individuals who support literacy in South Carolina and surrounding states. Our current issue contains a variety of articles addressing current research, best practices, and teaching tips. In addition to updating our name Literacy Matters also has two new co-editors and we would like to take a moment to introduce ourselves. Lisa D. Aker is a literacy faculty member for the Clemson University College of Education. Lisa teaches face-to-face pre- service undergraduate courses in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She also teaches graduate courses in the Clemson University online Literacy M.Ed. Program. She is a former elementary classroom teacher, reading specialist, and literacy Koti L. Hubbard

We want to continue the tradition of the previous editors, Drs. Jacquelynn Malloy and Sarah Hunt-Barron, as we close our letter.

Be inspired and inspiring, Koti and Lisa

| VI | Literacy Matters | Volume 20 • Winter 2020 | scira.org

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