The annual Cotsen alumni conference was held on June 13th at the Centre at Sycamore Plaza in Lakewood California, where hundreds of educators converged for a day of learning with national speaker, literary consultant, and New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Serravallo.
The Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING provides professional development in various components of the Balanced Literacy approach during its two-year fellowship program. Jennifer Serravallo’s The Writing Strategies Book and The Reading Strategies Book, have been great instructional texts for our participants studying Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop.
During the conference, Jennifer engaged attendees in a full-day workshop centered on teaching reading and writing in elementary grades. She offered a wealth of strategies for educators that support instructional goals in both reading and writing.
Alumni mentor Ross October, class of 2018, from Bradoaks Elementary School said, “I’m so thrilled to be here. Jennifer Serravallo is something of a hero to many of us teachers. It’s a testament to the quality of instructional speakers that Cotsen provides.”
Jennifer Serravallo is a literacy consultant and lectures frequently at state and national conferences. She is also author of Teaching Reading in Small Groups; Conferring with Readers; and The Literacy Teacher’s Playbook, Grades K-2 and Grades 3-6. Additionally, she created the AEP award-winning Independent Reading Assessment: Fiction(Scholastic, 2012) and the REVERE award-winningIndependent Reading Assessment: Nonfiction(Scholastic, 2013). Along with her book titles, she also has a series of online courses through Heinemann’s On-Demand Courses.
Alumna mentor Sheri Bauer, class of 2016, from Lambert Elementary School said, “I learned so much at the conference. One thing that really resonated with me was Jennifer’s emphasis on connecting reading and writing goals, skills, and strategies. I plan to make some time this summer to really sit down and look at different ways to connect reading and writing goals, and strategies.I was thrilled to have this opportunity to meet Jennifer and hear her presentation.”