A MESSAGE FROM THE OKLA CHAIR: Eileen Richardson
Welcome to OKLA! I am honored to serve as chair for the 2022-2023 school year. I have been an active member of OKLA since 2007 and will do my best to keep OKLA’s mission of promoting literacy and a love of reading across Oklahoma. I am encouraged every time I meet and talk to K-12 classroom teachers throughout Oklahoma and their dedication to reading and writing. I have witnessed some outstanding lessons that engage all students, even the reluctant readers. Several of my former education students use games to get students excited about learning. For example, one uses Dungeons and Dragons in his high school classroom. Another, who teaches elementary, uses Minecraft and Orzobots for inquiry-based reading lessons. These “out of the box” educators inspire me to be more creative in my own classroom.
It is good to see the Oklahoma Department of Education invest in teachers and offer LETRS training for all Oklahoma educators for free. LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is a proven professional development designed to help teachers master the content and principles of effective language and literacy instruction. It consists of the five essential components of reading plus oral language, spelling, and writing. As many of you already know, our students are struggling and seem to have difficulty completing simple reading tasks. I applaud the OSDE to equip teachers with a better understanding of these struggles and how to tackle them. OSDE also has an excellent handbook on Dyslexia. I recently attended a conference in the Northeast and the keynote mentioned the handbook and commended OK for acknowledging that teachers need help understanding those students who have Dyslexia.
Teachers are superheroes! They go to work each day and create lessons that engage even the non-interested, inspire students by seeing the best in them, manage the high demands of administrators to do the impossible, and prepare students for life beyond exams. Teachers make a difference in every single student’s life, even when they don’t realize it. Even a greeting at the classroom door can make a huge difference in a child’s life. I want teachers in Oklahoma to know that they are appreciated for everything they do daily and that OKLA is here to support them. I will leave you with two of my favorite quotes:
“Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” - Rita Pierson
"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift." — Kate DiCamillo
Here’s to having a wonderful year!
Eileen Richardson, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, Education Cameron University/RSU Campus
It is good to see the Oklahoma Department of Education invest in teachers and offer LETRS training for all Oklahoma educators for free. LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is a proven professional development designed to help teachers master the content and principles of effective language and literacy instruction. It consists of the five essential components of reading plus oral language, spelling, and writing. As many of you already know, our students are struggling and seem to have difficulty completing simple reading tasks. I applaud the OSDE to equip teachers with a better understanding of these struggles and how to tackle them. OSDE also has an excellent handbook on Dyslexia. I recently attended a conference in the Northeast and the keynote mentioned the handbook and commended OK for acknowledging that teachers need help understanding those students who have Dyslexia.
Teachers are superheroes! They go to work each day and create lessons that engage even the non-interested, inspire students by seeing the best in them, manage the high demands of administrators to do the impossible, and prepare students for life beyond exams. Teachers make a difference in every single student’s life, even when they don’t realize it. Even a greeting at the classroom door can make a huge difference in a child’s life. I want teachers in Oklahoma to know that they are appreciated for everything they do daily and that OKLA is here to support them. I will leave you with two of my favorite quotes:
“Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” - Rita Pierson
"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift." — Kate DiCamillo
Here’s to having a wonderful year!
Eileen Richardson, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, Education Cameron University/RSU Campus
