Literacy

Brian Wise is an English Department chair at Deerfield High School in the suburbs of Chicago. Previously, he spent 16 years as a teacher and literacy coach at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

Katherine Gillies is the lead architect of districtwide literacy improvement at Niles North High School in Illinois. Her work includes building a comprehensive system of intervention and support for struggling readers and developing a research-based curriculum to ensure continued literacy growth for all students. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education in Nashville, Tennessee.

Maureen M. Rubenstein is a literacy coach and special education instructor in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She works with other literacy coaches to coordinate and implement book clubs, PD sessions, and coaching sessions.

Peg Grafwallner is an instructional coach and reading specialist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with nearly 30 years of experience. She supports teachers, administrators, and districts in creating real and relatable content and educational approaches that offer meaningful purpose and relevance to all students.

Beth Pandolpho is an instructional coach for grades 6–12, and she has taught English at the high school and college level for over 20 years. She is passionate about engaging in work that promotes equity and access for both teachers and students.

Lisa May is an award-winning literacy coach at Kildeer Countryside School District 96, a Model PLC School District. With more than twenty years in the field of education, she has classroom experience ranging from kindergarten through fourth grade.

Emily Feltner, EdD, has over 30 years of experience at all levels in education. She works with schools and districts in the areas of leadership, literacy, and school improvement.

Mary K. Gove, PhD, is professor emeritus at Cleveland State University and specializes in promoting a balanced approach to literacy education. Dr. Gove formerly taught grades K–6 and worked in an urban district as a full-time professional developer.

Jen Cullerton Johnson is an award-winning children’s author, educator, and environmental advocate. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she’s worked with incarcerated youth and urban classrooms; taught abroad in Japan, Ecuador, and Argentina; and led nature-writing workshops in outdoor settings.

In this two-day symposium, a Solution Tree expert will lead K-6 educators through a process using their T.E.A.M.S framework that makes high levels of learning for all literacy scholars not only possible, but probable and practical.