TALE is Ten! Registration for our annual conference in Plano is currently underway. Get registered today— as you don’t want to miss our first conference back in person, and the fabulous line up of speakers and concurrent sessions!

For more information click on the flyer.

Register for the conference online until 1/5/22 by clicking the button below.

Also preorder your conference T-Shirt here: https://sites.google.com/view/taleconference2022/conference-apparel?authuser=0

Available to order in the colors black or heather grey until 1/5/22. You will pick up your shirt at the conference. They will not be available for purchase at the conference- so don’t miss out!

Hello TALE Friends!

It is really tough to believe that we are almost finished with 2021. Although it has been filled with unimaginable challenges, we have navigated this weird space that the pandemic has bestowed upon us the best we can. From the winter storms, and historic cold temperatures in February of this year, to present day preparations for the holiday season—we are hopefully turning a corner in such an uncertain time.

Despite all, I am proud to be a part of working with so many great literacy leaders that represent our board, committees, and local councils—who are planning some great upcoming events, grants/scholarships, service projects, and creating resources to support you. I am also thrilled to be working alongside the 2022 TALE Annual Conference Coordinators (Dr. Liza LaRue and Dr. Elizabeth Kaye) to bring you a conference that you do not want to miss, that will take place in Plano,TX on March 4-5, 2022 (Get excited: TALE Turns Ten!!). We will be monitoring federal guidelines, and take whatever safety protocols that are necessary to keep everyone safe.

We have a large state, and though it has been a tough time, my goal is to do whatever we can as an organization to bring our love for literacy teaching and learning together (despite the distance among us). During this pandemic, we learned that we don’t always have to be in the same room to learn or work together. Please invite new and veteran educators in your regional area who are unaware of TALE to join us—and most importantly, get involved. Your participation and ideas that you contribute on a committee could make a huge difference to your community and the state. Reach out via our website, if you aren’t currently active on one of our committees. We have a phenomenal Board of Directors, who make solid decisions, but we also need you in order to continue to make strides and grow!

I appreciate having the opportunity to serve you this year as Chair, and I look forward to seeing you at our conference in a few months.

Dr. Kamshia Childs

TALE Board Chair 2021-2022

Bio: Jayne Latty is an educator and literacy advocate from Dallas, Texas, USA and the creator of First Words Fast, an innovative literacy program that cracks the code for taking students to reading proficiency, at a minimum, to inspiring them to become lifelong lovers of reading and learning. Jayne’s research-based methodology grew from her experience as a classroom teacher and, later, reading interventionist. With an emphasis on simplicity, flexibility, and joy, instruction is uniquely compacted into logical groups of related material to make learning more efficient. The program is accompanied by the Latty List, an updated list of sight words, a critical component in learning to read. This next generation list reflects a whopping 24% change in the composition of the 150 most common words. Moreover, The Latty List Taxonomy Model ensures that children are first equipped with foundational knowledge as they learn to use that knowledge in increasingly complex tasks. This common-sense approach prevents children from “slipping through the cracks.” Jayne passionately believes every child has the right to become literate and strives to make the world a better place by creating accessible pathways to literacy while delighting hearts as well as minds. Go to www.FirstWordsFast.com for more information.