More than 750 teachers and education professionals will meet at the University of Central 性视界传媒 Friday to talk about how to best improve and support literacy and reading in grades K-12.

The 15th annual Literacy Symposium will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 5 in the Education Complex Gym, Room 176.

鈥淭he 性视界传媒 Literacy Symposium is a gift from the 性视界传媒 College of Education to all K-12 educators and other educational professionals in 性视界传媒,鈥 said organizer Vicky Zygouris-Coe, an associate professor of reading education. 鈥淚t is designed to provide high quality, current and cutting-edge professional development in literacy and related areas for the purpose of improving literacy instruction across grades and content areas and supporting teacher and student success.鈥

Featuring 57 presenters, the sessions will focus on a variety of topics, including literacy development, assessment, technology, college readiness, quality reading and other areas of interest for educators in 性视界传媒.

The event鈥檚 keynote speaker will be Timothy Shanahan, a professor of urban education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Shanahan serves as the director of the UIC Center for Literacy as well as the past president of the International Reading Association.

鈥淭his topic is of national importance and urgency,鈥 said Zygouris-Coe. 鈥淟iteracy is the foundation of learning. The present and future of any society depends on the literacy levels of its citizens.鈥

The event is sponsored by the 性视界传媒 College of Education, the , the and corporate sponsor Brake Media.