Annual Conference

The IDA-UMB Annual Conference 2011 will be held on April 22 & 23, 2011. Save the date!

Our 2010 conference was a wonderful success!

Conference attendees peruse exhibitor booths Maryanne Wolf kicks off the 2010 conference

Download the full 2010 conference brochure in pdf here

Download a 2010 conference registration form in pdf here

Join The International Dyslexia Association today and save on your 2010 conference registration!
Download an IDA membership form in pdf here or submit your membership information online directly through IDA here

2010 Conference Page Quick Links

Scholarship availability
Downloadable handouts
Conference deadlines
Cancellation/refund policies
Questions?
Speaker lineup & bios

- - - - - - - -

Scholarships

Teachers
A limited number of teacher scholarships have been generously offered through The June Stern Family Foundation. Application form in pdf can be downloaded here. Further information can be found here (select “Other JSFF Scholarships” for information). Scholarships will be awarded ONLY to teachers who meet the following requirements: 1) K-3 classroom or K-3 special education teacher in the Twin Cities area; 2) Cannot attend conference without financial assistance; 3) Will provide The June Stern Family Foundation with an evaluation of each session attended. JSFF scholarship applications must be RECEIVED by JSFF by April 9, 2010, for consideration.

Parents, advocates, students & others
Parents, advocates, students and other interested individuals may download scholarship applications offered by IDA-UMB (downloadable pdf here). For consideration, applications must be postmarked by April 9, 2010. Scholarships will be held until April 16, 2010. If recipient fails to register by April 16, scholarship money will be released to the next recipient.

Downloadable Handouts

Downloadable handouts are now available online, before the conference!
Coming April 10, 2010...Now most handout materials for keynote addresses, workshops and breakout sessions will be made available online to conference attendees prior to the event! Print out your conference handouts in advance and help IDA-UMB reduce reproduction costs and waste. Printed handouts will also be available at the conference. Paid registrants will be sent a dedicated web address for handouts along with their registration confirmation.

Conference Deadlines

Best Western Bandana Square (St. Paul) hotel accommodations conference rate deadline
April 1, 2010

Scholarship application deadlines
TEACHERS…
to The June Stern Family Foundation–
received by April 9, 2010
PARENTS, ADVOCATES, STUDENTS & OTHERS...
to IDA-UMB–
postmarked by April 9, 2010

Conference registration deadline
April 15, 2010
Note: Event day walk-ins will be honored, but cannot be guaranteed lunch accommodations

Cancellation/Refund Policies

Refunds
IDA-UMB will provide full refunds (minus a $10 processing fee) for requests received in writing by April 9, 2010. After April 9, only partial refunds will be provided. All cancellations and requests for refunds MUST be submitted in writing postmarked by the dates provided. Telephone requests will not be honored. Refund requests received will be processed and issued within four weeks after the conference.

Substitutions
Substitution of registration is allowed at no cost. Members substituting for non-members will be charged the additional non-member fee. Send requests to:

Attn: Marcy Pohlman
IDA-UMB
5021 Vernon Avenue, #159
Minneapolis, MN 55436-2102

Questions?

E-mail events@ida-umb.org or phone 651-450-7589.

Speaker Lineup & Bios

Maryanne Wolf, Saturday morning & afternoon keynote speaker
Dr. Maryanne Wolf is the Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, where she is a professor of child development and the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service. She received a doctorate in education from Harvard University, where she began her work on the neurological underpinnings of reading, language, and dyslexia. Dr. Wolf has written/designed three empirically proven instructional programs on thinking skills for middle school students, on reading and writing for elementary school students, and on linguistic awareness for emergent readers. She is the recipient of countless research awards and fellowships, including the Distinguished Professor of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Psychological Association, the Teaching Excellence Award from the American Psychological Association, the Distinguished Researcher Award from Tufts University, and the Norman Geschwind Lecture Award from The International Dyslexia Association for neuroscience in dyslexia. And, Wolf is the author of the critically-acclaimed book Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. Additional biographical information can be found here.

Anthony Pedriana, Friday morning keynote speaker & free Friday evening reception co-host
Anthony Pedriana spent 35 years as a teacher and administrator in Milwaukee’s central city. Since retiring in 2005, he has meticulously researched the discrepancies between reading ideology and reading science. The fruit of his labors can be found in his book, Leaving Johnny Behind: Overcoming Barriers to Literacy and Reclaiming At-Risk Readers. As the book highlights, Pedriana’s mission is to increase unity of purpose among reading practitioners. A graduate of University of Wisconsin – Whitewater (B.S. in Education) and University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (M.S. in Educational Psychology), Pedriana is a licensed teacher, reading specialist, and elementary school principal and resides with his wife in River Falls, Wisconsin. Join Tony at Friday evening's reception and meet the author. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Marcia K. Henry, Ph.D., Friday all-day workshop presenter & free Friday evening reception co-host
Dr. Marcia K. Henry is a professor emerita at San Jose State University and past president of The International Dyslexia Association. Dr. Henry brings 50 years of experience working in the field of dyslexia as a diagnostician, tutor, teacher, and professor. She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University, and became a professor in the Division of Special Education at San Jose State University. She became a Fulbright Lecturer/ Research Scholar at the University of Trondheim, Norway. Dr. Henry serves on the editorial board for Annals of Dyslexia, the IDA journal, and Dyslexia, the journal of the BDA. Her books include WORDS, Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling, and Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding and Spelling Instruction. She compiled and co-edited Dyslexia - Samuel T. Orton and His Legacy for IDA’s 50th anniversary in 1999. She is a fellow in the Orton-Gillingham Academy, and received the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from The International Dyslexia Association in 2000. She served as IDA president from 1992-1996. Join Marcia at Friday evening's reception and meet the author.

Vicki Weinberg, Friday all-day workshop co-presenter
Vicki Weinberg is currently an education specialist at Minnesota Department of Education, working in the areas of Response to Intervention (RTI) and Specific Learning Disabilities. She has been a special education teacher for 17 years serving in a variety of settings and capacities. Weinberg has worked in residential treatment, co-taught in regular classrooms, instructed pre-service teachers, and designed prevention intervention programs for a community-based organization working in schools.

Marcy Pohlman, Friday all-day workshop co-presenter
Marcy is a consultant and lay advocate for parents and children with disabilities and current IDA-UMB treasurer. She is a retired certified public accountant (CPA) and former teacher for deaf and hearing-impaired students. Over the years, she has developed her skills in advocacy, leadership and public policy with hands-on experience as well as education from Wrightslaw IDEA training, Council of Parents, Attorneys & Advocates (COPAA) seminars, PACER workshops, MN State Bar Association school law conferences, MACMH workshops, and others. Pohlman serves as the IDA-UMB representative on both The Coalition for Children with Disabilities (PACER), and MN Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities’ Children’s Committee. And, she is one of many parents who were instrumental in advocating state legislators to improve teacher candidate pre-service training and licensure rules as they relate to reading instruction, with the passage of House File 2, in May of 2009.

Ericka Frake, Friday all-day workshop presenter
Erika Frake, M.F.C.S. has an educational background in special education and communication disorders and is an assistive technology specialist. She has several years of experience working with individuals of all ages and abilities to enhance their potential through the use of assistive technology for school, work, and life. Her areas of specialty are transition, SLD, brain injury, and everything MAC. Frake enjoys spending time with her family and continuing to grow her knowledge of technology to help others.

Barbara Zelinske, Saturday breakout presenter
Barbara Zelinske is the director of teacher training at The Reading Center/Dyslexia Institute of MN. She holds a B.S. degree in special education (K-12) with licensures in LD and DCD. She has taught in a variety of public and private school settings: one-on-one, small group, and full classroom. For the past several years, Zelinske has provided teacher training through The Reading Center as well as staff development in public schools. In 2006, Zelinske was awarded the 2005-06 National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers Award. Along with teaching student and training teachers, she has also written various resources for teachers.

Jan Hagedorn, Saturday breakout presenter
Currently the Reading Readiness director at The Reading Center, Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota, Jan Hagedorn received her MA in Human and Health Services Administration from St. Mary’s University. In her role at The Reading Center, she has developed and implemented a Reading Readiness program using scientific, research–based principles for pre-readers and their parents to prepare children for reading. As an individual reading therapist, Hagedorn provides one-on-one instruction to children with reading difficulty using principles of O-G. Her many accomplishments include consulting for PAIIR (the early childhood programs for ISD# 535 Rochester, MN), serving as co-chair of Federation 2002, a multistate convention for fiber artists, PTSA president at elementary, middle school and high school, PTSA treasurer, Area Council of PTSA treasurer, regional representative for Minnesota Parenting Center, and she is a PACER-trained parent advocate. Hagedorn is active in volunteering her time toward collaborating with state legislators for best practices in reading instruction.

Karin Emerson, Saturday breakout presenter
Karin Emerson holds a Masters degree in experiential education and a reading specialist license. She taught K-2 for eight years and for the past ten years has been the reading specialist for students in grades K-6 at a Minneapolis public school, Clara Barton Open. She works most closely with students who struggle to read in grade 3. Emerson’s instructional strategies, based on the five strands, are responsible for significant gains in student achievement. She also coordinates and trains volunteers for a Sonday System reading intervention program targeting K-2 general education struggling readers. Emerson implements professional development in the structure of language and the five strands for classroom teachers in K-2.

Mary Platt, Saturday breakout presenter
Mary Platt, M.A., has held dual Minnesota certification in Learning Disabilities and Elementary Education. She taught in public schools as a classroom teacher for three years and as an LD teacher for eight years. She has four children, three of whom have learning disabilities. She has training in the Orton-Gillingham Approach for teaching reading and writing skills, which she has used for over 29 years. Platt has been a board member and president IDA-UMB and is currently a board member and instructor for Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota, where, as an adjunct faculty member of Hamline University Graduate School, she teaches classes to train teachers in O-G. She also works with LD students in private practice.

Mike Savage, Saturday breakout presenter
Mike Savage is currently the educational coordinator at Forest Hills Elementary in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Previously, he was a first grade teacher in both North Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. Upon implementation of research-based reading approaches, Savage was able to guide students to 95-100 percent proficiency. He has testified before both the Minnesota State Senate and House of Representatives on research-based reading instruction and teacher expectation levels. In 2008, Savage was honored with the Eden Prairie Teacher of the Year Award and Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce Golden Apple Award for outstanding instructional achievement. In 2009 he was nominated for the Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award. Savage resides in Shakopee, Minnesota with his wife and five children.

Jeff Thelen, Saturday breakout presenter
Jeff Thelen serves as the reading specialist at Forest Hills Elementary in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He has taught in Eden Prairie Schools for the last 13 years. Thelen has received a Masters of Education in teaching and learning and Masters of Science in reading with literacy specialization. Prior to teaching, Thelen was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins (1989-93).

Arlene Sonday, Saturday breakout presenter
Arlene Sonday is an adjunct instructor for Hamline University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Nicholls State University, and Thibodaux, among others. She holds a Masters in Special Education from University of St. Thomas and is listed in Marquis Who’s Who of American Women in Education and in Cambridge Who’s Who of American Women in Education. Sonday authored the Sonday System, 4 curricula, published by Winsor Learning for preschool, emergent and intermediate readers (www.winsorlearning.com), and helped create professional development to support the curricula. She has trained teachers across the country and in India, UK, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Egypt, Kuwait, Canada, and Jamaica. Sonday served as interventionist for struggling readers at St. Paul Academy and founded and directed the Academy’s academic summer school for eight years. She is the former vice president of The International Dyslexia Association, and is a member of LDA, CEC, and ASCD, among others.

Hannah Tolles, Saturday breakout presenter
Hannah Tolles holds a BA from Brown University and an MA from the University of Michigan. She has worked as special education resource room teacher, teacher consultant, learning specialist, private tutor, and education consultant. Trained in Orton-Gillingham, she now trains teachers in the approach. She is a founding member of Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota and previously served as president and board member of IDA-UMB. She has presented at local and national conferences.

Jacqueline Dimmen, Saturday breakout presenter
Jacqueline Dimmen holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has worked as a special education resource room teacher, special education consultant, and private tutor, In addition, she trains teachers in Orton-Gillingham with Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota, where she is a founding board member. She has also served as vice president and board member of IDA-UMB.

John Alexander, MA, Saturday breakout presenter
John Alexander is the head of school of Groves Academy in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. During his 24-year career in reading, he has taught struggling readers and has been involved in teacher training using scientifically based reading instruction. A member of The International Dyslexia Association, he has given many talks and workshops in the field of reading at local, state, and national conferences. Alexander served on the Minnesota State Reading Task Force and has been involved in legislative efforts to better prepare teachers to teach reading in our public schools. He was recently awarded a national literacy award from the National Association of Reading First.

Atlee Reilly, Esq., Saturday breakout presenter
Atlee Reilly joined the School Law Center in September 2009. He recently completed an Equal Justice Works Fellowship to expand the education law practice of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. During this fellowship, Reilly provided free legal services to families on a wide range of education-related issues, including: school discipline, special education, discrimination, and the rights of English language learners. Reilly received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Law, his M.Ed. from Arizona State University, and his B.A. from Bowdoin College. Prior to becoming an attorney, he taught grade 5 and special education through the Teach for America program.

Amy Goetz, Esq., Saturday breakout presenter
Amy J. Goetz is the founder of the School Law Center. She has worked in education law since 1995, first as a staff attorney with the Minnesota Disability Law Center, then as a complaint investigator at the Minnesota Department of Education. Most recently, Goetz serves in the private practice of education and school law. She has successfully raised and resolved hundreds of student and family claims through formal and informal means. Goetz received her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. She is the proud parent of two beautiful children with disabilities.

Mona Dougherty, Saturday breakout presenter
Mona Dougherty began her career in the literacy field over 10 years ago and in 2001 became a trainer for Wilson Language Training. Currently Mona is a literacy specialist providing professional development and support to school districts using Wilson Language Training programs.

Victoria Greene, Saturday breakout presenter
Victoria Greene was the director of teachers using Project Read® materials in the Bloomington Minnesota Public Schools for 25 years. She directed an alternative high school for severely learning disabled/behaviorally disordered adolescents for eight years. Her responsibilities ranged from kindergarten through grade 12 directing staff development for regular and special education teachers as they worked with the at-risk learners. Greene has served on the board of The International Dyslexia Association as well as their regional board. Currently, she is retained as a consultant by school districts throughout the United States. She is co-author of the Language Circle®/Project Read materials and continues to create new materials for the seminars.

Linda Fugleberg, Saturday breakout presenter
Linda Fugleberg is the authorized regional Math-U-See representative for Minnesota and North Dakota. She has tutored math students from kindergarten to senior high school for 21 years and presently provides consultation both for classroom educators and for parents who teach math to their children at home. She has found Math-U-See’s multisensory, manipulative-based approach to be highly effective for a range of students, from those considered gifted to those with learning disabilities. She has used this approach effectively with students for the past ten years.

Susan Rampp-Niette, Saturday breakout presenter
Susan Rampp-Niette holds a Masters of Communication Disorders and Speech-Language Pathology from Louisiana State University Medical Center, and a B.S. in Speech Education from Louisiana State University. She is a senior product consultant for Sopris West Education Services/Cambium Learning and taught in private practice for the Speech-Language-Learning Center. Rampp-Niette served as adjunct instructor and clinical supervisor for the School of Allied Health, Department of Communication Disorders at LSUHSC and at Xavier University as instructor and clinical supervisor for the Department of Speech Pathology. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech, Language, Hearing Association, is a licensed speech-language pathologist and audiologist, and is a certified trainer for the National Educators of Children with Cochlear Implants (NECCI).

Language, Learning & Literacy: Research to Practice
Friday & Saturday, April 23-24, 2010

Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

Held at
The University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus