I am humbled and excited to begin my term as President of IDA NorCal. We started the year by celebrating our 45th anniversary at our annual meeting in late January. Members and guests enjoyed a festive brunch at Northbridge Academy in Mill Valley. It was impressive to hear about the long and rich history of our IDA branch and a joy to celebrate with our first in-person annual meeting since the pandemic.
Hearing from our honorees Lori DePole and Deb Jacobson about the movement we are seeing in California to better the education of not just our students with dyslexia, but all students, was encouraging. African American students often face particular challenges in obtaining educational support, and Deb Jacobson’s California Education Justice Alliance is working to help rectify that disparity. IDA NorCal’s board voted to donate the remainder of its own Larry P Scholarship funds to this organization in support of their work. At the annual meeting, a symbolic check for more than $6,000 was presented to Deb in her role as executive director of the Alliance. Also at the meeting, Lori DePole briefed us on legislation being introduced in the California Assembly to help ensure that all elementary school reading instruction is based on the science of reading. Learn more about AB 2222 and how you can support it at California Kids Read.
We need to help our kids now by supporting them educationally before they leave our classrooms or case load. Check our website and watch your emails for structured literacy trainings in our area. We have information on high-quality Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, and Slingerland training options (both virtual and in-person) with open registration. And, as mentioned at our annual meeting, we are working to try to offer a LETRS cohort for teachers who are not in districts offering the opportunity. Watch the website and your email for more details as we will need to confirm there is enough committed interest to move forward with a cohort. Updated information for all trainings can be found here.
If you are interested in a training but the price is steep for you, remember, IDA NorCal offers scholarship support. You can find scholarship requirements and application forms here.
In addition to longer trainings, we also have some exciting shorter events coming up, including a program with Maryanne Wolf. Details are still being ironed out, so watch your email! In the meantime, you can check out her website at https://www.maryannewolf.com/ or try reading one of her highly respected books, Proust and the Squid or her latest, Reader Come Home.
Lastly, we couldn’t do all we do without our board members’ and volunteers’ generous support and volunteer hours. Particular thanks go to our outgoing president, Mary Cancelmo, and to outgoing board member Ronit Glickman. We appreciate all the time and energy you have devoted to helping us help teachers and students these past few years.
Wishing you all joy as we look forward to spring!
IDA NorCal current and past presidents at our 45th anniversary (left to right) Nancy Redding, Mary Cancelmo, Grace Sharma, Nancy Cushen White, Martha Renner.