Reading, Language Arts Conference set for February

The 30th annual Mary Lois Staton Reading/Language Arts Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 22 at The City Hotel & Bistro in Greenville.

Keynoting the event is Dr. Julie Coiro of the University of Rhode Island, who will speak on “Understanding the new literacies of online reading comprehension.”

Concurrent sessions will focus on a variety of topics related to literacy.

Organizers expect more than 300 participants including K-12 teachers, reading specialists, ECU education students and university faculty.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at East Carolina University.

Dr. Mary Lois Staton, professor emeritus and outstanding professor of education at ECU for 27 years, is credited with initial conference development and endowment. Staton earned her undergraduate degree from Flora McDonald and her master’s degrees from East Carolina Teacher’s College and Teacher’s College, Columbia University. She completed her doctoral degree at UNC-Chapel Hill.

For registration information, contact the ECU Office of Continuing Studies at 252-328-9198. Additional details are available at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-educ/ci/reading/MLS/index.cfm.