Literacy Leader Awards 2025
This year's Literacy Leader Awards event will be on February 27, 2025, from 4:30-6:30pm in Memorial Hall, room 6110.
Our featured speaker is Dr. Kristen Conradi Smith from William and Mary College in Williamsburg, VA. She will present:
Confronting Myths and Missteps of the Science of Reading Shift Show. The central goal of the science of reading is to ensure students' reading proficiency and success, but -as with any movement-some misunderstandings have surfaced. She'll address both myths and missteps and suggest how we might move forward amid the many changes in Virginia.
We are seeking nominations for the JMU Literacy Teacher of the Year Award and the JMU Literacy Alumni Award. Please refer to the links in the previous sentence for the award criteria and submission forms. Nominations are due February 1, 2025.
Literacy Leader Awards
JMU Literacy Alumni Award
- Graduate of JMU's Literacy M. Ed. program
- Practices innovative literacy teaching and learning
- Promotes literacy engagement within their school, district, or the Commonwealth
- Recognized as a literacy leader in the school and/or community
Literacy Teacher of the Year Award
- A Virginia educator working in elementary, middle, or secondary classrooms; a reading specialist; a media specialist; or a district leader
- Practices innovative literacy teaching and learning
- Promotes collaborative literacy engagement within the school, district, or the Commonwealth
- Advocates for effective, research-based literacy practices for all learners
Note: Degree from JMU not required.
Past Winners
2024 Winners
JMU Literacy Alumni Award winner, Summerlynn Thompson (left), Principal of Upper Walker Elementary School (Charlottesville, VA)
Literacy Teacher of the Year Award winner, Liz Benbow (right), Reading Specialist at Stuarts Draft Elementary School (Stuarts Draft, VA)
2023 Winners
JMU Literacy Alumni Award winner, Amanda Grover (left), Reading Specialist at Skyline Middle School
Literacy Teacher of the Year Award winner, Bobbie Jo Kite (right), First Grade at Elkton Elementary School
2022 Winners
JMU Literacy Alumni Award winner, Cicely Shelton-Barnes (left), Elementary Reading Specialist and Elementary Librarian, Charlottesville City Schools
Literacy Teacher of the Year Award winner, Dr. Laurel Sviatko (right), 8th grade English at Thomas Harrison Middle School in Harrisonburg, VA.
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