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Jennifer Serravallo is an author who focuses on literacy - reading and writing.

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Blog — Jennifer Serravallo Author & Consulting

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Read full transcripts of the To the Classroom Podcast as well as blogs authored by Jennifer Serravallo and members of her consulting team.

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Free for teachers! Students can read books, listen to books, and watch videos. Teachers can also create and assign collections to students.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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A site that consists of world news in kid friendly language.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.

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Site filled with blogs, tools, and suggestions for improving instruction.

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A site filled with videos to offer support for teachers.

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Read this to feel inspired! Teachers do a lot. A lot. We often get burnt out, and attitudes change. It's so important to remember WHY we got into teaching. READ THIS!

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Welcome to your first year of teaching. This year will test you more intensely than just about anything you've done up to now. It will deplete all your energy, bring you to tears, and make you question every talent or skill you thought you had. But all these tests, if you approach them the right way, will leave you better and stronger than you are today.

Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. Still, with everything you have to do right now, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all. And the fact is, a lot of those tips won't work very well if you fail to follow this one essential rule:

Surround yourself with good people.

By finding the positive, supportive, energetic teachers in your school and sticking close to them, you can improve your job satisfaction more than with any other strategy. And your chances of excelling in this field will skyrocket. Just like a young seedling growing in a garden, thriving in your first year depends largely on who you plant yourself next to.

Many experienced gardeners follow a concept called companion planting: placing certain vegetables and plants near each other to improve growth for one or both plants. For example, rose growers plant garlic near their roses because it repels bugs and prevents fungal diseases. Among companion plants, the marigold is one of the best: It protects a wide variety of plants from pests and harmful weeds. If you plant a marigold beside most any garden vegetable, that vegetable will grow big and strong and healthy, protected and encouraged by its marigold.

Marigolds exist in our schools as well - encouraging, supporting and nurturing growing teachers on their way to maturity. If you can find at least one marigold in your school and stay close to them, you will grow. Find more than one and you will positively thrive.

Few teachers will be lucky enough to be planted close to a marigold - being assigned to one as a mentor, co-teacher, or team leader will be rare. You will have to seek them out. You can identify them by the way they congratulate you on arrival, rather than asking why anyone would want this godforsaken job. Or by the way their offers to help sound sincere. Or just by how you feel when you're with them: Are you calmer, more hopeful? Excited to get started on a teaching task? Comfortable asking questions, even the stupid ones? If you feel good around this person, chances are they have some marigold qualities.

Once you've identified your marigolds, make an effort to spend time with them. Having a hard day? Go to your marigolds. Not understanding how to operate the grade reporting system? Go to your marigolds. Confused by something the principal said at the faculty meeting? Marigolds. They may be on the other side of the building, out of your grade or subject area, or otherwise less convenient to reach than others. If your school is especially toxic, you might have to find your marigolds in another school, or even online. Make the effort. It's worth the trouble.

While seeking out your marigolds, you'll need to take note of the walnut trees. Successful gardeners avoid planting vegetables anywhere near walnut trees, which give off a toxic substance that can inhibit growth, wilt, and ultimately kill nearby vegetable plants. And sadly, if your school is like most, walnut trees will be abundant. They may not seem dangerous at first. In fact, some may appear to be good teachers - happy, social, well-organized. But here are some signs that you should keep your distance: Their take on the kids is negative. Their take on the administration is negative. Being around them makes you feel insecure, discouraged, overwhelmed, or embarrassed.

WALNUT TREES ARE POISON. Avoid them whenever you can. If you don't, they will start to infect you, and soon you'll hate teaching as much as they do.

Doing this may be a challenge: Your supervisor might be a walnut tree. You may be co-teaching with one. You might work on a whole team of walnut trees, spending hours with them every week. Touching base with your marigolds will help flush out the toxins that build up from contact with the walnut trees. On top of that, simply identifying certain co-workers as walnut trees can help dilute their power over you. If I'd had a label I could mentally place on certain people in the schools where I worked, they would have had far less of an impact on me.

So in the spirit of identification, here are some common walnut tree varieties to look out for:

Kid-Hatin' Kate, who will snort every time you share a positive anecdote about your students. Spend enough time with her and you'll believe every single one of them is a lying, cheating little sneak and you're a fool if you think otherwise.

Retirement Dan, who regularly reports on how many years he has left before he's "outta here." He then adds with a chuckle that you have about thirty, right? Dan will find your enthusiasm about school "cute," but will then tell you to "just wait...it'll wear off."

Twenty-Page Tina, who sets impossibly high standards for her students and brags when kids fail. You had your kids write a five-page paper? Tina assigned twenty. Your mid-term had fifty questions? Tina's had a hundred and fifty, and only a dozen kids passed it. The students say her exams are the only ones they ever have to study for. After talking to Tina, you'll feel the urge to triple your kids' workload and add at least ten trick questions to your assessments, just to get your average down.

Badass Bobby, who overhears you talking about your students acting up in class and says, "They would never try that crap in my room." Whenever you leave a conversation with him, you go and scream at your kids.

Hattie-Who-Hates-the-Principal. Self-explanatory.

Lawsuit Steve, who sees you touch a student's forearm and says you better watch out. He "had to give up hugs years ago" and is always reminding you to "be careful."

My-Time Margaret, who counts the number of minutes she got for lunch, complains about serving one more day of car-rider duty than anyone else, and knows precisely what time she's legally required to be in the building each day (not a minute earlier).

And Good-Old-Days Judy, who hates anything new and never fails to mention how much better things used to be.

Be especially vigilant during PDs, when you'll find yourself in a veritable forest of walnut trees. It will be the worst when the presenter asks you to perform some task - read student work, for example - in groups. The trees will slowly turn toward the center, leaves rustling, snarky comments dropping off their branches like walnuts whacking the table. It won't matter how potentially interesting the activity might be, as soon as they huddle up it will be snark, snark, ugly, ugly, hate, hate. When this happens, recognize that you are surrounded, hold tight to your roots, and remember your marigolds.

Your search for marigolds will yield imperfect results: Not everyone is all-marigold or all-walnut tree. There will be some in the building who just make you happy - go to them for a mood boost. Some who aren't terribly good at the teaching part, but love the kids to death - seek them out when you need to be reminded of how much you love them, too. Others will take care of you - encourage you to rest, slack off a little, not beat yourself up. And some who are intensely into the craft, who always have a great strategy on hand and keep up on current research - they can really help you stretch your abilities. Learn who has what marigold qualities and get what you can from each of them.

Finally, try to find some compassion for the walnut trees. Their toxicity comes from a place of real pain, and they themselves probably fell under the influence of the walnut trees who came before them. Plus, it's not like their complaints have no basis in reality. Teaching is a ridiculously hard job, some say almost impossible.

Before you climb that peak, you'll need to choose a sherpa to escort you through the trek. The first option is Walter Nutt, who starts by asking why in the world you'd want to do something like this. He describes the many others who have died trying to do this climb, how sick you'll get, how people have polluted the trail, all but destroying what was once a pristine and beautiful mountain. The second option, Mary Gold, congratulates you on your courage, sits down with you to map out some important strategies, and finishes off by saying It's a crazy-hard, mammoth task, but you know what? We're going to kick that mountain's ass.

Who do you want leading you up that peak?

Find your marigolds and stick close to them. Grow big and strong. Kick that mountain's ass. ♦

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Do you have a Marigold in your life? Show your gratitude with a t-shirt, coffee mug, or other Marigold-inspired gift. Browse our whole Marigold collection here.

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Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers

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Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. But a lot of those tips won't work if you fail to follow this one essential rule.

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ELA resources for teachers.

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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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A site dedicated to resources for teaching writing.

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NWP leaders study and share effective practices that enhance youth writing and learning, work collaboratively with other educators, design resources, and…

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A site that provides lessons, units, tips, and PD for ELA teachers.

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Website full of lessons, tips, and motivation for ELA.

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English Language Arts Archives - WeAreTeachers

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ELA teachers, this one's for you. From lesson plans to tips to inspiration, our English Language Arts archive is chock-full of the best resources.

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This site will include useful information regarding the Lucy Calkins reading and writing units of study

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Advancing Literacy offers many free resources, from booklists to teaching and assessment tools to resources for families and caregivers. Partner schools can access additional materials via their member login.

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Cultivating Meaningful Learning Communities through Literacy

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Brooke Brown is a teacher who specializes in literacy and STEM.

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STEM Engagement Starts Here

our low prep resources are:

Hi there, I'm Brooke Brown!

I'm the teacher, mom and curriculum designer behind Teach Outside the Box.

If you're looking for low prep, top quality resources tor STEM, Makerspace, Robotics, and hands-on literacy, you've come to the right place!

I'm a NBCT educator with nearly two decades of classroom experience, and I love designing resources that maximize engagement for my students.

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Simple STEM for elementary students Subscribe for Exclusive STEM Freebies STEM Engagement Starts Here our low prep resources are: Best Sellers Latest on the blog Hi there, I'm Brooke Brown! I'm the teacher, mom and curriculum designer behind Teach Outside the Box. If you're looking for low prep, top quality resources tor STEM, Makerspace, Robotics,...

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Courtney is a fifth grade teacher. Her famous phrase is "Open the Magic" because she believes that opening a picture book is opening magic.

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One day this will be a picture book. One day a child will read my story and share a confetti moment. One day I hope you read my story and know you are making a difference for every student in your classroom. One day my life changed when I found my love for books.

Before I start, I want you the reader to know I share this because I want to help any person who can benefit from my story. This is hard to share, but I feel empowered to let you know that EVERY STUDENT CAN BE SOMEBODY!

Lets rewind and give a little background into my life. I grew up in a lovely home with two educated parents. My mom was a high school English teacher for 30 years. My father has been in business my whole life. I have two older sisters who skated through school with almost perfect GPAs. Yes, they had to study, but I had TO STUDY. School was always seen as a glorious entity that we all cherished. There was always talk of universities, careers, and the future. When I was in 2nd grade, I told my family at dinner one night, " I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE: I AM GOING TO BE A TEACHER!" Books sparkled all over our home in special places where I would leave them. I had models in my life who showed me books were magic. Weekly trips to Rakestraw Books, the yearly The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs. We got different chapters books and I would painstakingly read them to her. Then she reread my disaster and we discussed what happened. Those times were so special to me! To this day my mom tells me, "It wasn't that you couldn't do it: you just needed time." These were my favorite times as a kid.... the times where books were involved. Scholastic Bookfair, and local libraries were my FAVORITES. My mom read picture book after picture book to me. A childhood favorite was

I was never the first to tie my shoe, write my name, read fluently, or know my times tables. Strriiiiickkk I would read instead of correctly pronouncing the word stick. Sometimes words looked totally different than what was on the page. My mom sat for hours helping me each night to get my homework done, and I cried and cried because I knew I was not like everyone else. I told her "my brain just can't think. It is like it's empty". If I could get paid in books for how many times I said I was tired, my library would be triple. Of course I wasn't tired, but work was HARD! As a kid, I got pulled to go to the resource room to practice reading comprehension. It was in a very nice trailer next to the music and computer rooms. My resource teacher was a jolly man who went by Mr. T. I went to "this room" all the way until high school. Like most resource students, I had a battery of tests given to me over the years that pin pointed my challenges as dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder. On top of that, I liked donuts too much, and the baby weight never came off. Luckily, my social skills were off the charts.

One of my favorite stories from my testing career was when I was young. It is embarrassing, but we are best friends now, right? I have to share it!

Tester: "Courtney, What stings?"
Little Courtney: "My Bottom"
a. I was being literal #genius b. the answer is bee

When I left "the room" I had many tutors for math and reading. I always had a positive attitude about learning. I did A LOT of memorizing to just to get through tests. My parents empowered all of us to have a positive mindset even when something was hard. Believe me, I wanted to give up many times! I had a teacher in high school who told my mom I was not smart. Can you imagine saying that to a parent now? The horror! Even typing it I get so mad! Luckily, I was taken out of her class and placed in another class where I had more support to work on my math skills.

Fast forward to college application time. Y'all, I had low self esteem and the only thing I wanted to tell the world was I got accepted into a 4 year university. The thought of saying I was going to a community college made me feel so small. I had nightmares over this starting the second day of junior year. I prayed with my family for the right answer. The answer came to apply to a small liberal arts college in Illinois. I followed God's direction and applied.

Two months later, I received an email that read, "You must have a full year of geometry before we can further review your application." My heart melted. I was so close to going to a four year university, but this road block kicked me to the ground. I cried and cried. I went and met with my counselor and explained the situation. FLASHBACK: Remember when I was taken out of that one class my junior year? YEP, it was geometry. As I was sitting in my counselors office, our angel assistant principal peaked her head out of her office. Long story short, this angel let me take the whole year of geometry in summer school. I had a stellar teacher. He taught me all about proofs and every time I spelled angles wrong he never said I wasn't smart. #angels Just a teacher tip: if your student is dyslexic, pick a different battle if they spell angles like angels. At the end of that summer, I passed geometry and actually understood proofs! I was able to give my transcripts to the college of my dreams. Then the communication went silent. I mean SILENT! Until.... March 4th at 4:31. The house phone rang. On the other side was a nice lady who asked if Courtney was home. I replied and the next thing I knew I was going to a 4 year university. I WAS GOING TO COLLEGE!!!!!

"Presenting Courtney Hinshaw as she will be attending a 4 year university in the fall" a man in a dark suit announced at the National Charity League Senior Presents. I was beaming! I mean beaming. In my heart, I had made it. I was going to college like everyone else in my circle of friends. I felt like an equal. As a teenager, this was huge.

One bright and early morning in August, we flew to St. Louis, Missouri where I embarked on my journey to college. I couldn't believe it! I was no longer the resource kid. The fight inside of me was burning, and I was ready to take this on the next four years with no problems. Welll..... life is funny isn't? Being away from home meant no family close by , a free range of food, and lonely nights. As much as I wanted to be a 4 year college student, I had to be true to myself. I had gained a ton of weight, I was not fitting in, classes were beyond hard, and my grandma passed away 2 days before my sophomore year. I remember calling my parents sobbing one night in November and saying, "I made a mistake." This is too hard and I need help. Y'all the tears were big! I have never felt this sad and alone. I had to come home. I was embarrassed, but I knew God had a plan for me. He always does. Right before Thanksgiving break, I packed my entire dorm room and shipped back 15 boxes that belonged to me.

Now if you do not know, I am an extreme planner. On the flight home, I was already thinking what to do. The local community college would be starting in January for their winter session. The next morning, I called and set up an appointment with a college counselor. I was ready to try again at a pace that was better for me. THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS OF MY LIFE. I attended the local community college for 2 years and had a hard, but rewarding experience. One story that sticks out the best in my mind is from my Math class. As you might remember math and I aren't the best of friends. In fact, reading and I get along better. Before I tell you this story, I literally had to tell my math tutor she couldn't go into labor until I went into my final. I needed her tutoring until the last possible second before my test.

Have you ever had a teacher who pushes you so hard, but in the end you learn more than you thought? Welcome to Mr. Summer's math class. If you did one step in the process wrong, the problem was wrong. My mom was even frustrated because she saw the tears build after every test that would come home with Ds. She reached out to a family friend for support, and the friend mentioned maybe college wasn't for me. I had over heard that conversation that night, and felt defeated. My mom totally disagreed, but the thought that this might be a reality, crushed me. Maybe she was right I thought to myself. That little light inside of me from all the years of my parents and teachers telling me YOU CAN DO IT made me keep shining.

I had to practice and practice and practice for every test. My parents and I laugh that we bought my tutor's entire designer bag collection. I had a tough time in class, but I learned. The final exam came (don't worry my tutor didn't go into labor until 2 days after the final) and I took in every question and gave my best effort. That night I received a call from the professor who shared with me I had received a B on the final. PRAISE ALL THE ANGELS!!! Having the professor call me at home gave me all the confidence in the world to keep going. I had a wonderful rest of my time at the community college, and now it was time to decide where to transfer as I had finished almost all of my GED courses.

I called the University of Arizona home for the next 2 years where I received my degree in Elementary Education. During one of my first few weeks at UofA, I found Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco* at a local bookstore. As I read down the page, I saw myself. I saw this little girl who wanted to be like everyone else, but wasn't.When I found out this story was about Patricia Polacco, my very first confetti moment happened. I remember calling my mom and telling her everything was going to be alright!

SQUIRREL: As I was looking for something else on my computer tonight, I found this letter I had written to a friend in my cohort about what it was like to be me:
"I was diagnosed with Dyslexia and other learning disabilities when I was in third grade. I have struggled with school my whole life. I love school and work so hard, but sometimes it doesn't pay off. There are times when I am sitting in class and I am so confused because I can't process what the teacher is saying and write at the same time. Coming to the UofA has been one of my biggest accomplishments, and I can't believe I will be graduating in May. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me." -2008

On May 17th, 2008, I walked across stage as my entire family plus best friend watched from the audience. The Dean of Students from the College of Education announced not only my name but...

COURTNEY HINSHAW, College of Education, Magma Cum Laude

Courtney Hinshaw, BA Elementary Education

When you know your passion, do it! Education classes were my favorite. They were hard, but I was able to do it! I was able to share my love and insight into something that so greatly described me as a person.

It was time to start looking for my first teaching job! I was fresh, excited, new, and ALL the things. There was an opening at where I student taught. My dad flew over and went shopping with me to get my first interview suit. Probably one of the best days of his life getting his youngest an interview suit. Want to know a little more about my opinion on dressing like a teacher? I had an interview on a Tuesday at 4:20, and yes I still remember the time. Fun fact: that is actually a perk of someone who is dyslexic: our long term memory is stellar. I interviewed for the 4th grade position. Two days later, I received a phone call from my principal offering me the position. I accepted. I taught at this school for two years. This experience will forever be in my heart. The little girl in the picture is now in college and we still keep in my contact. While I enjoyed Arizona, it was time for me to come home to California.

Since California was going through a recession, there were no jobs. Even though I told everybody I needed at least 5 years before I opened another textbook, I went and applied for my masters in Reading Education at California State University, Fullerton. It was time for me to give back. I wanted to learn how to help kids in reading and share my love of reading with elementary children.

While I was getting my masters, is when RAMONA RECOMMENDS was born. On November 11th, 2013, I posted my first instagram photo on @ramonarecommends titled, "Welcome to Ramona Recommends". I did not really know what I was doing in the beginning, but I did know how much I love children's literature. If you are interested in why it is called, Ramona Recommends hop on over to read all about Ramona and Beezus.

As you can imagine, I was itching to get back into the classroom, but California had a different plan. Since there were no teaching jobs, I applied as an instructional assistant in a near by district. I was offered this position to work with 5th grade. While IAing, I worked on my masters, ran Ramona Recommends, and tried to stay positive about not having a teaching job. There is something to say for being humble when you use to teach and now you are fixing 1,001 paper jams on the daily. I have so much respect for instructional assistants because they work so hard!

My master's was almost over, but here came the Composition Exam. Oh boy was I stressing!!! Luckily there was a class to prepare us, but I needed extra help. I did not want anyone to know. Again, even though I had come so far, I was still embarrassed and thought I wasn't smart. Each week in my last trimester of CSUF, I drove up to the Reading Center where I was tutored on how to take the exam and practiced sharing my knowledge. The tutor and I worked through each paragraph. It was really helpful. If you are unsure about a comps exam, it is a 2 hour test that you take on site about everything you learned from the program with no notes. Prior to this day, you also write a paper using books and research and turn it in the morning of the on site exam. Examiners grade the essays and then you receive an email about 2 months later with test results. I will never forget April 16th. I was sitting on the floor of Party City buying glasses for my upcoming graduation party when my phone dinged.

The moment was here.... I opened the email and was elated when I read, YOU HAVE PASSED your Comps exam. I cried sitting there because it was another example that I was a READER.

On May 19, 2012 I walked the across stage to hear:

Courtney Hinshaw, MS in Reading Education with a Reading Specialist Credential

Continuing my story... I was still an IA running Ramona Recommends. I was getting super discouraged. Even though I had an opportunity to long term sub, I still did not have own classroom. I questioned daily if teaching was for me. It was a long four years , but then Jesus spoke to me. It was a Tuesday night, and I was bawling my eyes out in the old Open The Magic headquarters. My mom tried to reassure me something was going to happen. It was the end of August, and I had received no calls for interviews. The following morning, I was sound asleep and my phone rang. It was the office assistant of a brand new school in my district. Fast forward I had an interview that Saturday and was offered the job on the next day while I was shopping at Nordstrom. You can read all about that journey right here! When I got off the phone with my principal, I literally screamed and ran back into the bathroom to shout the news to my mom, sister, and baby Jayden. I quickly dialed my dad's number to share the good news! I finally had a teaching job after four years of praying and photo copying. Yes, I had Ramona Recommends but being teacher is where I was called.

It is now February 23rd, 2019, and I want to share one last confetti moment with you. I am where I am today because I AM A READER. My name is Courtney Hinshaw, and I am a college graduate, a master's degree recipient, a reading specialist, owner of Ramona Recommends, a presenter, a 5th grade teacher in one of the best districts in the United States, and somebody who never gives up!

Because I found the love of reading, kept fighting, had teachers who walked this journey with me, and parents who gave me the world I can share my story. Now here is where I want you to read very carefully! Because of all the love and support I had from teachers, parents, and myself, I BECAME A READER! Looking back, I had so many GREAT teachers who told me to keep fighting and they HELPED me succeed in their class: Mrs. Greco, Mrs. Giguere, Mr. Hilts, Mrs. Abelmann, Mr. Amistead, and Professor Summers. It was not over night: in fact, it was over years of tears and practice. The rest of my story is because of the FIGHT. I would not be where I am today without MY STORY.
This picture was taken in my fifth grade classroom 2 years ago. Meet Mrs. Abelmann, my 5th grade math teacher. She is now a children's literature author.

As much as books were what I feared, I LOVED THEM. Picture Books are my Jam because they helped me know that words on a page can give you great joy. I can promise you all your students would love if you read them a picture book.

In closing, when people ask me what I want to do with Ramona Recommends I always laugh. I laugh because sometimes dreaming big scares me. I do not want to let myself or others down. When I first started Ramona Recommends, I did not know where it would go. For years, I would say it is a hobby because I didn't want to fail. I downplayed it because I was nervous about what I was really doing. Yes, I know I was recommending books, but to me that wasn't worthy of a side business title. The lies were big and got me. This all changed on December 23rd, as I was sitting in church listening to the song "You Say" by Lauren Diagle. A small voice whispered to me and said YOU ARE ENOUGH, MAKE IT HAPPEN. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader. She doesn't know this, but her fight has made me want to fight so hard to share my story. She told me TO LIVE BIG and to be proud of everything I accomplish. I realize I have a BIG story to tell.

EVERY KID HAS A CHANCE to become a READER. While I do recommend picture books, it is much bigger than that. I recommend books to help promote the love of reading. Every kid deserves to find a book that will lead them to a confetti moment. Reading aloud should never stop. Library trips should never stop. Scholastic Bookfairs should be forever! Book store visits should never stop.Books bring hope and love. Books bring confidence. Books help kids become confident caring readers who love books.

There is so much magic in my heart. Never give up on your students. Every single one has magic in their heart. Be the teacher who says, "Open The Magic!"

*amazon affiliate links used top photo: stephanieweberphotography.com

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One day this will be a picture book. One day a child will read my story and share a confetti moment. One day I hope you read my story and know you are making a difference for every student in your classroom. One day my life changed when I found my love for books.

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Brittney Root is a fifth grade teacher and TpT author.

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In September of 2016, I was lucky enough to visit the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. If you haven't heard of RCA, make sure you check out their website and videos; you'll be INSPIRED to say the least.

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Jen Jones is a reading specialist, staff developer, and TpT author.

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EST. GROWING READERS ONE BEST PRACTICE AT A TIME Not getting the PD you need? Your school or district not on my schedule? No worries, Hello Literacy has you covered! Come and get Hello Literacy PD at a location near you! Check the below locations and dates. need literacy PD?