A Message From NSLA PRESIDENT

Greetings! This year has been filled with exciting speakers and educator collaborations. Here are a few of the things that have been happening at NSLA.  

• Three members of the board attended the Educator’s Rising Conference in Kearney to talk with high school students considering teaching professions.
• We were joined by the few but mighty for our inaugural Meet and Mingle where we enjoyed networking and exchanging quality resources.
• In March, we met online with about thirty people listening to Tim Rasinski speak about fluency and how to improve fluency for students of all ages.
• We then had a follow-up meeting where we had the opportunity to join together for another Meet and Mingle where we dug into the Rasinski webinar and discussed it with those who were there as well as those who wished they could have been there. 

• In April, we had the privilege of hosting another webinar with Stephanie Stollar a renowned expert in MTSS.  We again had a follow-up meeting to connect and discuss the webinar.  

• The pinnacle of the 2024-2025 season was our Summer Institute where we hosted three nationally known keynote speakers with a wide range of experiences including Lori Sappington educator and podcaster on the show Melissa and Lori Love Literacy, Brent Conway an administrator and author of The Balanced Literacy Hangover, and Lindsay Kemeny, first-grade teacher and author of Seven Mighty Moves and Rock Your Literacy Block. Nebraska Department of Education representatives where in attendance to speak to us on current happenings across the state.
• Lori Sappington returned for a webinar in October where she spoke on fluency and vocabulary and how it relates to reading comprehension.  
• The Board is busy planning for another exhilarating year of learning and connecting, and we look forward to 2026.  

There has never been a better time to join us in our mission to support literacy outcomes for all Nebraska students. Members have been able to attend our webinars for free, get continued access to all of our webinars and other additional resources in the "Members Only" section of our website, and get discounted pricing for the Summer Institute.  

Looking forward to seeing you at one of our events soon!

Sara