Kristin Di Perri, Ed.D. is an independent educational consultant and literacy development specialist for DHH students. For over 40 years she has worked as a classroom teacher, a researcher, an instructor in the Deaf Education program at Boston University and as the English Literacy Coordinator at a residential school for the deaf. She consults with several schools/programs in the US and internationally to implement new literacy programming approaches to meet the diverse literacy needs of DHH students. She is the author of several instructional publications: 5 workbooks for students, the Bedrock Literacy Curriculum and co-author with Todd Czubek, Ph.D. of the Bilingual Grammar Curriculum. She is the owner of Bedrock Literacy & Educational Services.
2024 Bedrock Literacy Virtual Conference
We are THRILLED to announce the first ever Bedrock Literacy Virtual Conference hosted by Willie Ross School for the Deaf!
This conference will take place from March 18 to 21, 2024 via Zoom! Click the Registration button to go to our registration portal. The costs are $20 per day or $70 for the entire week.
This conference will have ASL interpreters during all sessions.
If you have any questions or concerns about this conference, please email bedrockliteracyvc@gmail.com.
Registration closes at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT on March 18, 2024.
Program
Click the button below for a PDF document of the conference schedule.
Monday, March 18, 2024
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm ET / 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm PT
Conference Keynote
Accessible Reading: Everyone on the “Same Page”
Kristin Di Perri, EdD, Bedrock Literacy and Educational Services
In this workshop, we will explore an instructional design that provides all DHH students with the concept prior to interacting with text. We will investigate multiple-meaning words and describe how we can actually categorize them into more unified groupings for instruction. For example the word “run” has many meanings, but one category can be defined as “moving from Point A to Point B”. Participants will be taken through actual lessons that allow students to first visualize the focus concept. Definitions are derived using graphic symbols. Lastly, students are asked to read English sentences while applying the particular concept. Participants will have access to 10 complete lessons for personal use.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Session 1
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm PT
Bilingual from the Beginning: Implementing Bedrock with Pre-writers
Shannon Miller
Jenks Public Schools (OK)
Bedrock is a foundational framework - but how can you use it to support DHH children who are mainstreamed, especially in the early years? Our team has collaborated over the last two years to integrate specific bilingual ASL/English tools, strategies, and activities into a kindergarten general-education classroom. You will leave this presentation with tips you can use right away, whether you serve your pre- and early-writing students through an itinerant, resource-room, self-contained, or tutoring model.
Session 2
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm ET / 4:45 pm - 5:45 pm PT
Where do I even start? What I realistically implemented in my first year using Bedrock Literacy in an Elementary Classroom
Kelly Sanders
Santa Barbara County Education Office (CA)
During the past year, this presenter has used several of the Bedrock Literacy strategies in her classroom. She will share how she is implementing Daily Writing Fluency with handshape holders and what an amazing impact this has had with her Deaf students' writing skills. Using photos, videos, and student work samples, you’ll be able to view what these strategies look like in action. Her classroom vocabulary/reading words routine and activities that help the students learn and retain new reading vocabulary will be presented. You will walk away from this interactive session with an understanding that it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Wednesday March 20, 2024
Session 1
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm PT
Setting up for Success: Bedrock in the Classroom
Robert Shaffer
Rocky Fork Middle School Deaf Education Program (TN)
Learn how to set up your classroom to promote literacy-rich lessons based on Bedrock!
Session 2
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm ET / 4:45 pm - 5:45 pm PT
Pre-Bedrock: Strategies for Optimizing Preparatory Approaches towards Bedrock Success
Brittany Allen
Butte County Office of Education (CA)
Drawing inspiration from the proven success of Bedrock, this workshop aims to explore approaches that lay the groundwork for future Bedrock success. This workshop will briefly discuss the implementation of a few Pre-Bedrock strategies used within a self-contained Preschool/Kindergarten classroom. The workshop will then include dedicated time for open discussion, allowing fellow educators the time to share experiences and insights regarding their work with this age group, fostering an environment of collaborative learning. We will engage in conversations about potential practices that can be integrated into our classrooms to better prepare students for proficiency in reading and writing.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Session 1
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm PT
Pieces to Picture
Paula Mowery
Catlettsburg Elementary STEM School (TN)
This presentation will show how the presenter gained support for the Bedrock curriculum and how it was implemented. Specific and practical examples of activities will be shared. Some topics which will be touched upon include: gaining administrative support, working with the regular classroom teacher, providing reports for IEP documentation and report cards, encouraging parental involvement, activities for an active child, interpreter/regular classroom connection, and how do all the pieces fit together to make a complete picture to insure the success of the deaf student.
Session 2
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm ET / 4:45 pm - 5:45 pm PT
Tips for working with Emerging Bilingual Students
Claire Ettlin
Marlton School
&
Bianca Gerald
President Ave Elementary (CA)
We will discuss strategies for applying Bedrock Literacy with emerging bilingual students. Our focus will be on reading fluency and handshape holders in writing. This presentation is for teachers who may feel overwhelmed with where to begin with the curriculum, especially for students who are not fluent in ASL or English. Teachers will leave with strategies and tips to implement immediately including tangible supplemental materials.
Presenters
Brittany Allen is just beginning her career as a teacher of deaf children. She is currently in grad school working on her master's in Deaf Education. She has been an ASL interpreter for the last 20 years. She has found her 'home' as a preschool/kindergarten DHH teacher.
Claire Ettlin is the intervention coordinator at Marlton Day School. She attended Boston University for both undergrad and grad school where she studied the Bedrock Literacy curriculum.
Bianca Gerald is an elementary teacher of deaf students at a mainstream school site. She attended CSUN for her undergrad and grad school. Claire and Bianca have been collaborating on the Bedrock Literacy curriculum for the past three years including presenting to CSUN deaf ed credential candidates.
Shannon Miller, BA Deaf Ed., EIPA ASL Elementary 4.0, is a TOD turned Educational Interpreter with a passion for meeting challenges through out-of-the-box solutions. She combines her art background, interest in all things nerdy, and 20+ years of experience to serve DHH students in her community in unique ways.
Paula Mowery is a licensed educational interpreter and teacher (K-5). Her BA was an interpreter training program, and she also has a MEd. She has experience interpreting and teaching in Pre-K through college levels. Paula’s current position is interpreter and teacher for a first grade deaf student.
Kelly Sanders has been a Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing at the Santa Barbara County Education Office on the Central Coast of California for 26 years. She is a graduate of MacMurray College, in Jacksonville, IL with a BA in Deaf Studies: Teacher Education. She completed her Level II Credential at California State University Northridge. She currently teaches 1st through 6th grade in a regional Deaf/Hard of Hearing program with 13 students.
Rob Shaffer has been in the field of Deaf Education for twenty years, since graduating from Gallaudet University. He is Hard-of-hearing and currently teaches in a Bilingual Bicultural program at a public middle school (Grades 6-8) just south of Nashville, Tennessee. He has loved using Bedrock as the framework for his English Language Arts classes, both at the Elementary and Middle School levels.
Registration
Thank you for your interest, but registration for this conference is currently closed.
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