The keynote speaker, Wylie Blevins, is an early reading specialist who shares his personal story about growing up in a family that struggled with illiteracy. He recalls how he was scared of books as a child because the only book he knew had pictures of dead people in it. However, his first-grade teacher, Mrs. Warshaw, taught him how to read using a combination of phonics and the Dick and Jane series. Blevins emphasizes the importance of literacy and how it creates equity for all students regardless of their background.
