Mark Conley, an associate professor of teacher education at MSU’s College of Education, was elected president of the newly incorporated professional organization, the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors.

The group represents professors from all 15 of the state’s universities and colleges who have joined to effectively advocate for responsible positions, policies and legislation for reading education in the K-12 and teacher preparation environment.

The group’s mission is:

• To ensure that every student in Michigan receives reading instruction that is based on rigorous research.
• To promote teacher expertise and professional decision-making in literacy assessment and instruction.
•  To communicate with families, educators, policy-makers and others about literacy issues.
• To advocate for the rights of literacy professionals to identify and implement effective reading instruction, assessment and research.
• To collaborate with other professional organizations who share our goals.

 “We are also advocating for research among our members that innovates and demonstrates our impact on teacher preparation and K-12,” Conley said. “We are among only three or four other similar kinds of state organizations for reading professors in the nation.”

The group initially formed last December after meeting at MSU. They officially incorporated as a formal organization recently, and plan to reach out to other state education groups to form relationships around similar issues and interests.

Vice president of the group is Jim Cipielewski, an associate professor from Oakland University, and the secretary is Nancy Patterson, an MSU graduate and associate professor at Grand Valley State University.

For more information about the group: http://www.readingprofessors.org.