First Annual Southwest Administrator Literacy Day

Sw Administrator Literacy Day

Hosted By the Mebane Early Literacy Center

Monday, June 23, 2025

9:00-3:30

Mebane Hall at UNC Charlotte

Schedule at a Glance

Purpose: Provide school administrators with opportunities to build content knowledge about the science of reading, identify classroom practices using look fors, collaborate on real-world issues, start initial planning, and network with other administrators.

Strand 1: Bridging Literacy Research to Action will be led by Drs. Miranda Fitzgerald, Tisha Greene, and Angela Preston (MELC) and focus on language comprehension and application.

Strand 2: Literacy for Leaders will be led by Mary Derfel (NC DPI) and focus on an introduction to the science of reading (SOR) and early literacy in NC.

Parking: Park in the Union Deck visitors lot – parking passes will be distributed before you leave.

Walking: Park in the top level of the Union Deck. Walk across the bridge into the Student Union. Walk through the hallway to the front doors (Starbucks will be on your right). Head out the front doors, down the stairs, and cross the street. Mebane Hall is the building on the right. The registration table will be in the atrium on the main floor.

Keynote Speaker – Dr. Munro Richardson

Dr. Munro Richardson is Executive Director of Read Charlotte, a community initiative that unites families, educators, and community partners with the goal of improving third grade reading proficiency in Mecklenburg County to 80%.

Munro joined Read Charlotte as the founding Executive Director in 2015. He has worked in philanthropy for most of the past 20 years. He has received local and national recognition for his efforts at Read Charlotte. Richardson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors, master’s degrees from both Harvard University, where he was a Mellon Fellow, and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He is co-author with Samantha Cleaver of Read With Me: Engaging Your Young Child in Active Reading, published by Rowman & Littlefield in November 2018.

Guest Presenter – Mary Derfel

Mary Stanley Derfel serves in the NC DPI Office of Early Learning as the Early Literacy Coordinator.  Mary’s 21 years of educational experience include serving as a classroom teacher, a curriculum facilitator, an instructional coach, and as a literacy consultant for the NC Department of Public Instruction. Currently, she serves as the Literacy Coordinator in the Office of Early Learning. She received her bachelor’s degree in Human Relations from High Point University and then completed a Master’s in Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Curriculum and Instruction. In 2008, Mary earned National Board Certification in Literacy: Early and Middle Childhood and renewed this certification in 2018. She is passionate about empowering principals, coaches, and teachers with knowledge of evidence based instructional practices that positively impact literacy achievement and life outcomes for all students.