In The Literacy Principal in Action: Supporting Learners of All Ages, Karen Szymusiak takes you into her world of daily teaching, learning, and professional conversations about literacy at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio. It is here where Karen works as a principal, guiding her colleagues and children in thoughtful, focused, and inspiring initiatives to improve literacy achievement and build lifelong reading and writing habits in children. The 80-minute video includes examples of:

Monthly literacy discussion groups at the primary and intermediate levels;
Grade-level teaching conversations about book choice and independent reading;
Ongoing analysis of children targeted for extra observation and support;
Primary and intermediate class vignettes of reading synthesis and word choice lessons;
Conferring with individual teachers about struggling students and writer's notebook programs; and
Clarifying the role of the principal as curriculum leader.

Through interviews with teachers and Karen, viewers see how the daily work of a principal who provides time, resources, and support for literacy innovation can build a vibrant school-wide literacy community.

Karen Szymusiak is the co-author (with Franki Sibberson) of many books and videos on literacy instruction, including Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop (Scholastic, 2008) and Still Learning to Read (Stenhouse, 2003). She is the founding principal at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio, and has worked previously as a classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator, and staff developer.