As a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association (IRA) and as member of the Literacy, Language and Culture faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I am honored to have been appointed by Executive Director William Harvey to represent IRA as leader of the Literacy and Reading Education Delegation to Israel this October.   In cooperation with NGOs throughout Israel, this delegation has been developed to foster one-on-one dialogue with leading Israeli education professionals focused on reading education and literacy.  This delegation will convene in Tel Aviv on October 23, 2010. In your role as a team member of the IRA Delegation, you will represent our organization, and educators throughout the United States. This IRA sponsored project is a partnership between IRA and Academic Travel Abroad.

This delegation represents IRA’s first partnership with Academic Professionals, providing opportunities for IRA members to connect with professional colleagues in Israel.  The delegation activities reflect a dual purpose.  First, and perhaps most obviously, it provides a window through which IRA members can deepen their understanding of literacy education in Israel.  Second, through observation and analysis of literacy education in a different context, the experience provides an opportunity through comparison and contrast to reflect on literacy education practices in our home countries.

As members of the delegation, you will have the opportunity to interact with Israeli educators in a variety of positions (e.g., governmental ministry of education, university- and teachers-college based professionals, educators in primary through secondary schools).  Key areas of emphasis include:  (a) literacy teacher preparation and professional development, (b) successful approaches to literacy instruction, (c) research on literacy teaching and learning, and (d) creating coherence in the literacy curriculum.

Following the delegation’s return, a journal documenting the professional meetings and activities will be provided to each participant.  The opportunity to give a professional presentation as part of your participation can also be accommodated as part of the professional program and as compliment to the topics of discussion.

Our delegation will depart for Tel Aviv, Israel on October 22, 2010, returning to the United States on October 30, 2010. We will meet with our counterparts, participate in intimate dialogue, social events and experience the rich culture of Israel during our eight day program.  We will visit Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tiberias, and Jerusalem.

The logistical arrangements for this program will be coordinated by Washington, DC- based Professionals Abroad, a division of Academic Travel Abroad, a 60-year-old organization that handles the logistical arrangements for prestigious organizations, such as the National Geographic Society, The Smithsonian Institution, The American Museum of Natural History and many top universities.

I encourage you to invite a companion to share this unique experience with you. A parallel program focused on the culture of Israel will be arranged for your accompanying guest while you attend the professional sessions. Activities for guests will include visits to historical and cultural sites for an opportunity to explore many aspects of Israeli culture and customs. An optional excursion, after the main program, will take participating delegates and guests to Jordan to visit the historic ruins of Petra.