We are honored to have the Louisiana Department of Education’s Executive Director of Literacy, Shanna Beber, join us as our keynote speaker to talk about Louisiana’s literacy transformation.

Ms. Beber has spearheaded a statewide initiative at the Louisiana Department of Education’s Literacy Division to strengthen English literacy across the state.

This initiative has created real momentum for evidence-based reading instruction, including Louisiana students having the fastest growing reading scores in the country in 2026.

The focus on high-quality literacy instruction has the potential to expand beyond English teaching spaces; many of us in language teaching hope to translate that momentum in English literacy into progress in world languages.

In her keynote, Ms. Beber will share lessons from the state’s English literacy initiatives, the broader vision behind them, and how world language fits into that vision.