Reflections on Literacy

Dear NCRA Family,

As my time as President of the North Carolina Reading Association comes to a close, I find myself holding deep gratitude for this organization, this work, and the people who continue to make literacy advocacy in North Carolina not only possible, but powerful.

Serving as NCRA President has been one of the great honors of my professional life. This year, we leaned into a charge that matters deeply: Educate. Advocate. Empower. Those words were more than a conference theme. They became a call to action. They reminded us that literacy is not simply a classroom priority or an instructional initiative. Literacy is access. Literacy is opportunity. Literacy is voice. Literacy is power.

Across this year, I have been continually inspired by the educators, leaders, families, community partners, and literacy advocates who show up for children with both urgency and hope. At a time when public education asks so much of teachers and students, NCRA continues to be a place where we can come together, learn together, and remind one another why this work matters.

I am especially proud of the ways we have continued to center advocacy as part of our professional responsibility. To be a literacy educator is not only to teach reading and writing. It is also to speak up for the conditions, resources, policies, and support that make meaningful literacy learning possible for every child in every community across our state.

As I pass the gavel forward, I do so with confidence and joy. NCRA is strong because its members are strong. Our councils, committees, board members, and volunteers continue to give their time, talent, creativity, and care to this organization. You are the heartbeat of NCRA, and your commitment ensures that this work will continue to grow.

Thank you for trusting me to serve. Thank you for pushing my thinking, sharing your wisdom, and walking alongside me in this season of leadership. I leave this role with a full heart and a renewed belief in what is possible when literacy-minded people come together with purpose.

May we continue to educate with skill, advocate with courage, and empower with love.

In service,

Heidi Davis Perez
President, 2025-2026

Greetings,

I am excited about the upcoming year, with deep gratitude and respect for the educators, students, leaders, and advocates who make up our community. At a time when the world feels both full of possibility and uncertainty, our shared commitment to literacy matters more than ever. Literacy is not only the ability to read and write—it is the capacity to make meaning, to think critically, to connect with others, and to participate fully in a complex and changing world. In its essence, literacy is an act of hope and power.

This year, we are guided by the theme Literacy for a Reimagined World: Innovation and Humanity. I created this theme because we are at a pivotal moment in our world. As innovation continues to reshape how we learn, communicate, and create, we are called to consider how these shifts can deepen, not diminish, our humanity. Together, let’s explore practices that honor both the enduring power of language and the generative artificial intelligence possibilities before us. Let’s design ways to engage our learners to be imaginative, curious, and caring. In every classroom, library, and community across North Carolina, literacy remains the thread that connects knowledge with empathy, and innovation with purpose.

I look forward to the year ahead with a strong sense of opportunity and possibility. NCRA will continue to support educators through professional learning, collaboration, and advocacy, while also inviting us to think expansively about what literacy can be and who it can serve.

Literacy is important. I believe that it helps illuminate not only what we know and do, but who we are becoming.

Let’s go!

Hiller A. Spires
NCRA President, 2026-2027

Do you have great ideas to share with our membership across the state? Please consider submitting a book review, teaching strategy, or local council event information to be included in our next newsletter!

This helps broaden the audience of your local council's events, AND it is something you can use as an artifact when looking at our educator evaluation tool in NCEES...looks great on your PDP!

Use this Google Form to submit your ideas. Please reach out to Emily Golightly if you have questions. (ncradigitalmedia@gmail.com)

As long as I can remember, books have been my friend. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina and being a first generation college student in my family, I turned to books to escape boredom and tensions in my household, as well as to imagine who I might become beyond my immediate circumstances. At an early age I actively sought out ways to be around books. For example, in elementary school, I befriended Mrs. Hucks, the librarian, where she let me work with her after school to shelve the books that students and teachers had returned to our small library that day. Being able to touch the books, imagine what each was about, and place them in their rightful place within the library brought a sense of order, civility and power to my young mind. And it made me want to read as many books as I could–and imagine how one day I could possibly be a librarian just like Mrs. Hucks.

Before I started school, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. She was not a reader of books but she was adamant that I knew my letters and how to sound out words before starting school. I also recall seeing my father through a crack in the bedroom door reading books in the middle of the night. When I asked him why he did that, he said he had insomnia and reading helped him relax so he could go back to sleep. I never saw him read a book during the day or heard him talk about what he was reading. But I think the visual of him reading in bed at night with a small light so as not to disturb my mother somehow bestowed a curiosity and possibly a legitimacy for the act of reading for me at an early age. I recall setting a goal of reading all of the books in our elementary school library–starting with the fiction section with authors whose last names began with A. Although I did not accomplish that goal before I left elementary school for middle school, the excitement that I felt thinking that it just might be possible is still palpable today.

My early experience of learning to read without great challenge combined with a quiet love for books created a foundation for successfully navigating the public school system–graduating from high school, college, and later graduate school. It was this love of reading and wanting others to share in my joy that led me to a 36-year career as a literacy professor at NC State University. Books and the capacity to read them have functioned as a type of grounding throughout life's ups and downs. Just as a good friend stays by our side through challenging situations, a good book offers comfort, solace and familiarity that we can rely on with the confidence that we will not be judged or turned away.

As I step into the role of President of the North Carolina Reading Association, I am guided by a simple truth: reading can help us understand who we are and imagine who we might become. Through our work in NCRA, we have the responsibility and the privilege, among many other things, to help make that possibility real for each learner.

Photo by Kourosh Qaffari on Unsplash

Upcoming PD alert! Register now so you don't miss it!

Thanks to all who helped us celebrate our state Young Authors winners in March! We are excited to share our 2026-2027 YA theme: Literacy for a Reimagined World: Innovation and Humanity.

To learn more, join us at our Summer Leadership Institute July 17th at the Friday Institute. The committee has been hard at work creating resources for this theme and they can't wait to share more with you soon!

Questions?

Contact Information for State Young Authors & Illustrators Committee

Matthew Lococo, Greene County Schools

Elizabeth Landry, Ed.D. UNC Pembroke

Andy Cason, Parent Advocate

Savannah Bowman, Teacher, Hillside High School

youngauthorsncra@gmail.com

Click the image to the right to view the awards information presentation. Please reach out to Shane Fletcher with additional questions. We will discuss the guidelines and deadlines further at our Summer Leadership Institute. We hope you can join us!

Our very own Tonnye Fletcher--longtime NCRA member, volunteer, and friend--has her first picture book available for pre-order on Amazon! The official release date is May 26th, 2026, and we are SO incredibly proud of our dear friend for all the blood, sweat, and tears she has poured into becoming a published author. We cannot wait to get our copies signed when the book is released in Spring 2026. Congrats, Tonnye! (Click the book cover to pre-order your own copy.)

By: Kelly Yang

Publisher: Berkley

Published: 4/14/2026

Pages: 368
Audio: 10 hours, 35 minutes

Reviewer: Emily Golightly

If you're an avid reader like me, you may find yourself feeling like a lot of books sound the same, or feel the same, or use the same old tropes, but I can safely say that I have never read anything quite like Kelly Yang's The Take. For those of you who teach elementary grades or have elementary-aged children, you may know Kelly's work from her debut novel, Front Desk, garnering a Newbery Award AND being featured on the NC Elementary Battle of the Books list. She's gone on to extend that book into a series, and has now written over 15 books for children, teens, and adults.

Her work often centers around diverse characters and their stories, and she doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, which I appreciate, but she also delivers a great story in a way that is appropriate for a child audience. I wondered what I would think of her jumping into a novel for adults, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised (and a little shocked!) by just how different it is from her middle grades books. If you want a book with drama, career struggles, marital woes, family issues, etc., this has ALL of that.

HOWEVER, it also features two characters who trade their blood in an experimental transfusion process that has the power to make one character younger (by ten years or more), and the donor character older (by ten years or more), based on science first tested in lab rats, and never tested before on women. So that begs the question--if YOU could make millions of dollars donating your blood to someone to help make them younger, but it would essentially take a decade or more of your life away, would you do it? Can you put a value on ten years of your life? I won't say any more than that, because I want you to read it and see for yourself!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

By: Wally Lamb

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 6/10/2025

Pages: 480
Audio: 14 hours, 40 minutes

Reviewer: Emily Golightly

Trigger Warnings: Child death, addiction, rape, abuse, death, suicide, and a whole host of issues with the US Justice System

I feel like I need to preface this review by saying that this book won't be for everyone. After I finished it and wrote this review, I had multiple people reach out to me and tell me they just couldn't finish it--that it was too difficult a read--too upsetting, but I have to say, I thought it was masterfully written. (Any fans of "Principal Lamb" on social media out there? This is his father, which I thought was a neat connection.)

This book does deal with some VERY upsetting subject matter, and it is pretty much heartbreaking from top to bottom, but I am still thankful I read it. The author shines a light on the inequalities that exist in our US justice system, as well as the struggles many families face with addiction. Although the story was absolutely heartbreaking, and I cried multiple times while reading it, there were surprisingly hopeful moments and places where both the best and the worst of humanity shone through. It was deeply thought-provoking, but a challenging read, emotionally.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

By: Rob Harrell

Publisher: Dial Books

Published: 09/03/2024

Pages: 288
Audio: 4 hours, 4 minutes

Reviewer: Emily Golightly

I just HAVE to tell you about this book that you need you read if you haven't already. It is on our NC Elementary Battle of the Books list for next school year. Popcorn by Rob Harrell is a must read!

It is all about this kid named Andrew who is dealing with anxiety and having a supremely crummy day (think Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, but amped up to 11 and set in middle school), and the book does a fantastic job of explaining and illustrating what panic attacks and anxiety can feel like, as well as walking through (in some detail) ways to calm your mind when anxiety builds. I cannot recommend it highly enough and think it could be hugely beneficial for many kiddos struggling with big feelings, family issues, and the trials of middle school. I have already enthusiastically recommended it to my school counselor friends, but anyone with a kid in upper elementary through middle school would probably enjoy reading this with their own children as well.

I appreciate this book and this author for highlighting mental health, normalizing struggle, and showing kids that it's okay not to have everything figured out, and that everyone needs help sometimes. This book was a well-deserved winner of the Schneider Family Book Award. Check it out!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hi, I'm Hiller Spires, President for NCRA and member of the Raleigh-Wake Reading Council. I am Executive Director and Professor Emerita at North Carolina State University, where I was the founding director for the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and a literacy professor for 36 years. Before coming to NC, I was a high school English teacher and an academic counselor at the University of South Carolina. During my time at NC State's College of Education, I worked extensively with teachers as I helped direct the New Literacies and Global Learning master's degree, which included licensure in K-12 Reading. I also conducted research on digital, disciplinary and global literacies with diverse learners; and Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global using the UNC Sustainable Development Goals. My most recent book was co-edited with Dr. Shea Kerkhoff and is titled Critical Perspectives in Global Literacies: Bridging Research and Practice (published by Routledge in 2023). I also recently created Margie’s Books, which provides books to underserved educational communities.

My husband, Tom Lee, and I enjoy traveling and spending time with our amazing son, Gabriel Lee, who is 25 years old. I also enjoy creating non-representational paintings using acrylics and mixed media. I am very excited to work with everyone to support literacy across the great state of NC.

Email: haspires@ncsu.edu
Facebook: Hiller Spires

Twitter/X: @haspires

Hi! I'm Shane, the President-Elect of NCRA and Area Director for the Southeast Region, and I have been married for 36 years to Tonnye Williams Fletcher. I've been teaching for twenty-three years, and I am currently at Central Middle School in Whiteville, NC (7th Grade ELA). I have my PhD in Curriculum & Instruction -Literacy from NC State and my MAEd - Reading Specialist from UNCP. We live/work on Country Corners Farm in Chadbourn, NC (Home of NC’s only Sugarcane Maze!). We have 2 cats (Sparkles and Dusty) and 1 Turtle (Blinky). I have been an NCRA Area Director for 14 years. I am also the current Vice President of Columbus Council of NCRA

Email: mfletcher@whiteville.k12.nc.us

Twitter: @docfletch2016

Facebook: Shane Fletcher

Instagram: @shaeginarrowmaker

Hello, all! My name is Erin West, and I am an educator, literacy scholar, and advocate committed to equitable, research-informed literacy teaching and learning. I serve at Appalachian State University, where I support teacher learning, rural education partnerships, and educator development.

With experience spanning early childhood, elementary, secondary, and higher education, I bring a practice-grounded perspective to literacy education and leadership. My work focuses on literacy development, teacher empowerment, early childhood education, and relational approaches to teaching and learning.

I am the editor of Former Educators’ Roles in Supporting Student Growth and Learning (IGI Global, 2025) and have authored numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed publications. My research appears in Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor and the International Journal of Self-Directed Learning. I have presented at professional conferences, including the North Carolina Reading Association, with a focus on literacy and teacher learning.

In addition to my scholarly work, I direct the WEUMC Summer Reading Program, a community-based initiative that supports children’s reading engagement, confidence, and growth. In every setting, I am committed to nurturing curiosity, empowering educators, and advocating for rich, inclusive literacy opportunities for every child.
Email: westek@appstate.edu

Hello! My name is Heidi and I am a Literacy Integration Specialist for Durham Public Schools. I have served students and teachers as a public educator, advocate, instructional coach and leader for over 30 years. My passion centers on literacy learning because literacy is the key to agency and active citizenship for ALL students. To this end, I have served on the executive board of the Texas Council of Teachers of English, initiated service-learning partnerships with St. Lawrence County BOCES, co-founded the Bull City Literacy Council, co-founded the NC Literacy Leaders Collaborative, and served as the Vice President for the North Carolina Reading Association. I am currently studying for my Ph.D. in Leadership Studies at North Carolina A & T University. #AggiePride

Email: heidi_perez@dpsnc.net

My name is Amanda McCall and I am going into my 21st year in education. I am the Membership Director for NCRA. This is my first leadership role for NCRA and I am still learning about it all the time. Currently, I am a Media Coordinator at Morehead City Primary School in Carteret County, NC. In the past, however, I have been a second grade, third grade, and Academically/Intellectually Gifted (AIG) teacher. This past year, I have spent a lot of time converting an old school bus to a book mobile- Title Wave. This has been a passion project of mine and just had its maiden voyage in June of 2023.

I am a mother of two- a college freshman at NC State and a high school sophomore, so we stay busy! I have been married for 20 years to my husband, Rick. I love traveling and would do so much more of it if I had the money. One of the ways I travel for lower costs is by signing on with teacher groups to learn and travel at the same time. I try to stay active and am a runner. While not a competitive runner, I enjoy doing team relays such as the "Blue Ridge Relay" in September with a group of fellow runner friends who are also gluttons for punishment. I play beach volleyball during the summer. I enjoy reading, going to concerts and plays, and spending time with family and friends when I can!

Facebook: Amanda Ruffin McCall

Title Wave Book Mobile

Email: amanda.mccall@carteretk12.org

Twitter: @amccalleducates

Website: Coming soon!

My name is Shannon Lawrence and I serve as the secretary for NCRA. I also serve on the board for my local reading council GCRA (Greater Cabarrus Reading Association). I am an AIG teacher at W.R. Odell Elementary School in Cabarrus County and will be entering my 20th year of teaching this fall. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my husband Ryan and our two children Carrigan (10th grade) and Noah (5th grade). Some of my favorite activities are cooking, reading, exercising, attending church, going out on our boat and relaxing by the pool.

Email: shannon.lawrence@cabarrus.k12.nc.us

My name is Andrew Walker and I serve as the treasurer for NCRA. I have been in NCRA as a part of Robeson Reading Council back in 2014 and currently with Columbus Council since 2016. I have held the position of treasurer for my council since 2021. I’m a community member, as I worked in financial services and I’m currently working in healthcare. I have many talents and gifts to share with my fellow members at the local level and state level.

Email: treasurerncrainc@gmail.com; anw6494@gmail.com

HI! I am Matthew Lococo and am a 6th-12th grade Instructional Coach for Greene County Schools in Snow Hill, NC where I serve as the Literacy Coordinator for Secondary grades. 2026 marks my 21st year in education, I have been a Middle School and High School Teacher, Principal, Assistant Principal, and a Director for a Charter School. I graduated from Robert Morris University with a BA in Social Science in 2004 and a MS in Instructional Leadership in 2005. I completed my K-12 Principal's License at ECU in 2009. I completed my Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Gardner-Webb University in 2019 and most recently completed my Masters in History at UNCW in 2025. I became a certified ISTE Certified Teacher in 2025. In the summer of 2026, I began my Doctoral Journey at East Carolina University (Go Pirates!) .

I have served on the YA Committee the past 2 years and am excited to continue in a leadership role with NCRA. In addition to my role in NCRA, I had the privilege of participating in the GO Global NC Teacher Leader trip to Botswana and Zambia in 2026. When I am not at school, I am teaching adult ESL Learners as an Adjunct Teacher at Lenoir Community College, and teaching American History at Craven Community College.

My most important title is "Dad and Husband". I am the proud father of 4 children (Sara, 18, Stephen, 17, Carlee, 12, and Caitlyn, 11). I have been married to my amazing wife Susan for 19 years. I am a proud member of Tanglewood Church of God where I serve actively as a small group leader, sing in the choir and lead the theatre lighting ministry. I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers!) but have called Eastern North Carolina home for the past 20 years.

Email: matthewlococo@greene.k12.nc.us

Hello! My name is Jean, and I graduated from NC State with a degree in secondary English education and taught in the Wake County Public School system for 5 years before returning to NC State to work on my masters. While there, I taught freshman English for two years. I then worked for The News & Observer in the Newspapers in Education department for the next 27 years. I retired in 2010 to become a granny nanny for my daughter's boy/girl newborn twins. Thinking I would be keeping two babies, I got a big surprise when their little brother Jack was born a year and a week later. I've been keeping them ever since, first full-time, then once they were in school, after school and during the summers. I also help my son and his wife with their three little ones whenever I can.

I've been involved in the NC Reading Association since the mid 1980s, first with the Raleigh/Wake Council, and then as an officer in the state association. I served as NCRA president from 2006-07 and have been working as the Executive Assistant since 2007. In that role, I am responsible for planning the yearly conference. I spend my spare time reading, gardening, watching my grandsons' baseball games, and traveling.

Hi! My name is Emily Golightly. I am a native of Carteret County on the coast of North Carolina, and I am now raising my own family here. I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Jim, for twenty-two years. We have a twenty-year-old and a seventeen-year-old who keep us busy!

I received my bachelor's degree from East Carolina University in Elementary Education, and I also have my reading certification in grades K-12 and my TESL certification in grades K-12. I completed my master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language through UNCW, and obtained a second master's degree in Media and Library Sciences (MLS) through Appalachian State University. As a school librarian, I also serve on the board of our state's librarian organization, NCSLMA, as the parliamentarian. I was honored to be selected as the 2024-2025 NC School Librarian of the Year. This is my 23rd year in education. I'm so excited to be a part of NCRA, and I look forward to working with each of you to promote literacy across the state!

Email: ncradigitalmedia@gmail.com; ncreadingwebmaster@gmail.com
Website: bit.ly/golightlyreads
Facebook: facebook.com/emilyg143
Twitter: @EmilyGolightly3

Hi! I'm Tonya Bailey, and I am the Area Director for the Mountains Region, as well as the Blue Ridge Reading Council Past President. I am a retired teacher as of 2022, with 31 years of experience. I have been married for 33 years to my husband, Tony, and we have a wonderful daughter, Allison, who is 20 years old.

We have three pets: am American Bulldog, a Netherland Dwarf bunny, and a Leopard Gecko. My hobbies are reading and shopping. My new business after retirement is Bailey's Bag Boutique on Facebook. I have also been a Mary Kay Consultant for 25 years.

Email: tbailey@burke.k12.nc.us

Hello! I'm Barb, and I am originally from Buffalo- GO Bills! I have degrees in Criminal Justice, Elementary Education and Reading Specialist. I've married an Army officer 41 years ago in Baumholder, Germany. We have two children. My son works for the NC Superintendent of Public Instruction and my daughter is a history teacher in Salisbury. I have three beautiful granddaughters. I taught in 15 different schools in Buffalo, Germany, Ft. Knox, KY, Charleston, Alexandria, VA, Ft. Hood, TX, and Mechanicsburg, PA. We moved to Concord, NC in 1999 when my husband retired from the Army and I taught first grade and then became the first reading specialist at Cannon School for 20 years. I left Cannon in 2020 and moved to Charleston after 40 years of teaching.

I have been a member of NCRA and GCRA since 1999, and I've been membership chair, treasurer, president and YA chair for GCRA. I have been an Area Director three separate times ( total of 9 years) and was the NCRA state coordinator for 6 years. My hobbies (besides reading) include sewing and crafting. I have run an American Girl camp for the last 20 years which allows me use my interests.

Email: barbgcra@gmail.com

Facebook: Barbara Falkenbury

Instagram: @barb_book_reader

This position is vacant. If you're interested in stepping into a leadership position at the state level and live in the Piedmont Central region, please reach out to a board member to get more information! We would love to have you join us!

This position is vacant. If you're interested in stepping into a leadership position at the state level and live in the Southeast region, please reach out to Shane Fletcher (who's serving in an interim capacity) to get more information! We would love to have you join us!

Email: mfletcher@whiteville.k12.nc.us

Twitter: @docfletch2016

Facebook: Shane Fletcher

Instagram: @shaeginarrowmaker

Hi! My name is Vicki Abbott-Stain. I am the current NCRA Area Director for the Coastal Region and have held this position for the past five years. I retired from Craven County Schools in 2017 after thirty one years as an elementary teacher. I have taught Kindergarten through Fourth grade and several years as a Title 1 Reading teacher. Since retirement, I have been a full-time substitute teacher in Craven County.

I am one of the original charter members of Twin Rivers Reading Council founded in 1987. I am also a past president of the Council and have held many positions on the board. I have been the chairman for Reading Fun Day at the mall project for the past ten years.

I look forward to working with you all this year. You may contact me at (252)-349-4510 or email me at poohbear13@suddenlink.net.