CCIRA April Newsletter 2021
A Message from CCIRA President,
Jessica Rickert

Changes


The conference cancellation precipitated changes for the rest of the fiscal year for CCIRA. Two major changes that are in effect immediately are the suspension of all grants and awards with the exception of the Nancy Fox Family Literacy, Teacher as Reader and Teacher as Writer grants, and the Colorado Children’s Book Award. Funding grants and awards, as well as supporting councils, is a major part of our mission and vision. However, because we do not have income from the conference the Board of Directors decided that we needed to make major cuts in order to keep the functions of CCIRA up and running. Basically we needed to resort to a "bare bones" budget, but keep the lights on for our organization.

In April the CCIRA Leadership and Board of Directors will evaluate all of the grants and awards and determine what will be funded for the 2021-2022 fiscal year in an effort to continue being fiscally responsible. 

Additionally, the CCIRA leadership is currently reviewing the policies and bylaws of CCIRA to make updates and improve the function of the organization. Next month we will share those changes and send out a voting form to all members to vote on the changes in the bylaws. 
CCIRA Conference 2022!
Do you have ideas you are willing to share with other educators? If so, please consider presenting at CCIRA 2022. Proposals are being accepted through May 15, 2021. 
Meet the Executive Committee!
Every month we will introduce you to one of the leaders on the Executive Committee to help you get to know this part of the CCIRA leadership better.
Emily Goldenstein
Emily is currently serving on the Executive Committee as the Marketing Chair. She has been involved with CCIRA for four years starting out as the vice president of Windsor Council. In her professional life Emily has taught for five years as a fifth grade teacher. Emily is a Nebraska Husker fan who watches her team every Saturday in the fall. She also enjoys running, cooking, being a dog mom to a german shepherd and long walks through Target. 
Remember to check out the CCIRA Blog!

Reading CCIRA.blog every week—perhaps over lunch or a cup of coffee—builds a quick dose of professional learning into your routine. Who knows what ideas or inspiration this might spark!

CCIRA.blog features a wide variety of nationally renowned literacy experts, as well as talented practitioners from across Colorado. Check out the posts on https://ccira.blog/


If you might be interested in submitting a guest post to CCIRA.blog, please contact Hollyanna Bates (hollyannabates@gmail.com).
CCIRA and the local councils have resources, podcasts, and events for you to access!
https://cciraliteracyconversations.simplecast.com/  
Click on....CCIRA Reads to find out how you can get involved in an amazing book study!
Shop Year Round!
Make sure you check out the Shop With Scrip website and do some shopping online for a gift
card.... and benefit CCIRA
at the same time! *
Do you buy gift cards for your friends and family? Give a card to Starbucks or Amazon as a thank you to your favorite aunt? What if at the same time you could support CCIRA without spending an extra cent? That’s what you can do now by participating with Shop with Scrip, an online fundraising site. Since 1994, ShopWithScrip has been supporting schools and other non-profits in this unique way to fundraise. Just buy a gift card at one of the 750 retailers and know that a percentage is sent to CCIRA. It’s an easy way to support our work with literacy while you shop. For more information, visit https://www.shopwithscrip.com/ and then sign up to become a supporter of our organization.

When you are ready to make your purchase please use this enrollment number:
 A34A3B6D69223  

*CCIRA endorse this fundraising activity.
Valuable information for educators like you!
Coming soon!
A chance to hear a presentation by Brian Cambourne on June 12, 2021. Look for details in the May Communicator and on the CCIRA Facebook page

CCIRA Executive Committee

Jessica Rickert, President: jessrccira@gmail.com
Pam Minard, President-Elect: pam.minard@gmail.com
Christi Walker, Vice President: christimwalker@gmail.com
Anne Cook, Immediate Past President: annecook59@gmail.com
Michele Warner, State Coordinator:
warnermichele4@gmail.com
Corina Kaskey, Secretary: Corina.Kaskey@summitk12.org
Jessie Meeks, State Membership Coordinator: jessie.meeks@jeffco.k12.co.us
Emily Bradley, Marketing Coordinator: emily.bradley@weldre4.org
Stevi Quate, Partnership Chair: steviq@gmail.com
Cathy Lynskey, Treasurer: clynskey2000@gmail.com
Lisa Kahn, Administrative Assistant: lisakahnccira@gmail.com
Is your local council, state committee, school, or community doing something extraordinary for literacy in Colorado? Do you have a great idea to share with other educators on how to enhance literacy in the classroom? Do you know of a conference or event that CCIRA members might be interested in attending? If so, please contact Anne Cook (annecook59@gmail.com) to submit information for publication.