Community Literacy Conference

The annual CLiF Community Literacy Conference, designed around broad themes connecting to literacy, offers the chance for personal learning combined with meaningful connection. Most importantly, this conference is based around the JOY of reading and writing! That is what CLiF is all about and what we hope to inspire in this conference.

Date: March 26, 2026
Location: Fireside Inn in West Lebanon, NH
Keynote Speaker: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Registration: https://CLiFconference2026.eventbrite.com

We invite all CLiF partners – librarians, teachers, school staff, administrators, out-of-school time providers, early educators, informal educators, mentors, supporters, and other friends of CLiF. Certificates of professional development will be provided upon request after completion of the conference.

The 2026 conference will include all the beloved aspects of the CLiF Community Literacy Conference:

• Presentations with ideas you can use in your classroom, learning space, or library with opportunities to share with the group and ask questions of the presenters and attendees.
• Low-cost registration fee to make this professional development opportunity accessible to all.
• High-quality presenters who offer a wonderful mix of experience.

Cost is $75/person including breakfast and lunch. Scholarships are available; email Cassie (cassie@clifonline.org) to request a comp code. All are welcome and we want to ensure access for everyone regardless of cost.

Interested in staying at the Fireside Inn on Thursday night? The discounted rate is $119.95 plus tax, per night (based on single/double occupancy). Call 603-298-5900 and ask for the CLiF room block to reserve.

2026 Agenda*

• 9-9:30: Arrival, check-in, breakfast
• 9:30-9:45: CLiF announcements and news
• 9:45-10:45: Panel discussion with authors, illustrators, and storytellers
• 10:45-11: Coffee/tea break & stretch your legs
• 11-12: Keynote with Jarrett J. Krosoczka
• 12-1: Book sales & signing with Jarrett + lunch
• 1-1:45: Breakout Workshops 1
  • Clap your hands, Stomp your feet! Bring Rhythm and Music into Reading Time! – Anna Adler, CLiF Presenter and Musician
    • Young children are drawn to music and movement and eagerly respond to rhythm and song. Music and singing play a powerful role in young children’s brain and early literacy development. Given this, music provides a joyful bridge to books and reading in the early childhood years. In this workshop, methods to integrate music into “read aloud time” will be shared. We will look at “read aloud” books that can be read with a simple “beat.”  We will hear books that have their origins in children’s songs and can be “sung or chanted aloud.” You do not need to be a singer or musician to participate! Together we will discover new ways to engage young children (ages 0-5) and help them connect to the magic of books and reading. 
  • Wild Scientist Book and Journal Club – Susie Spikol and Jaime Hutchinson, Naturalists at the Harris Center for Conservation Education
    • Join naturalists Jaime Hutchinson and Susie Spikol as they share ideas, activities, and inspiration drawn from their popular elementary school nature journaling/book club at the Jaffrey Public Library. Discover how to build nature-connections through literacy, art, and hands-on science. Find out tips and best practices for taking children outside, using nature journals, and developing the ability to observe and pay close attention to the natural world.
  • Working Smarter with AI in Children’s Services – Bobbi Lee Slossar, Technology Resources Librarian with the NH State Library.
    • Children’s librarians juggle planning, promotion, programming, and documentation—often with limited time and staffing. This presentation demonstrates how AI can support everyday children’s services work, from outlining story times and lesson plans to drafting marketing copy and organizing large-scale programs. Participants will also see creative applications, such as generating original rhymes, music, and coloring pages that can be customized for specific themes and age groups.
• 2-2:45: Breakout Workshops 2
  • Building a Culture of Literacy via Family Engagement – Panel Discussion
    • Learn from past and current CLiF Year of the Book grant coordinators as to how their elementary schools have been able to build and foster a culture of literacy through their CLiF grant, as well as successful family engagements strategies and events focused around literacy.
  • Joyful Word Play – Kendra Totman Padilla, M.Ed., Structured Literacy Coach, Stern Center for Language and Learning
    • Children’s earliest experiences with literacy are rooted in the meaningful work of play. Early childhood educators, librarians, and caregivers have a unique opportunity to enrich children’s play with games and activities that support future reading success. In this workshop, participants will explore how foundational early literacy skills, such as phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle, can be intentionally taught through play-based learning. When children are encouraged from an early age to play with words, letters, and sounds, they enter school viewing reading as a joyful and engaging experience.
  • Leveraging Nonfiction in the K-6 Classroom & School Library  – Dr. Mary Ann Cappiello, Professor of Language & Literacy at Lesley University
    • While nonfiction writing is often misunderstood as “just the hard facts,” this exciting and innovative genre captures young readers’ interests and passions. Within K-6 classrooms and school libraries, nonfiction can be utilized for a range of instructional purposes, from teaching foundational reading skills to informational literacy to multimodal composition and more. This session will explore the use of nonfiction in classrooms using the 2023 National Council of Teachers of English Position Statement on the Role of Nonfiction in the K-12 classroom as a framework.  
• 2:45-3: Wrap-up and Book Raffle

*Agenda is subject to change. Please note that we are unable to accommodate any special dietary requests; gluten-free and vegetarian options will be available.

2026 Keynote Speaker: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

​​​​​Jarrett J. Krosoczka, known since boyhood as “JJK,” is the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator behind more than forty books for young readers, including his wildly popular Lunch Lady graphic novels, select volumes of the Star Wars™: Jedi Academy series, and Hey, Kiddo, which was a National Book Award Finalist. Krosoczka creates books with humor, heart, and deep respect for his young readers—qualities that have made his titles perennial favorites on the bookshelves of homes, libraries, and bookstores over the past twenty years. 

In addition to his work in print, Krosoczka produced, directed, and performed in the full-cast audiobook adaptations of his graphic novels. The Hey, Kidoo audiobook garnered both Audie and Odyssey Awards for excellence in audiobook production. The Lunch Lady audiobook, led by Kate Flannery (The Office), garnered an Odyssey Honor.

Krosoczka has been a guest on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross,profiled in The New York Times, featured on Good Morning America, and delivered three captivating TED Talks that have accrued millions of online views. Krosoczka garners millions more views online monthly via the tutorials he produces for YouTube and TikTok.  As well as working on his books’ film and television adaptions, Krosoczka has also written for The Snoopy Show (Apple TV+) and served as a consultant for Creative Galaxy (Prime Video), and appeared in live segments for the show.

Realizing his books can inspire young readers beyond the page, Krosoczka founded School Lunch Hero Day, a national campaign celebrating school lunch staff. A consummate advocate for arts education, Krosoczka also established the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships, which fund art classes for underprivileged children in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Krosoczka lives in western Massachusetts with his spouse and their three children, a pug named Frank and a French bulldog named Bella Carmella.