Former IRA board president named to literacy advisory panel

President George W. Bush has nominated six individuals to serve on the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board. The board provides leadership on literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children, youth and adults. Timothy Shanahan of Illinois, former president of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association (2006-2007), is one of the six. He will serve until November 25, 2010. All of the nominees require Senate confirmation.

The others named are:
•Perri Klass, of New York, for the remainder of a three-year term ending November 25, 2009
•Katherine Mitchell, of Alabama, for the remainder of a three-year term ending November 25, 2010
•Eduardo J. Padron, of Florida, for the remainder of a three-year term ending 11/25/09
•Alexa E. Posny, of Kansas, for the remainder of a three-year term ending 11/25/08
•Richard Kenneth Wagner, of Florida, for the remainder of a three-year term ending 11/25/09

The National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board is authorized under the No Child Left Behind act to help children, youth and adults learn to read by supporting and disseminating scientifically-based reading research. In consultation with the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the institute serves as a national resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy.

See the news release on the United States Department of Education website.