Join Engaging Learners at Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
Gain practical strategies, expert insights, and classroom-ready tools at live events nationwide or join us virtually from anywhere
Upcoming public events will be posted here.
Check back often or sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss an opportunity!
Webinars
October 28, 2026 | 5:00-6:00pm ET
FREE Webinar
Words Do the Heavy Lifting: Teaching Vocabulary with Intention
Presenters: Dr. Katie McKnight & Dr. Jenny French | In this 60-minute session, Katie and Jen show content-area teachers exactly how to teach vocabulary on purpose — in five to seven minutes, with no graphic organizer, no copying, and no Friday quiz. You’ll see the five-step explicit routine modeled live, learn how to choose the 5–7 words that actually matter in your unit, and leave with a toolkit of before-, during-, and after-reading strategies drawn from The Science of Reading for Grades 4–12: Every Subject, Every Day! LEARN MORE HERE.
If the date and time don’t work with your schedule, register anyway! You’ll receive a link to watch a recording.
November 9, 2026 | 5:00-6:00pm ET
FREE Webinar
Crack the Code: How Greek and Latin Roots Unlock Thousands of Words
Presenters: Dr. Katie McKnight & Dr. Jenny French | In this 60-minute session, you’ll learn Morpheme Mapping — the visual, right-to-left routine that lets students build a definition from word parts instead of memorizing one. You’ll get the pronunciation guide that makes technical vocabulary sayable (and therefore learnable), especially for multilingual learners. And you’ll build a starter set of 8–10 roots that carry the weight in your discipline. LEARN MORE HERE.
If the date and time don’t work with your schedule, register anyway! You’ll receive a link to watch a recording.
Meet us in person
Conference
October 23, 2026
47th Day of Reading Conference
Secondary Reading League | Tinley Park, IL
Presenter: Dr. Jenny French | How does the Science of Reading apply to adolescents? How can we support our learners with complex text in content area classrooms? How do we fit writing instruction into the content areas? Explore these topics and get plenty of classroom-ready strategies you can use with your student!
Conference
October 23, 2026
Educator Symposium 2026
Key School and Training Center | Fort Worth, TX
Presenter: Dr. Katie McKnight | 8 Science of Reading Practices for Deep Content Learning K–12. Are your students struggling to move beyond surface-level reading in content-rich subjects? This dynamic keynote provides a powerful, research-backed framework for addressing this critical need. Discover eight high-impact, evidence-aligned practices to build deep comprehension of complex texts across all K–12 disciplines. Participants will gain practical strategies for explicit instruction, intentional vocabulary development, purposeful annotation, evidence-based writing, and effective scaffolding using grade-level texts and high-level questions.
Conference
November 5–7, 2026
AMLE26 Conference
Association for Middle Level Education | Nashville, TN
Presenters: Dr. Katie McKnight & Dr. Jenny French | Check out Katie and Jen’s presentation Transforming Evidence Writing Instruction Across Content Areas (with AI Support). Attend Jenny’s presentation, Why Most School Change Efforts Fail (and What to Do Instead). And on Thursday, November 5, between 4:00 and 5:30, be sure to visit booth 301 for a book signing/meet the author event. Pick up a signed copy of The Science of Reading for Grades 4-12: Every Subject, Every Day!
Conference
November 16 & 17, 2026
IASP Assistant Principals Conference
Indiana Association of School Principals | Indianapolis, IN
Presenter Dr. Jenny French | What Every School Leader Should Know About the Science of Reading for Middle and High School - With changing legislation and rising expectations, secondary principals are being asked to lead literacy efforts— yet many feel unprepared. This session gives leaders the knowledge and tools to identify the types of struggling readers in grades 6–12, support evidence-based practices across content areas, and provide meaningful feedback to teachers. (Held immediately preceding the Fall Professionals Conference, this schedule allows school leadership teams to stagger their professional development, ensuring a leader is always present in the building while others are growing professionally.)
Conference
November 19 & 20, 2026
70th Annual WV Reading Association Conference
West Virginia Reading Association | Wheeling, WV
Featured Presenter Dr. Katie McKnight | This year’s theme “Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader” showcases the importance of literacy to the state. Three hours of graduate credit is available, just for attending the conference.!
Conference
November 22 & 23, 2026
IASP Fall Professionals Conference
Indiana Association of School Principals | Indianapolis, IN
Presenter Dr. Jenny French | What Every School Leader Should Know About the Science of Reading for Middle and High School - With changing legislation and rising expectations, secondary principals are being asked to lead literacy efforts— yet many feel unprepared. This session gives leaders the knowledge and tools to identify the types of struggling readers in grades 6–12, support evidence-based practices across content areas, and provide meaningful feedback to teachers.
Conference
February 26, 2027
Kane County Institute Day
Kane County Regional Office of Education | St. Charles, IL
Presenter Dr. Jenny French | Kane County Institute Day provides a wide range of engaging breakout sessions and presentations from guest speakers, colleagues, students, and community partners. Participants will leave with new ideas and strategies to strengthen their classroom environment and their students’ engagement.
Conference
March 11 & 12, 2027
58th Annual Illinois Reading Council Conference
Illinois Reading Council | Springfield, IL
Featured Presenters: Dr. Katie McKnight & Dr. Jenny French | Join the Illinois Reading Council conference for teachers, specialists, and administrators from every grade-level and content area.
Every year, Engaging Learners builds yearlong (or longer) partnerships with schools and districts committed to meaningful literacy growth. Our 2026-2027 partners include:
Big Hollow Middle School in Ingleside, IL
Central Unit School District 301 in Burlington, IL
Dunlap Community Unit School District #323 in Dunlap, IL
Marysville Joint Unified School District in Marysville, CA
McLean County Unit District No. 5 in Normal, IL
Mesa Elementary School in Shiprock, NM
Sycamore Middle School in Sycamore, IL
Warren County Public Schools in Front Royal, VA
Wood County Schools in Parkersburg, WV
2026-2027 Partner Schools
“Jenny was fantastic, we had such a positive response from her work! I just love everything that your team does. Seriously.”
Past Events
For years, the Engaging Learner team has worked with teachers all over the country - all over the world - combining virtual PD with in-person coaching and live presentations.
We can’t list everything on the website of course, but if you want a peek at what we’ve we been up to, just check out our History page.