When West Elementary school reading teacher Kelly Mendoza isn’t visiting kindergarten classes or helping students in smaller group settings, she’s often broadening her knowledge as an educator. In November she was invited to make a presentation at the National Council of Teachers of English, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
NCTE focuses on improving the teaching and learning of English and language arts at all levels of education. Each year, NCTE members are invited to present research and demonstrations. Mendoza was part of a six-person group representing Hofstra University’s Reading and Writing Learning Clinic, which included its director, professor Michele Marx.
Mendoza and her colleagues explained how they used children’s books to illuminate concepts like friendship, bullying and body image in order to help create a positive learning environment and a safe space for teachers and students.
The goal, Mendoza said, was “honoring student voices and discussing how students are impacted through diverse literature.”
While her fellow educators focused on their experience, Mendoza, who has been an adjunct professor at Hofstra since 2022, explored what teaching children’s books might look like to new educators.
In her Literacy Studies Practicum Course at the university, graduate students used “Operation Frog Effect” to teach sixth-grade students from the Hempstead, Uniondale and Roosevelt districts. The story, by Sarah Scherger, focuses on eight diverse fifth-graders who explore concepts like bullying, immigration and poverty.
“We wanted students to form connections with characters,” Mendoza said. “Exploring different characters can help them explore deeper messages and help them to grow.”
Despite missing the first day and a half of the four-day conference due to travel complications, Mendoza was able to take advantage of its other offerings.
An exhibit hall at the convention center featured publishers like Scholastic and Heinemann, which Mendoza said was a “reading teacher’s dream.” After the conference, she shipped more than two dozen books to her Westbury home, including “Braiding Sweetgrass,” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, after the two shared what Mendoza described as a “very positive interaction.”
She also had the opportunity to take part in six 90-minute workshops. One explored strategies for teaching neurodiverse students. Another, taught by Kathy Short, a highly respected literacy educator and scholar, encouraged teachers to use students’ homes as a springboard for conversations between parents and students. There were also luncheons with authors and other literacy advocates.
Mendoza said she especially liked Antwan Eady, who wrote “The Last Stand”— which won the NCTE’s Charlotte Huck Award. Mendoza also enjoyed Mychal Threets commonly known for his role as host of the children’s show “Reading Rainbow,” who spoke about libraries and how they are underutilized.
There were also workshops on curriculum design, as well as reading and writing instruction.
Mendoza’s decision to attend the conference aligned with the Long Beach school district’s emphasis on helping students get the most out of their classes. She is now in her fifth year at West Elementary, and the books she uses in her classes vary in message. She employs both fiction and non-fiction narratives that broaden students’ perspectives on topics like pollution to “expand their curiosities,” as she puts it.
“I try to make reading relatable while challenging the students’ reading comprehension skills,” she said.
Mendoza is always looking for ways to help her students. She advises her fellow reading teachers and West Principal Amy Dirolf on best practices for engaging students. Dirolf said that Mendoza tries to “hone in” on what her students do in an effort to strengthen both her own teaching and her advice to others.
“She’s a trusted voice with strong expertise,” Dirolf said. “It speaks to her professionalism as an educator.”
In a statement, the district congratulated Mendoza for her participation at the conference, saying she is always working to expand her knowledge. “We applaud her for her hard work, dedication and contributions to Long Beach schools,” the statement read.
As a member of NCTE, Mendoza takes advantage of benefits including instructional webinars, the organization’s magazine, The Council Chronicle, and a digital journal archive of over 1,800 entries.
“Being a member and having the opportunity to attend the conference was inspiring, engaging and thought-provoking,” she wrote in a text message, “I was happy to attend.”
