Florida College Reading Council Annual Spring Workshop Making Connections for Academic Success April 1 - 3, 2009   Wednesday, April 1, 2009            The Florida College Reading Council Annual Spring Conference opened registration at 2:00 p.m. at the Hampton Inn Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. The co-sponsors for this conference were Sandra Offiah Hawkins and Elizabeth Blanton-Mitze of Daytona State College, and Karen Nails-Porter of Bethune-Cookman University.            The Opening Reception began at 7:30 p.m. with welcomes coming from FCRC President Patti Levin-Brown, and Dr. Evan Rivers, Chair, School of Humanities and Communications, Daytona State College. Dr. Al Williams was unable to attend due to a family emergency. Pattie Levine-Brown introduced the guest speaker, Dr. Hunter Boylan, Director, National Center for Developmental Education, Reich College of Education, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. This session was an informal roundtable discussion with Dr. Boylan addressing individual questions that participants asked. The discussion was lively with concerns about students coming from the public schools to the various colleges. This roundtable discussion ended at approximately 9:45 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 2009            Thursday's agenda began with a continental breakfast and the welcome from Sandra Offiah Hawkins. At 9:45 a.m., Colleen Litwinowiez, Technology Specialist from Pearson Higher Education presented "My Reading Lab". Showcased were the many uses of this program. At 11:00 a.m., Ginger Green, a consultant from ACT Corporation, Inc., explained the "College and Career Readiness" Program.            The guest speaker for the luncheon was Melinda Milles, FDEA Liaison from the Florida Department of Education. Her presentation focused on Senate Bill 1908 and how it would affect public school students, incoming college freshmen, and colleges, in general. The presentation of the Cathy Denny Florida College Reading Council Scholarship took place at this time. This year's recipient was Ms. Kristin Sutton from Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, FL. This 20 year-old student has expressed maturity far beyond her years. She was assigned to read The Life and Legacy of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. Kristin was so impressed by the unselfish acts and educational ability of Dr. Bethune that she is gaining temporary custody of her niece and nephew while her sister joins the armed forces. She feels that this will help her sister finance her college education.            At 1:30 p.m., Karen Nails-Porter from Bethune-Cookman University discussed "Initiating and Developing Learning Communities". The announcement of Karen Nails-Porter as the new president for FCRC was made at this workshop. At 2:45 p.m., Karin Alderfer and Patti Levine-Brown conversed with the group on "Teaching Reading Online". The evening was filled with two of our own colleagues (Sandra Offiah Hawkins and Elizabeth Blanton-Mitze) performing in "I Leave You Love", a Play on the Life and Legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune. This production was at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center. Friday, April 3, 2009            The agenda began with a continental breakfast and the welcome from Pattie Levine-Brown. The first session at 9:40 a.m. was led by Pattie Levine-Brown with a roundtable discussion on the  Kellogg Institute - Time Well Spent!  There was an extended discussion on the benefits of attending the Kellogg Institute. Dr. Elizabeth Blanton-Mitze shared  Cognitive Style and its Influence on Students' Standardized Reading Test Scores  with the conference participants. After this session, the conference was adjourned by Patti Levine-Brown.