National Institute General Sessions

Thursday, October 1

Opening General Dinner
6-7 p.m. EDT

Opening General Session featuring Angie Thomas and Book Signing
7-8 p.m. EDT

Angie Thomas is the author of the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling Nic Blake and the Remarkables series, The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Concrete Rose as well as Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. She is also a coauthor of the bestselling collaborative novels Blackout, Whiteout, and Breakout. A former teen rapper who holds a BFA in creative writing, Angie divides her time between her native Mississippi, and Atlanta. You can find her online at angiethomas.com.

Friday, October 2

Big Ideas: Creating Reading Rainbow
8:30 - 9:30 a.m. EDT

Join Barbara Irwin, PhD, Tony Buttino Sr, and Pam Johnson, PhD, as they discuss their book, Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series. The story of Reading Rainbow is very much a story of humble beginnings and perseverance. This General Session will focus on this beloved children’s series, including answer the question: “how did a public television station in Buffalo spearhead a movement in education and spark passion for reading in millions of children?”