The Collaborative for Equity in Literacy Learning

The Mount Saint Mary College Collaborative for Equity In Literacy Learning (CELL) is one of four centers for excellence at Mount Saint Mary College. CELL is housed within the Division of Education, located in Hudson Hall on the main campus of Mount Saint Mary College. Efforts of the center are led by Division of Education faculty in concert with both graduate and undergraduate students and various community stakeholders.

Our Mission

CELL’s mission is to actively conduct research that has a direct impact on classroom literacy instruction and the preparation of teachers of literacy, and that provides support and outreach to teachers, schools, and other stakeholders who have the goal of promoting literacy equity in the surrounding communities.

Specific goals of the Center include:

Provide an institutional and professional community for faculty, students, and administrators to conduct and promote applied research focused on high quality literacy instruction and the preparation of teachers of literacy
Provide outreach for PreK-12 educational communities and parents/caregivers across the region that will promote high quality, research supported, reading and writing instruction
Develop and foster partnerships with diverse stakeholders to support creative and innovative ways to solve practical problems facing teachers and schools throughout the region
Provide high quality literacy instruction to PreK-12 students in the surrounding communities

Mount Saint Mary College’s teacher candidates are continuously creating and finding resources from fieldwork experiences that can be shared with teachers.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Reading Matters, Readers Matters: Powerful Practices for Teaching Readers & for Independent Reading

Thursday, January 8 | 4:15-5:45 pm | Virtual

How students feel about themselves as readers and how they feel about reading greatly impacts their motivation, engagement, and achievement. In this session, Hannah will share practical ways teachers, coaches, librarians, and interventionists can support all readers. She will address how to:
• Understand and assess your students’ reading identities.
• Respond to students who feel negatively about themselves as readers, so they become both competent and confident.
• Respond to students with positive reading identities so they continue to grow.
• Integrate cognitive and affective instruction to address both reading and the reader.
• Prioritize independent reading in your busy day.

Email MHReadingcouncil@gmail.com to confirm attendance to receive the link.
MHRC & NYSRA members attend free, guests attend for $15 | CTLE Approval 23114

Hannah Schneewind has been a classroom teacher, curriculum writer, adjunct professor, keynote speaker, author, and national and international literacy consultant. Currently, Hannah provides job-embedded professional learning in all areas of literacy, collaborating with teachers in their classrooms to create meaningful literacy experiences for all students.

In today’s algorithmic and artificial world, how can we help students “lock in” and thrive?

Friday, February 6 | 4:15-5:45 pm | Virtual

Join Dr. Jarred Amato and fellow educators as we discuss how to engage and empower young readers and writers in the age of distraction. We’ll share ideas and inspiration — along with specific strategies and resources — as all of us seek to reimagine the English classroom in 2026 and beyond.

Register by emailing MHReadingcouncil@gmail.com to receive the link!

MHRC & NYSRA members attend free, guests attend for $15

CTLE Approval 23114

Dr. Jarred Amato is an award-winning English teacher, the author of Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms, and the co-founder of Project LIT Community, a grassroots literacy movement. Jarred is an avid reader and writer who enjoys collaborating with fellow educators to improve literacy access, attitudes, and outcomes in our schools and communities. Dr. Amato is a two-time MNPS Blue Ribbon teacher and the recipient of the Penguin Random House Teacher Award for Literacy and the Nashville Public Education Foundation Inspiring Educator Award. After teaching middle and high school English for 13 years in Tennessee, Dr. Amato recently relocated to New Jersey, where he and his wife are attempting to keep up with their two boys. You can subscribe to Jarred’s free weekly newsletter at https://jarredamato.substack.com/.

Windows into Literacy

Mrs. Benfer and Ms. Lynch introduce their fourth grade students to the Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) strategy by showing everyday classroom examples of “right there” and “on my own” questions, and giving example question stems for each. The students then practice identifying each kind of question. Ms. Lynch then leads a small group in a shared writing exercise where they use pictures to help them answer a question about their text by writing a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details. Mrs. Benfer then guides a small group in writing their own “right there” and “on my own” questions as they read.