A Message from the RRCNA Board of Directors
 

November 1, 2010

The fall issue of Literacy Teaching and Learning (LTL) is the final one published by the Reading Recovery Council of North America (RRCNA).

The decision to cease LTL’s publication was made after careful study and with deep gratitude to authors, editors, and editorial review board members who have contributed so generously to its scholarly exchange. All of LTL’s previously published research articles will continue to be available for free on the RRCNA website and are currently archived on ProQuest and EBSCO making it available online through libraries across the world.

Since RRCNA began publishing LTL in 1994, the world of scholarly publishing has changed. LTL’s inaugural issue described the purpose as “an international effort to connect researchers, teachers, and all those involved in literacy learning… No other journal exists that focuses on this critical area.”

In 2010, the Internet has made the world of scholarly publishing quite different. The number of refereed scholarly journals and of online outlets for publication has increased greatly and that number continues to grow. At the same time, educators increasingly recognize that high quality professional development for teachers can improve outcomes for students. Matching the expertise of the Reading Recovery community to changing need, RRCNA has increasingly focused resources on professional development of teachers working in the field.

RRCNA has published several new teacher professional development resources in recent years – both for Council members and for the wider early literacy community.

• The 3-part Running Record Professional Learning Package provides leader-directed instruction for classroom, pre-service, in-service, specialist, and Reading Recovery teachers. Part One of this interactive series will be available in a new University Edition this fall.
• Also recently completed is a series of free online videos, complete with discussion guides, which examine effective literacy practices.
• The Journal of Reading Recovery continues to provide both theoretical and practical articles on literacy learning to serve the need of Reading Recovery educators.
  
  

Appreciation for LTL’s Editorial Leadership
As the RRCNA Board of Directors made the decision to discontinue publishing LTL, members recognized its substantial contribution to scholarly literature. Five different editors and editorial teams shaped the publication of work by leading national and international literacy scholars. Evidence of their leadership lives on in articles by authors such as Courtney Cazden, Marie Clay, Don Holdaway, Carol Lyons, Gay Su Pinnell, Katharine and Steven Stahl, and David Wood. These articles and more will continue to be available for professional development.

RRCNA especially thanks LTL’s final international editorial team: Sharan A. Gibson, lead editor, San Diego State University; Marva F. Cappello, San Diego State University; Angela Hobsbaum, University of London Institute of Education, United Kingdom; Blair Koefoed, The University of Auckland, New Zealand; and Pamela Ross, San Diego State University. It is no small feat to continue producing high-quality work during changing and challenging times.

The Council extends its thanks and gratitude to the many authors, editors, editorial review board members, and readers of Literacy Teaching and Learning over the past 16 years. We are confident the articles we have published will continue to be a rich source of information for the international early literacy community.