Coffee Break at the Lake: The Time for Change is Now

Thursday, July 23rd, 10:00am CST

Join us as we listen to educators from Loudoun County, Virginia share their experiences of building diverse library collections and using diverse texts in the classroom to invite and amplify conversation and learning.

A Certificate of Attendance will be issued to those who attend this webinar. A recording will be posted to Mackin.com for those who cannot participate in the live session.

Webinar Resources

• Slides Form John Champe High School Library
• Slides From Park View High School

Catherine Cote

Librarian, John Champe High School

Ms. Cote has been a librarian and educator for the past seven years in Northern Virginia. She is passionate about ensuring that the library is a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

Sarah Anderson

Librarian, John Champe High School

Sarah is one of two librarians at John Champe High School in Aldie, Va. Prior to her tenure at Champe, she served as the librarian of Buffalo Trail Elementary School, also in Aldie. She holds a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Kansas State University. In addition to her work as librarian, Sarah serves as the Inter-club Council Coordinator and the Color Guard Director at Champe. Sarah is passionate about building a welcoming and inclusive community in the library, both in person and virtually, as well as increasing opportunities for students to explore their creative and critical thinking skills. She is also proud to co-sponsor Champe’s Project Lit Community Chapter and looks forward to continuing their work to encourage literacy and love of reading in the Champe community.

Norhan Fillo

EL Teacher, Park View High School

Norhan Fillo is an EL teacher at Park View High School in Sterling, Virginia. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and grew up in Northern Virginia. She graduated with honors from the University of Virginia with a BA in French literature (so please don’t quiz her on Brit lit or American classics) and an MA in teaching. This fall, she enters her tenth year of teaching. As a biracial woman (her father is white, and her mother is Black), she works to amplify voices and perspectives that she missed out on as a student. This past year, she co-taught English 10 with Nikki Cobb. Working alongside Ms. Cobb, she felt empowered to subvert traditional reading strategies in favor of teaching reading with intention and compassion (and a tremendous selection of texts). Ms. Fillo lives in Herndon, Virginia, where she is most content with a good story and a warm cup of tea.

Nicole Cobb

Reading Specialist, Park View High School

Nicole (Nikki) Cobb-Struzynski is the English Department co-chair at Park View High School in Loudoun County, Virginia. In her six years at Park View, Ms. Cobb has served as an English & journalism teacher and reading specialist. Her passion for diverse literature stems from the very distinct lack of diversity in her own primary education. Upon moving to Northern Virginia from Pittsburgh, PA, Ms. Cobb quickly recognized that she was ill-equipped to serve diverse populations with her lack of knowledge in fundamental reading skills and diverse texts. In 2014, Ms. Cobb enrolled in the Literacy Leadership for Diverse Schools program at George Mason University. She completed her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction through this program and became a reading specialist. Ms. Cobb currently works primarily with English Language Learners and struggling readers and is committed to building a more diverse curriculum for all students as a literacy leader in her county.

Jeanene Sims

Assistant Principal, Park View High School

Prior to working for Park View, Ms. Sims worked for over 13 years in Fairfax County Public Schools as an administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Ms. Sims also worked in Roanoke City Public Schools as a Spanish teacher in both the middle school and high school beginning in 1994.