Medaille Supports Fourth Annual WNY Children’s Book Expo and KidsLit Week
Medaille College is proud to be a collaborating sponsor for the fourth annual Western New York Children’s Book Expo (WNYCBE), which will be held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 10. Medaille joins Read to Succeed Buffalo and Monkey See, Monkey Do … Children’s Bookstore in supporting the WNYCBE, along with presenting sponsor BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. This free children’s literacy gathering of local, national and international authors celebrates the importance of reading with children, their teachers and caregivers.
The 2018 WNYCBE is set to bring nearly 40 children’s authors and illustrators from across the country to Buffalo for KidsLit Week, which runs from November 5 to November 9 and culminates with the Book Expo. KidsLit Week brings authors to area schools, libraries, museums and other cultural venues. In 2017, nearly 30,000 children, parents and teachers had the opportunity to meet authors and illustrators.
The theme for this year’s KidsLit Week is “imagine,” and all events aim at inspiring a love of books in pre-K through middle school students.
As part of the week’s festivities, the Medaille College Write Thing Reading Series (in collaboration with Medaille’s Department of Education) will present a speaking engagement with acclaimed children’s book illustrator London Ladd on Thursday, November 8, at 7 p.m. in the Buffalo campus library.
In addition to the family literacy activities at the WNYCBE, approximately 150 WNY educators will be on site for a professional development workshop sponsored by Medaille. Local educators will have the unique opportunity to learn from some of the best children’s authors and illustrators in the country.
Over 70 Medaille students, faculty and staff have already volunteered to help make KidsLit Week and the WNYCBE possible. Anyone else interested in volunteering may complete the volunteer form.
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Medaille has signed three agreements with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University — a 4+1 program, a 3+1 program and a 30% scholarship agreement — that will take effect immediately and will create new opportunities for communication students.
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As part of the newly established Buffalo College Success Network, Medaille is able to offer increased access, support and opportunities to students from the city of Buffalo, thanks to Say Yes Buffalo and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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This June, Associate Professor of English Dr. Alice Villaseñor participated in the “Activism and Empathy” Children’s Literature Association Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, speaking about her experiences teaching children’s literature courses in partnership with the Buffalo City Mission’s Literacy and Enrichment After-School Program (LEAP) Program.
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Living out community as one of Medaille's core values, College administration, faculty and staff members gave back to the WNY community by volunteering at local organizations as part of 2019 Day of Service events held in Buffalo and Rochester.
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Department of Education Chair Dr. Colleen Wilkinson participated in the 2019 Council for Exceptional Children Leadership Institute in Washington D.C. earlier this month, and facilitated discussions about professional development opportunities for New York State educators.
