Talk of the Towns 10/8/25: Island Readers and Writers & Dear Teacher Conference

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Production support from College of the Atlantic. Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: How do the programs of Island Readers and Writers help students become confident, curious and engaged learners? What is the decade long history of Island Readers and Writers? How did it move from serving classrooms on the unbridged islands to also include schools in Washington County, Maine? What are some outcomes of bringing authors and illustrators of children’s books into Maine classrooms? What have you learned that teachers want, in order to help them become better teachers of reading and writing? What is the focus of the state-wide Dear Teacher conference on November 6 2025? Guest/s: Courtney Waring, Executive Director, Island Readers and Writers. Alison Johnson, Director of School Programs, Island Readers and Writers. Penny Johnson Principal of Perry Elementary. Everett Caroll 4-6th grade ELA teacher Milbridge Elementary. FMI: Island Readers and Writers islandreadersandwriters.org/ Dear Teacher Conference. islandreadersandwriters.org/events/ Dear Teacher Keynote speaker John Schu www.johnschu.com/ About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 10/8/25: Island Readers and Writers & Dear Teacher Conference first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.