Malcolm Mitchell
Thursday, February 18
Malcolm Mitchell is a native of Valdosta, Georgia. As a high school senior, he was an Under Armour All-American and went on to finish in the top ten all time receivers during his playing career at the University of Georgia (UGA). While a student athlete, Malcolm was recognized as the National Captain of the Allstate Good Works Team for his frequent visits to elementary schools to read to students and talk about literacy, the first student ever at UGA to win this Honor.
During his freshman year in college, Malcolm developed a love of reading. Initially, reading was a challenge, however, through perseverance, books became an avenue for expanding his curiosity, creativity and learning. In 2015, Malcolm authored and published a children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat” and created a youth literacy initiative called Read with Malcolm. In 2016, he went on to establish a 501c3 organization, Share the Magic Foundation with a sole purpose: to transform children’s lives through literacy.
Share the Magic Foundation’s mission is to inspire young people to read by bringing book ownership to students in Title I schools and under-resourced communities. Since its founding, the Foundation has placed books in the hands of more than 65,000 young readers and provided Read with Malcolm Literacy programing to over 200,000 students. In 2016, he received the Children’s Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers Association, and in 2017, Malcolm signed a three-book contract with Scholastic Publishing Company.
Ruth Ryder
Friday, February 19
Ms. Ruth Ryder is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, Ms. Ryder oversees a broad range of management, policy, and program functions related to formula and discretionary grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. During this presentation, Ms. Ryder will provide information and updates about education programs under her leadership, such as – Title I (Basic Grants, Assessment, Migrant and Neglected and Delinquent); Title IV-A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment), Title IV-B (21st Century Community Learning Centers), Title VI (Indian Education), Titles I-VI, including the Comprehensive Centers and Equity Assistance Centers, as well as a host of other Title programs established under ESEA.
