UAPB Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute

LITERACY GROWS HERE

Reading the Land. Telling Our Stories. Growing Our Communities.

Wednesday, November 4, 2026
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | STEM Conference Center

A Preconference Experience of the 2026 UAPB Annual Rural Life Conference

2026 Focus: Ignite Literacy in Jefferson County, Arkansas

About the Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute

Family. Land. Legacy. Future.

The inaugural UAPB Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute is a signature preconference experience of the 2026 UAPB Annual Rural Life Conference, expanding the conference’s focus on land, legacy, family, and rural advancement to include literacy, cultural identity, student achievement, and the arts.

For its inaugural year, the Institute will highlight Ignite Literacy in Jefferson County, Arkansas, and draw inspiration from The New Brownies’ Book and Lessons From Plants as meaningful expressions of how literacy, history, the arts, and sciences can strengthen communities.

The Institute brings together students of all ages, educators, administrators, families, artists, authors, librarians, civic leaders, and community partners to celebrate literacy, storytelling, cultural heritage, and the transformative power of the arts and sciences.

Literacy is more than words on a page. Throughout the Institute, participants will explore how we read words, images, science, landscapes, histories and the stories of our communities.

 

REGISTER THROUGH THE 2026 RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE

A Morning of Literacy, Creativity & Discovery

7:00 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast & Literacy Exhibits

Start the day with breakfast and explore book displays, the Author Wall, partner information tables, and art displays before the Institute’s opening program.

8:30 a.m. | Welcome & Institute Launch

Opening plenary connecting Ignite Literacy, the Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute, and UAPB’s Rural Life Conference.

9:00 a.m. | Reading the World Around Us

Land, Art, Science, Stories & How Literacy Helps Us Grow

A featured conversation with acclaimed artist and author Charly Palmer and scientist and author Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery, followed by Q&A.

Together, they explore how art, science, land, stories, and careful observation help us understand the world around us.

10:00 a.m. | Charly Palmer Creative Studio

Where Stories Grow: Art, Literacy, Land & Community

Join acclaimed artist and illustrator Charly Palmer for an interactive creative studio that explores how the places we come from, the people who shape us, and the stories we carry shape how we read and understand the world.

Through visual storytelling, participants will use words, images, color, and symbols to create an original work inspired by land, people, and purpose. The experience demonstrates that literacy extends beyond words on a page to include our ability to interpret, create, and communicate the stories of our families, communities, and culture.

11:00 a.m. | The Growing Book Worm

Building Knowledge One Reader at a Time

The Growing Book Worm connects literacy with STEM concepts through collaboration, design, engineering, and creative problem-solving. Students experience how individual ideas can become part of a larger creation.

The experience includes a Youth Showcase and Ignite Literacy Pledge.

K–12 Schools Are Invited

Bring your students to UAPB for a morning designed to make literacy interactive, creative, and connected to the world around them.

Participating students and educators can experience:

• Reading the World Around Us
• Charly Palmer Creative Studio
• The Growing Book Worm
• Youth Showcase & Ignite Literacy Pledge
• Literacy Exhibits & Book Displays
• Sponsored Book Giveaways

Lunch Is Included

A box lunch will be provided for participating K–12 students, followed by book signing and networking featuring book displays, the Author Wall, partner information tables, and sponsored book giveaways.

SCHOOLS/STUDENT GROUP/ORGANIZATION: PARTICIPATION REQUEST FORM

Explore the Afternoon Literacy Labs

READ THE WORD…THE LAND…SCIENCE…IMAGES and TELL OUR STORIES

READ

The Science of Reading

Pearson Learning

Explore how we learn to read and how effective reading instruction works.

GROW

What Would a Plant Do?

Lessons for Growing, Adapting & Thriving

Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery | Lessons from Plants

Be inspired by Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery’s Lessons from Plants; this lab connects literacy, science, growth, and adaptation.

TELL

Stories From the Soil

Charly Palmer | The New Brownies’ Book

Explore art, storytelling, identity, heritage, place, and the stories we pass to the next generation.

DISCOVER

Reading the Landscape

What Trees Tell Us About Land, Life & Community

Kevin Harris — Tree Conservation

Explore environmental literacy through observation, conservation, land, and community.

What You’ll Experience

Participants will have opportunities to:

• Explore how literacy, history, the arts, and sciences support student achievement and community transformation.
• Experience culturally responsive approaches to reading, writing, art, and discussion.
• Discover practical strategies for improving reading engagement across age groups.
• Explore student-centered literacy activities that affirm identity, creativity and cultural heritage.
• Strengthen connections among UAPB, schools, libraries, arts and science organizations, civic groups and families.
• Leave with an actionable literacy commitment or implementation idea.
• Contribute to a regional movement strengthening literacy and community connections across the Arkansas Delta.

Who Should Attend

The Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute welcomes:

K–12 Students & School Groups
College Students
Teachers & School Administrators
Families
Librarians
Artists & Authors
Researchers & Faculty
Literacy Professionals
Arts & Science Organizations
Civic & Community Leaders

Founding Members

Recognizing the Founding Members of the Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute

The Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute was established through a shared commitment to advancing literacy, education, creativity and community engagement across the Arkansas Delta and beyond. UAPB recognizes the founding members whose leadership, ideas and collaboration helped shape the vision for the inaugural Institute.

Founding Members
Anthony Graham, Ph.D.
Marilyn Bailey, Ph.D.
Derrick Cohens, Ph.D.
Kimberley Davis, Ph.D.
Garbo Hearne
Mary D. Hester-Clifton
Laura Hildreth
Karen Lee
Sonya Lockett

Established 2026 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

2026 CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE

Plan Your Rural Life Conference Experience

VIEW/DOWNLOAD 2026 CONFERENCE FLYER - Coming Soon

Registration

Join Us November 4

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

7:00 a.m. | Registration, Breakfast, Exhibits 

8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Institute Program

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | STEM Conference Center

The Inaugural Arkansas Delta Literacy Institute is part of the 2026 UAPB Annual Rural Life Conference, November 4–6, 2026.

REGISTER NOW FOR RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE

SCHOOL, STUDENT GROUP, ORGANIZATION PARTICIPATION REQUEST