WHEELING – The West Virginia Reading Association held its annual conference at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va., Nov. 20-21 and recognized outstanding literacy educators from across the state.

Kindergarten teachers to college professors, and college-education-majors to superintendents are nominated for recognition by their peers, supervisors, students, or parents of their students to be considered in one of four award categories. To be considered for an award, the nominated educators must complete an application and include five reference letters.

Delaney Finsley, an Elementary Education major at West Liberty University from Columbiana, was nominated for the Outstanding Future Teacher Award. This is only the second year WVRA has recognized students during the awards program at the conference. Nominees for this award must be full-time undergraduate students enrolled in a teacher education program who demonstrate potential and promising qualities as a preservice teacher and are making notable progress toward becoming a skilled educator.

All nominees were introduced on Thursday afternoon, and the award recipients in the four categories were announced. Delaney received the Outstanding Future Teacher Award for demonstrating her commitment to her education and demonstrating her effective literacy instruction even as a preservice teacher.

This was written about Delaney in one of her reference letters: “Delaney exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding future teacher–creativity, empathy, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to student success.

Another wrote, “Delaney flourishes as a teacher and I could tell very early on her love for teaching reading.”

And, “One of her standout qualities is her ability to connect with her students and get them excited for reading and writing every day.”

The West Virginia Reading Association (WVRA) began in 1968. Fifty-six years ago, WVRA’s key focus was improving reading instruction for all students. During those years, since its founding, WVRA has evolved and made great strides to recognize student achievement in reading and provide professional development for all educators in reading. Today, the association remains the oldest professional organization in West Virginia committed to eradicating illiteracy in the Mountain State.