The Northwest Montana Reading Council
presents
The Back-to-School
Literacy Conference
August 13, 2025
Flathead High School
8:15am to 3:30pm
$40 Full Conference | Free with a Student ID
Bookworks in Whitefish will attend with books from the sessions and other educational resources for sale.
2025 Reading Conference Information
Featuring
Deborah Appleman
Keynote Address
time 8:30-10:20am
Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of educational studies and director of The Summer Writing Program at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She has been a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California-Berkeley. She teaches literature and creative writing classes regularly at a high-security men’s prison in Minnesota.
Keynote Information
Ms. Appleman will focus her keynote entitled “Finding Community in Critical Conversations about Literature” on her recent work around community and the value of a reasoned approach to determine what literature we value, teach, and discuss at all levels of education. Deborah will offer a breakout session on teaching literature to adolescents and another session, guaranteed to be interesting to teachers of all levels, about her experiences teaching literature in prison and the many lessons that she has learned in the process.
Breakout Sessions
Information Coming Soon
More information coming soon

The Northwest Montana Reading Council is comprised of a group of current and retired Montana educators from the greater Kalispell Area, including Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Marion. As a collective, we believe in supporting educators through empowerment and teacher-supported professional development.
The council meets several times a year to plan and prepare for the annual conference. If you are interested in joining the council, we are always looking for more enthusiastic educators who love to volunteer their time to bring the best local literacy conference to Northwest Montana educators.
Director: Kelli Higgins
Treasurer: Megan Koppes
Secretary: Leslie DiMaio
Presenter Committee: Dani Burtsfield and Kim Wakefield
Conference Logistics: Sue Brown, Clayton Mauritzen, Betsy Kohnstamm, Aarica Phillips, Michele Paine, Sherri Nissen, Joe Fisher, Alicia Benson, Allie Mitchell, Alison Kreiss, Liz Sykora, and Kami Heinz.
Calendar of Events
- June 19 – Presenter Support Workshop II
- Fall Council Meeting: at Flathead High School – Room 112, 4:15-5:15pm

Awards
Each year at the conference, the council recognizes certain Educators, who have been nominated by their peers, as outstanding contributors to the growth and development of Northwest Montana Students and Teachers.
The following are the awards celebrated each year:
Educator of the Year
Administrator of the Year
Support Educator of the Year
Friend of Education
Contact the NWMT Reading Council
Director: Kelli Higgins
Treasurer: Megan Koppes
Secretary: Leslie DiMaio
Presenter Committee: Dani Burtsfield and Kim Wakefield
