Read to Learn Hosts Children's Authors Lori Degman and DJ Corchin

District 214 Community Education's Read to Learn (RTL) hosted children's authors Lori Degman and DJ Corchin on Monday night at its Hoffman Estates High School site to kick off April's Poetry Month. Lori Degman is a teacher of Deaf/Hard of Hearing students by day and a writer of picture books by night. Her debut picture book, "1 Zany Zoo" was the winner of the Cheerios New Author Contest and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010. Her second picture book, "Cock-a-Doodle Oops!" was released by Creston Books in May 2014! DJ Corchin is an author of many children's books with strong social and emotional messages. His "I Feel…" Children's Series has been celebrated by teachers, speech therapists, and social workers. His books are being used in homes, classrooms, and offices helping children learn about being kind and discuss their emotions. A Chicago native, he was a featured performer in the Tony and Emmy Award winning Broadway show, BLAST and has also spent time as a high school music educator.

The authors read their books to the group and discussed their paths on becoming an author. Authorship, they both mentioned, comes with its challenges and requires a great deal of work, perseverance and self-confidence. For the adult learners in RTL, the underlying message was not to give up on their journey toward literacy success.

About Read to Learn:

Read to Learn is currently in its 30th year providing adult learners in Chicago's northwest suburbs with reading, writing and individual tutoring. Classes are free for adult learners and located in 13 convenient locations throughout the Northwest suburbs in schools, libraries, churches, and businesses. Site supervisors, who are professional adult educators, direct the assessment and evaluation of the students, plan individualized lessons, provide instructional materials, and supervise tutors. For more information, visit the RTL website at ce.d214.org/readtolearn.