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The theme of this year was educate to liberate. A reminder to the literacy community that education, and literacy extend beyond the content and courses we teach. As Freire puts it, "Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people--they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are liberated: they oppress." As literacy educators we should strive to work along with our students, to co-create with them, to learn from them. Freire reminds us that "the (literacy) teacher is of course an artist...What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for students to become themselves." Therefore, as literacy educators it is our duty to provide access and opportunities for students of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds as they navigate their way in our classrooms. All the articles within this Yearbook represent a portion of the sessions presented at the conference. After a peer-review process for conference acceptance, the ensuing articles underwent an additional two rounds of double-blind peer review before acceptance in the Yearbook. It is our sincere hope that the articles reflect the theme and embolden our practice as literacy educators and researchers.

The theme for the 62nd annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Educating for a Just Society. Connie Briggs, previous Program Chair, reminded us that, "Education has always been the foundation of a democratic nation. It is important that our students understand the principles upon which our nation was founded and develop personal qualities that value and celebrate diversity and equality leading to critical and independent thinking. Individual and collective potential will only be realized when community concern, social responsibility, and moral commitment of social justice is actioned by and for all of society, particularly the marginalized of our nation." The indelible work we do as literacy professionals is reflected in this message and in the thinking that was shared as we gathered together in Louisville, Kentucky in 2018. From graduate students to senior scholars, the presentations and personal conversations all served as sites of opportunity to reflect on and enact this ambitious value. It's continued to challenge us as editors through the process of conscientization (Friere, 1970), or continual reflexivity, in our multiple roles as editors, educators, researchers, advisors, administrators, and friends. In each context, we wondered how can we celebrate others that aren't normally celebrated. Even more importantly, we've wrestled with how our teaching and research practices and policies might approximate greater justice for all of those we work with spanning the minoritized and majoritized spectrum (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017). Throughout the conference and since this time, a quote from renown bilingual writer and artist, Sandra Cisneros, has pierced my (Ale's) heart, ultimately taking up residence to stay. In doing so, it's both motivated and haunted me in response to the question, "Why consider and teach literacy from a social justice lens?" It's "because the world we live in is a house on fire and the people we love are burning" (Cisneros, 2018). While Cisneros shares this sentiment in relation to why she writes, this quote adjusts my theoretical lenses to clarify that literacy research is primarily about people, not acts or skills in and of themselves; it's about developing skills in people that allow them greater agency and human flourishing. We view our students as people we love first and then we value them as speakers, readers, writers, visual communicators, and change makers. To varying degrees, they utilize their literacies across time and space, but they are in danger. Often this danger occurs in the illegitimacy of their literacies; even more, this danger comes in the form of systemic, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized marginalization; but it's always about being in danger of a reified humanity: for the teacher and the student; for the historically minoritized and the historically majoritized. Thus, it's incumbent upon us, as literacy educators and researchers, to urgently see, feel, and respond to those who are in danger. In other words, we must teach and research with armed love (Freire, 1998). Dr. Briggs' hope and Sandra Cisneros's quote substantially inform the editorial team's organization of this year's yearbook. [Editorial assistance was provided by Kathryn Dixon.]

For their 61st annual conference, the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) met in St. Petersburg, Florida. This year's conference theme was "Engaging All Readers through Explorations of Literacy, Language, and Culture," which was also used as the title for this year's "Yearbook." This "Yearbook" contains articles about innovative strategies for teachers and teacher leaders, research trends within teacher education programs, and innovative and seminal strategies for preservice teachers. Included are double-peer reviewed papers, the presidential address, and the keynote address: (1) Systems Without a Process: Know What To Do and Then Do It Well (David D. Paige); (2) Reclaiming Creative Literacy Practices (Thomas W. Bean); (3) Understanding Reasoning and Academic Language in Economics (Chang Yuan); (4) "There Might Be Words on the Screen, but it's Not the Same": Engaging Tweens in Literacy through Minecraft Book Groups (Carolyn Stufft); (5) Stranger than Nonfiction: Identifying and Modeling Text Structures in Fiction Picturebooks (Tracey S. Hodges and Sharon D. Matthews); (6) "Es Lo Que Hacemos"/It's What We Do: Translanguaging to Make Meaning During Read Alouds (Erin Greeter); (7) Research on Reader's Theater (Faida Stokes and Chase Young); (8) What DO they do all day?: Field Experiences in Literacy Coaching (Katherine Brodeur, Susan Massey, Lisa Ortmann, and Cynthia Bertelsen); (9) The Engaged Learning Model: The Impact of Digital Literacy and Problem-Based Learning on Fourth Graders' Vocabulary and General Reading Outcomes (James E. Gentry, Chris Sloan, and Robin Pate); (10) Teachers Implementing Coaching Mindsets: A Path to Literacy Leadership (Aimee Morewood, Susan Taylor, Julie Ankrum, Allison Swan Dagen, and Angela Curfman); (11) High Stakes Testing in Teacher Education: Responses and Implications (Maryann Mraz, Bob Rickelman, S. Michael Putman, Paola Pilonieta, and Jean Vintinner); (12) The Lasting Impact of a University Common Reading Program (Kristen Ferguson, Natalya Brown, and Linda Piper); (13) Honoring All of the Language Arts: A Constructivist Approach to Preservice Teachers' Classroom Observations (Delane Bender-Slack and Teresa Young); (14) Preservice Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Instruction: Examination of an Undergraduate Delivery System (Corinne Valadez, Tomas Espinosa, Johnathan Hill, and Maureen Sullivan); (15) Cohort Participation: Impact on Personal Learning Networks (Caryssa K. Retrum, Elizabeth Alderton, Glady Van Harpen, and Stephanie Bernander); (16) Disrupting the University Curriculum: Engaging Preservice Teachers in a Study Abroad "Passport" Activity (Virginia R. Massaro, Joan A. Rhodes, and Sharon Zumbrunn); (17) "If You're Not Reading, You're Not Growing": Exploring the Reading Habits of Preservice Teachers in a Children's Literature Course (Bethanie Pletcher and Tomas Espinosa); (18) Shaping and Being Shaped: Exploring Preservice Teachers' Literacy Autobiographies (Stacey J. Korson and Connie Beckner Hodge); (19) Supporting Literacy Teaching Through Rehearsal (Nicholas Husbye); (20) Phonics and Phonemic Awareness in a Teacher Preparation Program: An Analysis of the Achievement and Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers (Stacey Bose); (21) The Power of Family Involvement: Preparing Preservice Teachers to Understand More about the Out of School Literacy Lives and Cultures of Children (Kathryn V. Dixon, Martha M. Foote, and Juan J. Araujo with Rhonda Clark, Carol Revelle, and Tami Morton); (22) Supporting the Literacy Development of At-Risk First Time College Students through the Exploration of Language and Culture (Connie Briggs, Patricia A. Watson, and Ivan Dole); and (23) Exploring the Reading Strategy Use of EFL College Students: Tri-lingual Chinese Students Attending a University in Korea (Kay Hong-Nam and Susan Szabo). [For the Thirty-Ninth Yearbook, see ED594524.]

The theme for the 60th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Literacy: The Critical Role of Teacher Knowledge. This Yearbook provides a snapshot of the highlights of the meeting and sampling of some of the proceedings. The focus is on three questions surrounding the conference theme: (1) What do literacy teacher educators and researchers need to know and be able to do? (2) What is the role of professional communities in literacy teacher educator and researcher professional development? and (3) Why is it important for ALER to continue to play an active role in the professional development of its members? All of the articles within this Yearbook represent a sampling of the sessions presented at the conference. After a peer-review process for conference acceptance, the ensuing articles underwent an additional round of peer review for acceptance in the Yearbook. [For the Thirty-Eighth Yearbook, see ED594525.]