Welcome from the Program Chair

WELCOME FROM MARÍA E. FRÁNQUIZ

PROGRAM CHAIR

¡Bienvenidos! ¡Welcome!

I am thrilled that we can gather in person for the 2022 NCTE Annual Convention in Anaheim, California. Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought formidable changes to our personal and professional lives, we still came together for two very dynamic Annual Conventions that were held virtually. Now we come together using a variety of modalities in place and online. The theme, ¡Sueños! Pursuing the Light! is at the heart of hundreds of educator sessions and the image of a lighthouse stands as a symbol reminding us that now is the time to shine a light within ourselves and for each other.

This 2022 Annual Convention marks a new and bright moment for our organization. Attendees in Anaheim, as well as those who register for digital access, can view recordings of all General Sessions and around 100 on-demand and networking sessions. I ask you, who would have thought a few years ago that the brilliance of so many authors, artists, educators, and researchers presenting at our NCTE Convention could be captured and live across time and space in a virtual library?

As you arrive from diverse geographic locations, I invite you to discuss with other educators, authors, and artists of ways to shed light on the many social injustices that affect present and future generations. Our theme, ¡Sueños! Pursuing the Light! offers a time and space for intensifying personal and collective illumination. My hope is that as a registrant you savor light from books, people, and ideas to imagine a new story with bright spots and new sueños for you, your students, their families, their communities, our society, and our world.

The 2022 NCTE Annual Convention offers many enlightening experiences and resources for you to take home. These include: • Teacher to teacher innovations that are actionable • Make and take projects • Ideas for cultivating and shining a light on equitable practices • Celebrating play and work—plork! • Sharing ways to help schools become bright stars in their communities • Conversations on ways to advance English, bilingualism, multilingualism

In the pursuit of light and for the realization of our dreams as educators, I welcome you to our 2022 NCTE Annual Convention! I look forward to learning from and with you on better ways to shine a bright light on all of our students, schools, and communities.

All the best, María E. Fránquiz NCTE President-Elect and 2022 NCTE Annual Convention Program Chair