NCTE is the professional organization for literacy, language, English, and writing teachers. A commitment to continuous improvement and innovation are at the core of all we do. Each year, we challenge ourselves to create new opportunities for our members. The year 2018 was no exception. The following pages share a few
examples of the exciting work we accomplished.
Ernest Morrell, Franki Sibberson, and Donalyn Miller
“Over the years what I have learned is that NCTE is at the front edge of progressive literacy education in the United States, and that this leading edge is telling us what we need to be concerned about, what we need to focus on, how we can continue to grow, as professionals. I can’t tell you how many times in my life, when I feel defeated or when I feel like I am talking to people who don’t understand what I am talking about . . . I remind myself that all of you are out there. All of you are out there striving, and pushing yourselves, and learning and caring about kids, and that is what NCTE does for me.” Donalyn Miller, from her talk to first-time attendees at the 2018 Annual Convention
GROWING PUBLICATIONS With texts on topics ranging from online learning to poetry to writing across the curriculum, this year our books program published several new titles. We hired a Publisher in Residence to help us remodel our approach to book acquisition and promotion, and we are looking forward to a robust pipeline of new titles in the coming year.
THIS YEAR OUR BOOKS PROGRAM RELEASED 16 NEW TITLES.
16
new books in FY2018
10
“regular” NCTE books
5
SWR books
1
copub w/ Routledge
We also launched our first NCTE Summer Institute tied to one of our books. Under the leadership of Leila Christenbury and Ken Lindblom, this event drew teachers from across the country for an intensive dive into the ideas from Continuing the Journey.
“This is truly an inspirational and invigorating
experience for veteran teachers. Quality professional development is difficult to find at our level. This experience is worth traveling to.”
Pamela Doiley, Continuing the Journey Participant
46 JOURNAL ISSUES We published 46 journal issues on cutting-edge topics, and under the leadership of NCTE member Jonathan Bush, a Journals Task Force is looking into what’s next for these publications. Whenever an issue comes out, we look forward to the public feedback. This Twitter post is a good example:
KEEPING POSITIONS CURRENT In 2018, thirteen position statements were reviewed and revised by NCTE members who are subject matter experts in their respective areas.
ADVOCACY AND LEADERSHIP SUMMIT Literacy Teachers Have Stories to Tell—Use Yours to Inform Policy
We launched a fresh approach to connecting members with federal legislation in April with our Advocacy and Leadership Summit. More than 60 members from across the country met with legislators, Capitol Hill staff with education specialty, education researchers, and guest speakers Sharon Draper and Claudio Sanchez. “ It was inspiring! I felt like I was learning and making a difference. The learning will make a huge difference for me going forward— I have a growing area of knowledge and interest that I will use AND that I will share to equip and inspire others.”
The presence of our members during the Summit helped to spread the word about our organization, and we are increasingly being called upon to offer expertise. This year NCTE directly influenced the following legislation that will guide 2019 actions:
• H.R. 6543, Aim Higher Act,
• S. 3308, Preparing and
sponsored by Ranking
Retaining Educational
Member Bobby Scott
Professionals (PREP) Act, sponsored by
• S. 2370, Supporting the
Senator Tim Kaine
Teaching Profession through Revitalizing Investments
•S . 3340, Teacher and School
in Valuable Educators Act
Leaders Need Education
(STRIVE), sponsored by
and Development to be
Senator Cory Booker
Empowered Resources in Schools Act, sponsored by Sen. Hatch, Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Bennet, and Sen. Warner
BUILDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS NCTE VERSE
This year held something special for members every single month, and member voices enriched each experience. From #NCTEchats hosted by leaders from our community to professional learning in your inbox like NCTE Verse (a daily email project we
APRIL: NCTE VERSE
ran in April that featured a poet-of-
JUNE: NCTE READS
the-day paired with resources from our
OCTOBER: NCTE WRITES
journals), so much learning took place.
WISE WORDS Across our various platforms we published more than 300 blog posts, almost all written by or featuring the work of members. Katherine Schulten, editor of The Learning Network of The New York Times told us this fall, “I give frequent talks on ‘teacher voice,’ and I always, always point out all the many ways NCTE now has for teachers to speak up.”
LITERACY & NCTE BLOG
NATIONAL DAY OF WRITING In October, we recognized the 10th anniversary of the National Day on Writing with new resources to support afďŹ liate and assembly celebrations, a nationwide write-in hosted by Jacqueline Woodson, a storytelling workshop with The Moth, and tens of thousands of voices sharing #WhyIWrite in just as many different ways.
#WHYIWRITE
EXCLUSIVE LIVE INTERVIEW We also hosted an exclusive live interview with bestselling author Angie Thomas. She talked about The Hate U Give movie and answered questions from the audience about her writing process, gave advice for tackling challenging topics in the classroom, and provided a sneak peek into her new novel that comes out in February 2019. The discussion was facilitated by NCTE President Jocelyn A. Chadwick, who opened the conversation with these words:
“NCTE is emerging as a present and future reliable, immediate, and relevant resource for its membership. We are an organization that values our members and our students, all of our students, because all of them are ours.�
ANNUAL CONVENTION Our Annual Convention was the best attended since 2007, with nearly 8,000 participants. From the keynotes to the more than 800 concurrent sessions, the halls were alive with excitement about what literacy teaching can and should be.
“This was my first time attending Convention, and it was an incredible experience. I think ALL teachers should attend—not just English teachers. The messages I heard, the sessions I attended, and the conversations I had could be applied across curricula. I described the conference to my students today as ‘the Super Bowl of English teacher conferences.’ I begin every Monday with a Motivational Monday topic, and this week’s was easy: overcoming teacher burnout. This is my 15th year of teaching, and I NEEDED this experience to remind me how lucky I am, how passionate I am about teaching, and how I do want to continue in this career. It left me feeling inspired and empowered.” Sarah Keeth, English teacher in Willard, MO
Spending time with thousands
teachers. We invite the new
of teachers in Houston last
teacher in our building out for
month, we emerged with an
coffee and listen to her tell us
ever-deepening appreciation
her problems without preaching
for what our community does
and offer her encouragement
for one another and what our
and support . . . We understand
work can accomplish for the
that without these colleagues
thousands of students in
it’s very, very lonely in a world
our care.
that sees things differently about kids than we do. You
“At NCTE we give back. We produce
see people who love kids as
knowledge. We tweet. We
much as you do . . . You see
present. We write for public
colleagues. You see warriors.”
consumption. We offer to speak
look around NCTE and you
Ernest Morrell, Past President,
in person and virtually at our
from his talk to first-time attendees
Alma Maters to prospective
at the 2018 Annual Convention
“Looking back on the year in review,
it’s exciting to see how much we have accomplished together, and these pages offer only a sampling of the highlights. We pause to reflect, but
we do not stop. The work of educators is never done. What we learned in 2018 will serve as a strong foundation for what we strive to learn in 2019. I am honored to be on this journey with you and look forward to another year filled with opportunities to lift up literacy educators and the incredible work you do to lift up your students every day.” Emily Kirkpatrick, Executive Director
CALL FOR PROPOSALS NOW OPEN! Submit by January 16! For more information, please visit convention.ncte.org