Awards
You do exceptional things in the classroom every single day. NCTE is here to recognize them.
NCTE Affiliate Awards
- Excellence Award
- Student Affiliate Excellence Award
- Journal Awards
- Membership Award
- Multicultural Program
- NCTE Fund Teachers for the Dream
- NCTE Leadership Development
- NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award
- NCTE Affiliate Intellectual Freedom Award
- NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award
- Newsletter Award
- Website Award
- Excellence Award
- Student Affiliate Excellence Award
- Journal Awards
- Membership Award
- Multicultural Program
- NCTE Fund Teachers for the Dream
- NCTE Leadership Development
- NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award
- NCTE Affiliate Intellectual Freedom Award
- NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award
- Newsletter Award
- Website Award
NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award
2023 Recipient: Aja Y. Martinez
University of North Texas
Aja Y. Martinez (she/her) is an associate professor of English at the University of North Texas and author of the multi-award-winning book Counterstory: The Rhetoric and Writing of Critical Race Theory. Her scholarship engages with both public and academic audiences in a series of new projects that include several critical academic journal essays and book chapters, a CRT theoretical introductory chapter for a Routledge collection, a special College English double issue on CRT, CRT symposia in three academic journals, and four book-length projects. Two of the book projects, co-researched and -written with historian and Indigenous studies scholar Robert O. Smith, are under contract with New York University Press and University of California Press—kicking off Cal UP’s new series on CRT. Within these projects Martinez and Smith draw on mixed methods, ranging from archival, to ethnographic, to literary and rhetorical analysis. These books reframe the histories of CRT’s origins in legal studies while making provocative claims concerning CRT’s storytelling pedagogy, methodology, and theory. Additionally, Martinez is coeditor and cofounder, with Michele Eodice and Sandra Tarabochia (University of Oklahoma), of the transdisciplinary, digital, open-access and multimodal journal Writers: Craft and Context. Last, Martinez is coeditor, with Stacey Waite (University of Nebraska) of the University of Pittsburgh Press’s series Composition, Literacy, and Culture.
“It has not always been the popular choice to say, ‘I am a critical race theorist,’ but it was never as dangerous a choice as it is today. To be a critical race theorist in this era is to defiantly struggle for literacy rights against legislative bans on our histories, our languages, our bodies, our lives. CRT founder Richard Delgado recently wrote, ‘the world is a vale of tears, but nevertheless’ it is ‘worth struggling to make it better.’ As CRT literacy scholars and activists, we understand America may suffer from an incurable, potentially fatal disease called racism. However, we also know the literacy tools provided by CRT help lay bare what we’re up against, and as Michelle Alexander has said, CRT ‘offers the opportunity to clarify our goals and to ask yourself if you’re willing to commit to the struggle for racial justice even if the battle can’t ever be won.’”
2023 Honorable Mention: Ashley Hope Pérez

Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of award-winning novels for young adults, including Out of Darkness, The Knife and the Butterfly, and What Can’t Wait. Out of Darkness was described by the New York Times Book Review as a “layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town,” and was selected as a best book of the year by both Kirkus and School Library Journal. It received a 2016 Printz Honor for Literary Excellence in Young Adult Fiction from the American Library Association, the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award, and the 2016 Américas Award. Despite being published in 2015 and never challenged until 2021, Out of Darkness has become one of the most frequently banned books in the US over the past two years. Pérez has joined other authors and stakeholders in advocating for young people and their right to read. Her efforts include public speaking, interviews, articles and opinion pieces, and a lawsuit filed with PEN America.
A former public high school English teacher, Pérez holds a PhD in comparative literature and is an assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University. She teaches courses on literature, literary theory, pedagogy, and creative practice and received the University’s 2023 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
“Literacy educators are the first and last stand for young people and their right to read widely and engage with diverse representations of human experiences. This role has become highly pressured lately, with widespread book ban efforts that are fundamentally attacks on educators, authors, and readers. Literacy educators are best positioned to evaluate books and materials in relation to the needs of the learners they serve. The goal isn’t for any one book to be for everyone; it is for every kid to find something that is for them, that helps make room in the world for them. For marginalized youth, the characters in books may be where they see a glimpse of a world where they can belong—or feel supported.
“In these challenging times, I hope literacy educators, school leaders, and communities will focus on the students that schools serve, not the adults or politicians who shout the loudest. I’d encourage teens to focus on allies, not obstructors, and to seek out the books and ideas that have been challenged so as to come to their own conclusions about them.”
2023 Honorable Mention: Youth Advocate Angelina Meng
My name is Angelina Meng. Being placed in a small school with fewer than 500 students, I was drawn toward exploring what the world had to offer. As a high school senior, I juggle both interests and community engagement. I favor English classes over math classes; creative writing and the “antiquated” classics have always intrigued me. Beyond my high school education, I play volleyball and run track and field. I’m always on the hunt for new experiences: summer jobs and simple outdoor exploration grow my curiosity for the world. I believe that there’s no such thing as a bad experience. I love reading and embrace lifelong learning. Literature holds a special place in my heart. As an Asian American student, I have always emphasized the importance of inclusivity, diversity, and empathy: literature sparks conversations about different cultures. I attend various writing clubs at school that not only refine my own skills but also allow me to connect with others who love literature. My passion for volunteering as a tutor for kids is rooted in my love for literature. Guiding and inspiring young minds feels like a helpful way to show what literature has to offer.
“Often, we fail to trust our educators. Professional literacy educators empower students and allow them to explore the increasingly complex literary world. More importantly, they serve as catalysts for individual and societal growth. As a society, we progress and evolve through language and communication. Without the wisdom our educators provide, we would fail to recognize the value of literacy.”
Award Details
Established in 1997 by NCTE and SLATE—Support for the Learning and Teaching of English—this award is given to individuals, groups, or institutions that merit recognition for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom. A subcommittee of the NCTE Standing Committee Against Censorship selects the recipient(s).
PURPOSE
The purpose of the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award is to honor individuals, groups, or institutions that merit recognition for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom. Award categories are (1) a national award and (2) an NCTE affiliate-based award.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
Any member of the National Council of Teachers of English may make a nomination for the national award by following the specifications below.
FREQUENCY/NUMBER OF AWARDS
One national award will be given each year, with up to two honorable mentions.
AWARD SPECIFICS
The national award winner will receive a plaque from NCTE; honorable mention winners will receive certificates. Awardees will be acknowledged at the NCTE Annual Convention during the NCTE Awards Session on Saturday. The winner will receive complimentary Convention registration and will be mentioned in appropriate Council publications.
AWARD CRITERIA AND JUDGING
The eligibility criteria for the national NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award are as follows:
- the awardee has shown courage in advancing the cause of intellectual freedom or fighting censorship;
- the awardee can be an educator or noneducator;
- the awardee can be an individual, group, or institution;
- the awardee’s activity can be related to particular recent events (e.g., as in a censorship dispute) or it can be ongoing (e.g., as in leadership demonstrated over a period of years);
- the same awardee may not be named for two years in succession.
The procedural rules for the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Awards are as follows: description of the activities or events that merited the award must be submitted by June 15. Please fill out the Intellectual Freedom Award nomination form (below), and include concise documentation and/or testimony of not less than one single-spaced page and not more than three double-spaced pages and three pages of attachments. This documentation can be uploaded in the form or emailed to NCTEAwards@ncte.org.
EXAMPLES
- a nationally syndicated columnist who has taken a stand for intellectual freedom
- an organization that has been active in censorship cases
- a legislator who has opposed censorship legislation
- an author or film producer whose work focused on intellectual freedom
Judges for the national NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award will be members of the Standing Committee Against Censorship.
The permission of the potential awardee must be obtained in advance by the nominator. This specification acknowledges that many who act in defense of intellectual freedom remain under continued scrutiny and pressure. They sometimes choose to avoid public notice which, however supportive, places them under further duress.
Application Deadline: June 15
Please contact NCTEAwards@ncte.org with any questions.
2024 National Intellectual Freedom Award
Please note that fields marked with an asterisk are required. Deadline for submissions is June 15, 2024.
NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award Previous Recipients
2022
Julia Schleck, University of Nebraska Lincoln
Nominated by Nebraska English Language Arts Council
Honorable Mention
Ohioana Library
Nominated by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts
2021
Adam Morfeld, State Senator, Nebraska
Nominated by Nebraska English Language Arts Council
Honorable Mention
Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author
The Leander ISD English language arts teachers and district staff
2020
Nic Stone, Author
Honorable Mention
Todd Schlecht, NE
Nominated by Nebraska English Language Arts Council
2019
Claudette Brassil of Brunswick, ME
Nominated by the Maine Council for English Teachers
Honorable Mention
Martha Hickson of North Hunterdon High School, Annandale, NJ
2018
Victoria Orepitan of Katy Independent School District, TX
Nominated by the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts
Honorable Mention
Lindsey Whittington of Dixie County High School, Trenton, FL
2017
Joan Bertin, Former Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Censorship
Honorable Mentions
Christina Berchini of the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire
SAGA 6, a group of six students from Mount Horeb High School, Wisconsin, and their school and community advisors
To see a full list of all previous award recipients, please click here.