A Spring Full of Learning, Advocacy, and Leadership - National Council of Teachers of English
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A Spring Full of Learning, Advocacy, and Leadership

AdvocacyField Notes

A leading reason people belong to associations is the understanding that with a collective voice they can speak louder about the issues they face in their professional work than they can on their own. Another reason to belong to an association is to can tap into a network of people, knowledge and experience that will help you improve the work you do. I’m pleased to share several exciting ways in which NCTE is living up to these aims through opportunities for you to engage with your professional home.

 

Pack your bags for the 2018 Advocacy and Leadership Summit

Registration is now open for the April 12-13 Advocacy and Leadership Summit! Whether your interests lie in experiencing educational policy conversations for the first time or following-up on issues that have attracted your attention and concerns for awhile, we have something in store for you.

  • Meet your elected legislators and their staff in meetings NCTE will secure for you.
  • Enjoy the unusual opportunity to have lunch in the prestigious and historic Kennedy Caucus Room to hear from and work with NCTE member and award-winning author Sharon Draper.
  • Take a special tour of the Capitol. (Your family will be welcome too!)
  • Hear from education journalists as they deconstruct the process that turns our issues into news.
  • Explore the finer points of how bills become laws, and how your voice can make a difference in policy decisions.

LEARN MORE

 

#4C18

This week the 69th Annual Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication begins in Kansas City, Missouri.  In his program welcome, chair Asao B. Inoue notes that this year’s theme, “’Languaging, Laboring, and Transforming,’ is in many ways appropriate for the kind of language laboring toward structural and personal transforming” that has characterized the planning process for the event. If you’d like to get a glimpse into what will unfold at #4C18, two events will be live streamed for free for the public on Thursday, March 15.

  • Opening Session from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. CDT
    Carolyn Calhoon-Dillahunt will present the Chair’s address “Returning to Our Roots: Creating the Conditions and Capacity for Change”
  • All-Attendee Event from 1:45 to 3:00 p.m. CDT

 

A Call to Action: Protect LEARN

As the Federal Government considers the FY19 budget, we know that the Literacy for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) program is again on the chopping block. LEARN is the only targeted federal literacy funding in the education budget. To maintain the $190 million promised for this program, members of Congress must join together to support the program or funding will be significantly reduced or cut entirely. Representatives Yarmuth (D-KY) and Polis (D-CO) have circulated a letter asking other representatives to sign on before March 14 to save LEARN and we are asking members to urge their legislators to do so. Congressman Yarmuth represents my home congressional district (KY-3) and has long been a champion of literacy. He models the fact that literacy should not be a partisan issue.

TAKE ACTION

There is plenty more on the horizon, I look forward to sharing all that comes of these events and opportunities with you.

 

 

Emily Kirkpatrick
Emily Kirkpatrick is an experienced senior executive with deep expertise in organizational strategy, programmatic innovation, external communications, and fundraising in the education and nonprofit space. Ms. Kirkpatrick assumed her position as the Executive Director of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)—the oldest and one of the largest literacy and education organizations in the United States—in November 2015, overseeing the professional home to English language arts teachers from preK through university and amplifying the voices of educators through connection, collaborations, and a shared mission to improve the teaching and learning of English. Prior to NCTE, Ms. Kirkpatrick served in multiple leadership roles at the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty through education solutions for families. During her tenure at NCFL, Ms. Kirkpatrick created the award-winning digital learning platform Wonderopolis®, which reached millions of children across the globe and which was recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the top 50 websites of 2011.   A transformative leader, Ms. Kirkpatrick has dedicated her career to public service and civic engagement, seeking to increase national literacy and social mobility, amplify educator voices, and advance the inclusion and empowerment of women.   A native and longtime resident of Kentucky, Ms. Kirkpatrick has also served in planning and public relations roles at the Kentucky Office of the Secretary of Education, Arts and Humanities, and advanced the inclusion of women in public service positions while at the Kentucky Commission on Women. She earned her MBA with honors from Bellarmine University and her BA from Centre College in Kentucky.