National Council of Teachers of English Announces 2024 Leadership Award Recipients
Literacy educators and experts recognized for commitment to work that advances literacy, the field of education, and NCTE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2024
Contact: Lisa Avetisian | 502.718.2725
media@ncte.org
Champaign, Illinois—A renowned teacher and professional author; a teacher who chronicles the historic and modern-day approaches to educating immigrant students; a professor surveying teachers on the effects of book bans on text selection; and a scholar who explores racial literacies, culture, and identity through the perspective of the Hip Hop DJ are among the 2024 recipients of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Leadership Awards.
“Each year we review the vast contributions of so many scholars and educators to identify the works that exemplify the excellence and innovation we need to continue to advance our field,” said NCTE President Shelley Rodrigo. “This year’s awardees represent a diverse, exemplary body of work that improves our understanding of literacy education, trends, and best practices and supports educators and students in improving literacy across the nation.”
The awards are given annually to recognize individuals who have demonstrated leadership and commitment in advancing literacy, the field of education, and NCTE. Awardees are nominated by NCTE members, literacy education professionals representing preK through graduate education.
NCTE is proud to recognize the following 2024 Leadership Awards recipients:
NCTE James R. Squire Award: Kylene Beers, Waco, TX, renowned teacher and professional author
NCTE Distinguished Service Award: Ulrich Hardt, Portland State University
NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language: Jessica Lander, Lowell High School, Lowell, MA, for Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education
NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award: Bilal Polson, Northern Parkway Elementary School, Uniondale, NY
NCTE Julia E. Berry Research Award to Study Careers of English Majors: Kelly J. Sassi, Northern Michigan University
NCTE LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Leadership Award: Saurabh Anand, University of Georgia
NCTE Media Literacy Award: T. Philip Nichols, Baylor University
NCTE David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English: Todd Craig, Utah State University, for “K for the Way”: DJ Rhetoric and Literacy for 21st Century Writing Studies
NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award: Henry “Cody” Miller, The State University of New York, Brockport
NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award Honorable Mention: Honesty for Ohio Education
Award recipients will be honored during a ceremony at the 2024 NCTE Annual Convention in Boston on Saturday, November 23, 5:45–7:00 p.m. ET.
Information for the 2025 NCTE Leadership Awards is available at https://ncte.org/awards/service-awards/.
###
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. As the nation’s oldest organization of preK through graduate school literacy educators, NCTE has a rich history of deriving expertise and advocacy from its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge. NCTE is the home of the Intellectual Freedom Center, the National Day on Writing®, ReadWriteThink.org, the Build Your Stack® initiative, and NCTE Verse. NCTE supports nearly 20,000 teachers across the preK–college spectrum, with a mailing list of over 500,000, more than 100,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and more than 100,000 visitors in web traffic monthly.
For more information, please visit www.ncte.org.