NCTE Annual Convention
Supreme Court Justice Heads List of Esteemed Speakers for 2024 NCTE Annual Convention
Comedic writer, humanitarian, and US poet laureate also slated to share inspiring stories with literacy educators
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2024
Contact: media@ncte.org
Washington, DC — Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court, will speak to more than 7,500 English language arts and literacy educators to kick off the 2024 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention in Boston, November 21–24. The convening will also feature political satirist and late-night comedy icon Kate McKinnon, humanitarian Bryan Stevenson, US poet laureate Ada Limón, and a slate of other prominent authors and education specialists.
“Heart, Hope, and Humanity,” the theme of this year’s Convention, recognizes the unique role of English language arts classrooms spanning early childhood through specialized graduate studies. More than 1,000 topical sessions and workshops will be led by literacy educators bringing best practices and practical advice to support professional learning among their peers.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to hear from Justice Jackson, the daughter of educators and a champion high school debater whose studiousness and determination paved her path to the nation’s highest court. Through civil service, activism, poetry, and even comedy, all these prominent speakers reflect important aspects of our ‘Heart, Hope, and Humanity’ theme,” said NCTE Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick. “This Annual Convention is an important time for NCTE members to come together to share and learn. Now more than ever, teachers need the support, resources, and community to help their students expand their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson received her undergraduate and law degrees, both with honors, from Harvard University and served as a law clerk for three federal judges, including Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the US Supreme Court. In 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Jackson to the US District Court for the District of Columbia. She was elevated to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021 and nominated by President Joseph Biden to the US Supreme Court in 2022.
In her recently published memoir, Lovely One, Justice Jackson shares how her heritage, powerful family stories, and formative experiences throughout her life shaped her academic and legal careers.
Kate McKinnon, an award-winning performer and writer, is best known for her tenure as an Emmy Award–winning cast member on Saturday Night Live. Young readers will recognize her voice roles as Ms. Fiona Frizzle in The Magic School Bus Rides Again for Netflix and as Lulu the Guinea Pig in DC League of Super-Pets. Her film work includes Ghostbusters, Bombshell, Yesterday, and Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated worldwide blockbuster, Barbie. The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science is her debut novel.
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a human rights organization that has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults. Mr. Stevenson has argued and won multiple cases at the US Supreme Court. Just Mercy, his book chronicling one EJI case, is a bestseller and inspired a blockbuster film.
Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her most recent book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is the 24th poet laureate of the United States, the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and a TIME magazine Woman of the Year. As the poet laureate, her signature project is called You Are Here, which focuses on how poetry can help connect us to the natural world.
The NCTE Annual Convention is the preeminent event for English and language arts teachers and educators in the United States. Previous keynote speakers have included Michelle Obama, George Takei, Tara Westover, Amanda Gorman, Tom Hanks, and many historic voices over the event’s 114-year history.
The Convention brings together a thriving learning community where members can share their own stories, get advice, and take solutions back to their classrooms and campuses.
“NCTE has been a professional home for me and so many other educators, giving us strength, individually and collectively. Connecting in person with this community inspires active learning as we hone our craft and share ideas with colleagues from across the nation,” said NCTE President-Elect and 2024 Program Chair Tonya Perry, Provost and Vice President at Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama.
Registration for the 114th Annual Convention is open at convention.ncte.org.
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The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is the nation’s professional organization for literacy teachers spanning preK–college. Through the expertise and advocacy from its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge, NCTE has served at the forefront of every major improvement in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts since 1911.