Standing Committee on Affiliates
Function: To keep informed of the needs and interests of affiliates; to maintain a general overview of inter and intra affiliate events, policies, and procedures; to encourage communication among affiliates, and between affiliates and the Council; to organize affiliate related events at NCTE conventions; to serve as an advisory body for affiliate related NCTE committees, for the Director of Affiliate and Member Services, and, upon request, for individual affiliates; to make recommendations to the Executive Committee regarding the ways in which affiliates and the Council can assist each other in strengthening programs and services for members of the profession; and to serve as a representative of NCTE in the field.
What major actions or projects have been completed by your group since July 1, 2005?
At the August 2005 Affiliate Leadership Conference we focused on Strategic Governance—the process and its value to our affiliates, as well as the special services available from NCTE for affiliates and the organizations 2020 vision, particularly the role of affiliates in this political initiative.
At the NCTE Convention in Indianapolis our meetings and SCOA sponsored programs focused on two of NCTE Executive Committee’s key topics: assessment and writing in addition to our programs on building leadership in affiliates.
What projects, initiatives, or studies are “in progress” at this time?
- We revised the criteria for evaluating submissions for the Affiliate Excellence award; these criteria will be in place for the 2007 applications.
- We also revised the job description for SCOA Regional Representative, adding membership in an affiliate in your region and internet and computer skills as a requirements. This revised description will be in place for 2007.
- At the Affiliate Breakfast in 2005 we asked the affiliate leaders to tell us their concerns and in what ways NCTE could help them help the teachers in their affiliates. Those responses helped inform this year’s Summer Leadership Conference and the SCOA sponsored programs for the 2006 national convention.
Strategic Governance: Over the past two years, the NCTE Executive Committee has established outcomes and priorities relating to these key topics in our field: Teacher Quality, Adolescent Literacy, Assessment, Writing, Multimodal Literacy and Technology, Research and Teaching, and English Language Learners. Currently, they are investigating the broad topic of professional development for literacy educators.
Does your group have research findings or suggestions to contribute that are relevant to on-going work on these strategic governance topics?
- The SCOA regional representatives have kept the affiliate leaders in their regions apprised of key topics and requested that affiliates inform NCTE’s Executive Committee of research findings and/or suggestions relevant to these key topics.
- To further promote the focus issue of professional development, SCOA has invited literacy learning specialists Linda Christenson, Sandra Childs, Pam Hooten, Carol Campbell, and Alex Gordin to conduct a day-long workshop at the NCTE convention in Nashville on interdisciplinary literacy learning strategies.
Ruth Townsend Story, Chair
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