URGENT! Please Contact Your Representative
This week the House of Representatives will vote on a proposed Continuing Resolution for FY 2011 that eliminates funding for Striving Readers, going from $250 million to $0 -- yes, zero. In addition, the House may rescind funding already allotted for Striving Readers in FY 2010. The work done by 44 states through state literacy teams to integrate and improve writing and reading instruction will be lost. Our nation will have no dedicated program to improve writing and reading instruction in a comprehensive way across grades and across subject areas.
Please write or call your Representative to encourage her or him to vote against demolishing Striving Readers. 
NCTE has joined eight other education organizations to protest the proposed cuts.
Letter to President Obama on Highly Qualified Teacher Issue
NCTE has joined more than 50 organizations -- including education, civil rights, disability, student, parent, and community groups -- in sending a letter to President Obama about legislation in Congress that would allow teachers still in training to be considered “highly qualified” so they can meet a standard set in the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Join NCTE for Literacy Education Advocacy Day,
April 28 in Washington, DC
Plan now to take part in NCTE's Literacy Education Advocacy Day on Thursday, April 28, in Washington DC. NCTE members attending Advocacy Day will learn the latest about literacy education issues at the federal level and have a chance to interact with people highly involved with those issues.
Can't Make It to DC for Advocacy Day?
No worries, you'll have an opportunity to show your support for literacy education through activities you can do right at home during Literacy Education Advocacy Month, March-April 2011. Last year hundreds of NCTE members sent nearly 1,000 letters to their representatives on Literacy Education Advocacy Day and we'll soon let you know how to share your voice and expertise with policymakers this year.
Read how NCTE members supported NCTE's literacy education advocacy efforts throughout 2010!
On behalf of students and teachers, NCTE members took action in November 2010 to stop the de-funding of the National Writing Project, Reading Is Fundamental, and other programs by asking their sentators to opposed the Coburn amendment. The Coburn amendment proposed a moratorium on earmarks beginning with the 2011 budget. This moratorium would impact directed funding programs across departments of the federal budget. Both the National Writing Project and Reading Is Fundamental are considered earmarks even though they are authorized programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
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On September 29, 2010, the Senate passed S.R. 668 declaring October 20, 2010, the National Day on Writing!
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NCTE Speaks Out on Arizona Department of Education Ruling on Teacher Speech: Evaluate Teachers on Their Competence, Not on Their Accents.
On June 7, 2010, NCTE sent a statement to the Arizona Department of Education about its recent ruling that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English.
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NCTE gave feedback to Congress regarding the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA):
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Learn how NCTE takes positions on literacy education issues.
Here Are More Ways for You to Take Action:
Organize an African American Read-In in your school or community during the month of February 2011! Tell us about your event by completing this online form.
NCTE's Action Alerts ask members to contact policymakers to request their support for legislation affecting literacy education. Your voices have been heard! On October 8, 2009, after NCTE members had sent several hundred letters to their Senators, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution declaring October 20 as the National Day on Writing.
SLATE is NCTE's grassroots advocacy network that seeks to influence public attitudes and policy decisions affecting the teaching of English language arts at local, state, and national levels; seeks to implement and publicize the policies adopted by NCTE; and serves as NCTE's intellectual freedom network.
NCTE's National Gallery of Writing has more than 29,000 compositions in nearly 2,300 galleries. If you haven't already done so, be sure to add your piece(s) to the Gallery today!
Celebrate the third National Day on Writing with NCTE on October 20, 2011!
Should you find yourself at the center of a censorship challenge, use the online "Report A Censorship Incident" form or call Millie Davis, NCTE Division Director of Communications and Affiliate Services, at 800-369-6283, ext. 3634.
NCTE is an organization made up thousands of teachers working with teachers to improve literacy education. The educators who volunteer their time and expertise make it possible for NCTE to provide professional development opportunities, publish books and journals, and serve as a leader in the professional community.
Six NCTE Members from Florida Attended the 2009 Advocacy Day
(left to right, above: FCTE's Clarissa West-White, April Blaze, Joan Kaywell; Clint Cates, legislative aide to Senator Bill Nelson; FCTE's Christiana Succar, Susan Houser, and Kathleen Blake Yancey)