March 2010 SLATE Update

March 2010

Stories Make It Personal
What can you do to help advocate for better literacy education? Just tell your personal stories, says NCTE INBOX blogger Traci Gardner.

Speak Up
Read how important your literacy education advocacy efforts are in "Teacher Advocacy: Teachers Speaking Up through Advocacy Day—and Other Grassroots Activities—We Can Make a Difference in Literacy Education."

Advocacy for Everyday Teachers
Join middle school teacher Susan Houser, university instructors Clarissa West-White and Shelbie Witte, and NCTE staffer Millie Davis for "Advocacy for Everyday Teachers," a free online session on Tuesday, March 16, 5-6 p.m. EDT, to learn how easy it is to advocate for literacy education!

NCTE Policy Resources
· Action Center
· Anti-Censorship Center
· Position Statements
· Policy Collections
· Executive Committee Strategic Governance Policies (scroll to the bottom of the page)
· SLATE Website

Find Your Elected Representatives
· Congress.org

Mark Your Calendar!
2011 Literacy Education Advocacy Day: April 21

Your Voice Is Vital in
Supporting Literacy Education

Legislators and their aides rely on their constituents to educate and inform them on education issues. They value the classroom experiences and literacy education expertise that NCTE members offer, so whether you visit them in DC or at their home offices, know that you have an audience eager to hear what you have to say. And you're not alone; NCTE has resources to guide your advocacy efforts.

Legislative Platform Guides Our Advocacy Efforts
Watch this video and listen as Jennifer Ochoa describes the conversations with legislative staffs that led to the writing of the 2010 Legislative Platform. Want to know more about NCTE's policy work? See "Inside NCTE Policy Work: Bringing Member Knowledge and Experience to Bear."

Show Your Support for Literacy Education on Advocacy Day
Register now for NCTE's Literacy Education Advocacy Day on the Hill on Thursday, April 22. See Florida member Clarissa West-White's video account of her 2009 Advocacy Day experience.

Advocacy Doesn't Happen Just in Washington
If you can't make it to Washington, you can take part in Literacy Education Advocacy Month (March-April) right at home! See our calendar of possible activities and read Clarissa West-White's "A Quick Guide to Practicing Advocacy at Home."

Florida's Advocacy Day Is April 7
After taking part in NCTE's Literacy Education Advocacy Day, members of the Florida Council of Teachers of English worked to establish an Advocacy Day in their state!

Six NCTE Members from Florida Attended 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)

SLATE is NCTE's grassroots 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 the National Council of Teachers of English; and
· serves as NCTE's intellectual freedom network, providing support for those facing censorship challenges.

Every NCTE member will receive SLATE updates on a regular basis, will have an opportunity to participate in SLATE campaigns, and will occasionally be invited to support SLATE through voluntary contributions.

Contribute to SLATE
Your donation to SLATE will help us to implement and publicize the policies adopted by NCTE, to support NCTE's anti-censorship work, and to influence public attitudes and policy decisions affecting the teaching of English language arts at local, state, and national levels. Donations can be made through the NCTE online store.

NCTE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Donations received by December 31 may be deducted from your income taxes for that year.

SLATE Update is distributed by email by the National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096; 800-369-6283. This online newsletter is mailed to you at the email address NCTE has on file for you. If you would like NCTE to have a different email address on file for you, please email slate@ncte.org. If you do not wish to receive future SLATE emails, please send an email to slate@ncte.org. If you have trouble viewing this email, read this issue online.

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SLATE Newsletters are offered as resources for dealing with current issues affecting the teaching of English language arts. Reproduce these materials and use them to help promote better understanding of the goals of English teaching.
Copyright 2010 National Council of Teachers of English

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