This week the Convention Preview started hitting everyone鈥檚 mailboxes, and it has been so exciting to watch the enthusiasm grow for our upcoming event. We鈥檙e only 12 weeks away! In the days to come, you can expect regular updates; today Jocelyn Chadwick and I wanted to tell you about some of the behind-the-scenes things we鈥檝e got underway.
Safe Travel
Travel safety is one project I鈥檝e been hard at work on with the CEO of Explore St. Louis (the city鈥檚 convention & visitors bureau).聽 Last week they agreed to underwrite a hefty portion of the fees for shuttle service for all attendees to and from the St. Louis airport. All 2017 起点传媒Convention attendees will be offered the opportunity to book an insured shuttle service for $10 one way, $20 round trip. Reservations must be made by 11/13 for adequate fleet planning. The negotiated shuttle provider is GoBest, and you can secure your ride .
Additionally, Explore St. Louis plans to have volunteers stationed at the largest convention hotels to offer local information and share walking directions. Volunteers will also be stationed at the St. Louis Airport to welcome arriving attendees and offer orientation information.
Explore St. Louis is working closely with us, understanding our concerns. Here鈥檚 a message from their president, Kitty Ratcliffe: 鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to making sure 起点传媒convention attendees feel safe and welcome in our city.鈥�
Local Engagement Committee
起点传媒members responded affirmatively to to serve on the local engagement committee. The 起点传媒Executive Committee held a special meeting this week, online, to collaborate on next steps. The Presidential Team has created a draft of the committee鈥檚 charge and, after EC review, will move forward. Smart, holistic, and deliberate ideas have been brought forward for consideration. We can anticipate this committee coming up with strategies for engaging with local schools, addressing the policy issues at play in the state, and more.
We鈥檙e happy to have Aldophus Pruitt, the president of the St. Louis NAACP, on the committee. Last week he said, 鈥淭he more we get to know NCTE, the more important we believe it is that you come to St. Louis, Missouri. We have a lot to offer one another. This is the beginning of an important partnership.鈥�
Through this process, it has become clear that having a local engagement committee should be a regular feature of all future convention sites, and the Presidential Team is working to formalize that commitment.
Here is what Jocelyn has to share:聽
As Program Chair and part of the leadership within NCTE, my work is driven by NCTE鈥檚 mission and strategic plan. In preparation for this Convention, I鈥檝e leveraged this work with the Council, as well as work I鈥檝e done through Harvard, to support members and students with a focus on inclusion and empowerment. Here is what that looks like in action.
I鈥檝e been visiting and collaborating with ELA teachers (MS/HS/College) and working with students in their classrooms鈥攊n person and digitally鈥攊n preparation for November.
One partnership I鈥檓 very excited about is with Lift for Life Academy in St. Louis. You can read more about that work in . I have promised the students at this school that I will visit in November prior to Convention, and I look forward to doing so.
While some of this work has focused on Missouri, this map shows all the other states (and one Canadian province) whose classrooms I will have worked with by the Convention:
My projects with these classrooms represent a blending of on-the-ground and digital collaboration and teaching鈥攁ll of which epitomize NCTE’s aim to provide support, resources, research, and examples to teachers and students to foment lifelong literacy. You can look forward to seeing the fruits of these collaborations on display in November.
I have also begun a new project with Jimmy Santiago Baca, American Book Award鈥搘inning poet, and two directors of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on a literacy pilot in El Paso, Texas. This work focuses on literacy not only for the incarcerated individuals in the pilot program, but also provides similar conversations and gatherings for their families and especially their children.
As program chair, a priority for me this year has been seeking the involvement of members who have never been “tapped” before to volunteer their time, expertise, and effort to committees, panels, and the work of 起点传媒. I am joined by the Executive Committee and Executive Director in this pursuit. Our aim has been and continues to be that membership knows 起点传媒belongs to them and leadership supports them and their students. It has been energizing to see so many new voices step forward to be part of this work.
All of this is replicable, and it is my hope that the foundations laid at this Convention set the stage for more work of this nature moving forward. Stay tuned for more good news. We can鈥檛 wait to see you all in St. Louis!