The Council Chronicle

For the fifth year in a row, NCTE’s leadership is recognized in a federal bicameral resolution supporting the freedom to read books without censorship as well as supporting the freedom of expression of writers. Introduced by Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the resolution coincides with Banned Books Week, taking place this year October 4–10. The annual event is organized by the Banned Books Week Coalition, of which NCTE has been a part for 15 years.

National Council of Teachers of English honors several accomplished members for shaping the future of literacy and language arts through research and practice FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Visionary educators who are propelling their students and peers forward at schools, universities, libraries, and nonprofit organizations across the country will be honored among thousands of colleagues this fall after receiving prestigious 2026 NCTE Leadership Awards from the National Council of Teachers of English...

Longtime educator’s Black History Is for Everyone encourages readers to delve deeper into collective history, explores how curiosity about the world is essential FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) named Brian Jones’s book Black History Is for Everyone (Haymarket Books, 2025) as recipient of its 2026 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.

By: Kelly (Kel) Sassi, president-elect, Michigan Council of Teachers of English For many of us in the NCTE community, it is unimaginable that we won’t be seeing Jennifer Buehler at our Annual Convention in Philadelphia this November. She had a way of greeting you as if you were the one person she was hoping to run into and as if the year between Conventions was just a momentary pause in an ongoing vibrant conversation.

Award Celebrated at Community-Wide State of the University Event FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fitchburg State University is the recipient of the 2026 NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award. This prestigious honor is given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to an individual, group, or institution that merits recognition for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom.

NCTE, author Alane Adams expand partnership to provide additional professional development, peer networking opportunities for K–12 teachers, librarians FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE One hundred English language arts educators will receive funding to attend the largest annual gathering of ELA teachers in the US through a newly expanded scholarship program supported by Alane Adams and the Rise Up Foundation in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

NCTE seeks chapters for a new edited collection about multimodal generative AI in ELA teaching and learning. Call for Manuscripts The widening use of generative AI is creating a sea change in literacy education, and the potentials and possibilities are numerous.

NCTE is collaborating with researchers at the Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education (CLE) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on a new project to amplify the voices and expertise of high school English teachers to illuminate how they make pedagogical decisions about texts and literacy instruction in their classrooms. NCTE members who teach in grades 9-12 are invited to apply now to participate in the research study and teacher community.

NCTE released the 2026 African American Read-In (AARI) Report Card, compiling stories and details from hundreds of events engaging more than 112,000 students, educators, and community members in African American literature.

NCTE-led project enters new phase as teacher cohorts apply, refine guidance for helping students think critically with AI FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), with support from a national grant from Google.org, has published a working framework for English language arts educators seeking to understand the appropriate role of AI in the discipline—a pressing issue facing every school and student.