April 2009 - Welcome Spring!

As the month of April rolls in, I want to invite TYCA members to become involved in several ongoing initiatives. Bradley Bleck is tending our TYCA Webpage, and his creativity is already evident with the National Poetry Month Readings link on our TYCA Homepage. You can also join our TYCA Ning—a brand new social network site for TYCA members. Sign on today and begin sharing your ideas with other TYCA members from across the country. Another link of interest is to the 2009 TYCA Awards recently presented at CCCC in San Francisco. The winners of the Diana Hacker Outstanding Programs in English awards are listed with a description of each of the exemplary programs honored. You can also find the TETYC Best Article of the Year winner and our TYCA Fame and Shame honorees. This year’s Nell Ann Pickett Service Award winner is Sharon Mitchler, who continues to make an outstanding contribution to the two-year college English teaching profession. We congratulate all of our 2009 winners!

April 23, 2009, is NCTE’s Literacy Education Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. In fact, the entire month of April is Literacy Education Advocacy Month! The website www.ncte.org/action/advocacyday highlights several ways educators can become involved in action—from joining NCTE members in Washington to writing letters to your Senators and Representatives to a calendar with Literacy Education Advocacy ideas. The NCTE 2009 Legislative Platform position statement calls upon Congress to “invest in building a comprehensive 21^st century literacy policy.” With a new administration in Washington, the time is now for us to make a difference in our students’ futures. Check out the site and find a way you feel comfortable participating in this important initiative.

April is also the month when we can continue forming ideas of how to spread the word on the National Day on Writing project that begins this spring. The actual National Day on Writing Gallery is October 20, 2009 and information on how to get started is located at www.ncte.org/action/dayonwriting. Your TYCA Executive Committee is planning several ways to highlight local projects—at regional conferences, and on websites. Check out the website, share your ideas on our Ning, sign up to be a curator of your local gallery—in your classroom, your department, your school, your community. Let’s all get writing!

It’s been a long winter for many of us, and the promise of spring is finally here. April is a time of change—and we as TYCA members have the opportunity to bring changes to our profession through our advocacy and participation in our organization. Join me in these exciting times!

Sandie