Submitted by Larry Jordan
Highlights of changes in CATEweb since the last meeting in February:
Last Updated:
Reports for CATE Board of Directors Meeting May 14-16,
1999
Report Index
| President | Membership | Redwood Council | Resolutions | |||
| Vice President | Convention | San Diego Council | Policy | |||
| Past President | Capitol Council | Southland Council | California English | |||
| Council Pres. Committee | Central Council | Tulare Council | CommuniCATE | |||
| Secretary | Fresno Council | Convention Coordinator | CATENet | |||
| Treasurer | Kern Council | CATEweb |
Reports will be added as they are received
| Report Index |
Convention
by CATE 2000 Co-Chair Angus Dunstan
Thanks to co-chair Cecil Morris and our stunningly efficient local arrangements chair, Marla Sullivan, we are off to a good start on planning for CATE 2000 in Sacramento. We have had a series of meetings already and most sub-committee chairs are in place. Next week we hope to visit the Convention Center to get a preview of the space.
Program chair Suzanne Laughrae has formed a committee which is already soliciting additional presenters to supplement those applications we've already received.
We have narrowed our list of major speakers and will be making offers soon.
Almost certain are:
Derek Walcott
Chitra Divakaruni
Billy Collins
Possibles include:
Bharati Muhkerjee
Sherman Alexie
We're still trying for a Young Adult author:
Lois Lowry
Karen Cushman.
If you have not yet proposed a workshop, please contact Angus Dunstan or Cecil Morris
| Report Index |
Capitol Council
by President Angus Dunstan
Our activities have focused exclusively on preparations for CATE 2000. There's a high degree of interest and enthusiasm which we're hoping will carry us through February and on into next year.
We are delighted that we could sponsor a candidate for this year's Board Elections. Susan Karpowicz, who attended our last Leadership Conference, ran for Member at Large Middle School. We also have a new treasurer, Theresa Guadagnola.
After a couple of disappointing cancellations of earlier Council events, we have decided to try a series of dinner meetings starting in the fall. We'll begin with an early evening buffet dinner and feature a high profile guest speaker. We're working on a guest list now.
| Report Index |
San Diego Council
by President Carole LeCren
Since the last CATE board meeting, we have put on the following events:
Tuesday, April 27, 1999 Writing Contest Reception
The reception was held at the San Diego Union-Tribune auditorium for all
the first, second, and third place winners of the CATE Writing Contest. Winners
read their submissions and were awarded certificates and cash prizes. The
San Diego Union-Tribune, through their Newspapers in Education program, sponsored
the event and the first place prizes.
Friday, April 30 - Sunday, May 1, 1999 Lake Arrowhead Retreat
Our annual retreat, with 54 attendees, was again a big success with perfect
weather, a full moon for Judy Inskeep's "Moon Journaling" presentation, and
wonderful food and accommodations. Other presenters included Frank Barone,
Lyn Berry, Sid Forman, and Penny Turk.
Upcoming events include:
Friday, June 4, 1999 Annual Awards Dinner
At this dinner we will honor the NCTE writing contest winners, 8th and 11th
(now seniors) graders, and two homegrown awards (Awards for Excellence in
English/Language Arts) which go to a new teacher and an administrator. We
also recognize our winners from the CATE Conference in Burbank.
Upcoming GSDCTE Board Meetings:
Wednesday, May 19, 1999: San Diego County Office of Education 5-7 p.m.
Saturday, June 12, 1999: Don Mayfield's house 9-noon
| Report Index |
Southland Council
by President Pat Ellis
Southland Council of Teachers of English was proud to have hosted the 1999 CATE Conference in Burbank in February, which featured dynamic speakers, 175 terrific sessions for teachers of all grade levels, and the most mouth watering meals (and, incidentally, the largest meal functions ever). The conference's success was a tribute to the hard work of Joyce Bennett and JoAnna Exacoustos, convention co-chairs, and all the SCTE members who helped them.
Southland was happy to present awards to an elementary school teacher, Wendy Hearne, and a bookstore owner, Anita Cano of Cultura Latina, but most especially to secondary and college teacher Jane Hancock, whose "Why I am A Teacher" speech brought resounding cheers from the Sunday morning audience.
SCTE was especially happy to see so many Southern California teachers at the conference, demonstrating local support for CATE and its activities. An extra bonus for SCTE: Increased membership!
Just three weeks later, SCTE hosted the Victorian Tea, under the direction of Joanne Fahey, to honor the winners of the NCTE writing contest, their parents, and their teachers. Students and their guests were treated to a delicious array of food and entertainment and received both their award and a gift certificate, compliments of SCTE.
Sunspots, SCTE's quarterly newsletter, continues to be published to inform all SCTE members of the council's activities. An election ballot has been sent of all SCTE members, who will be voting this month on a new president, vice president, and members-at-large, all of whom will be taking their places on the board this fall.
A spring retreat will be held at the Industry Hills Sheraton on June 4th and 5th, at which time new board members will be welcomed and retiring board members will be honored. In addition, the SCTE constitution and board policies will be reviewed and revised as necessary.
Plans are being made for our annual fall convention, to be held in October in Pasadena. SCTE members will be working this summer with new vice-president JoAnne Mitchell on all of the many conference details.
| Report Index |
Central Council
by President Caroline Caracciolo
Since CATE '99 in Burlingame, our council has been involved in several things. Shortly after the convention, several of our board members gave a New Teacher reception for all of the first year teachers in their district. Those that attended had a good time. It was a place to talk, share teaching experiences this past year, and also to hear about CATE and what this organization can offer to new teachers.
On May 23, Central Council will hold its Awards Brunch to honor students and teachers. The CATE and NCTE Writing Award winners and the Classroom Excellence winners will be invited to our Awards Brunch to be held in San Mateo. We will honor all of our winners, as well as our CATE Distinguished Service Award nominee. We are looking forward to this celebration.
In our last newsletter, our council has sent ballots to all of our members to vote for officers, board members and changes to our constitution. If the members approve the constitution changes, then the office of President, Vice President and Past President will be for two years. The office of President Elect will be eliminated. This will greatly improve our board membership as well as give each office two years to understand and complete all responsibilities. Also, thanks to our Policy Chair Matt Weeks, our council has our web site up and running. I encourage all CATE board members to check it out. The web site is: http://webalias.com/central.
We have already selected two people to be our scholarship recipients for the 49th Asilomar Conference in September. Our May 22nd board meeting will finalize our duties for the Asilomar Conference, as well as focus on nominees for CATE award winners for CATE '2000. We will also be planning our fall conference, and will continue to look at ways to increase our membership, and provide our members with services they need.
As Central Council President, I have learned much and feel that our board has done a great job. We have made positive changes in order to serve our membership better. I look forward to next year, and to working with Central Council Board. They are a fine dedicated group of professionals who have made my job of President so much easier.
| Report Index |
Fresno Council
by President Susan Schauwecker
FACET has given away four $50 U.S. Savings Bonds to Writing Winners at the San Joaquin Valley Writer's Conference at Fresno State. Students are so thrilled that someone has read their work and thought it to be worthy of attention. We spend the day listening to guest speakers, and in the afternoon students get to take one short introductory class on poetry writing, science fiction writing, prose, short story, or journalistic styles of writing. There are about 300-500 students and teachers accompanying them.
We also had a one last FACET meeting at Border's Bookstore. We give away $20.00 gift certificates for a special drawing for those people who come. Our guest speaker was poet Jean Janzen. Her poetry was especially poignant for women who have experienced the loss of their mothers. Actually she has been one of our guest speakers who particularly speak to issues facing all of us, our environment, and our relationships with other people. She will be featured at the Yosemite Conference, and if you have a chance please make a special point to talk to her. She is a very down to earth woman.
We have on-going problems with membership. Our issues in FACET are the same as other councils. I will miss you all. Thank you for allowing me to sit on the board for the last several years.
| Report Index |
Past-President’s Report
by Vince Piro
1. NCTE Liaison
2. CATE Elections
Results presented to CATE BOD for verification. The results of the CATE elections
will be posted on CATEWeb after verification by the BOD. The following positions
have been elected:
Secretary
Membership Chair
Member-at-Large (3)
Council Representatives
3. Comments and suggestions
Please email me any comments or suggestions you have about this year’s
election at pirov@merced.cc.ca.us
4. 2000 Elections: The following positions are open for election:
President
Vice-President
Member-at-Large (3)
Council Representatives
5. CATE Awards
Councils should begin looking for award candidates in the following
categories: Classroom Excellence, Award of Merit, and Distinguished Service.
See the policies for specific guidelines.
Nomination forms for both CATE elections and awards will be available at the May meeting.
| Report Index |
Convention Coordinator
Submitted by Punky Fristrom
1. CATE 99 Review
2. CATE 2000
3. Convention chair for CATE 2001
4. CATE 2004
Proposals have been received from Bakersfield, Burbank Hilton, Fresno, Los
Angeles- Biltmore, Century Plaza, LAX Hilton, LAX Sheraton; Palm Springs,
Pasadena, Ontario, Town and Country (San Diego) and Visalia. Proposals are
pending from LAX Marriott and Riverside. Details of the proposals are
confidential, so will be distributed at the board meeting.
5. CATE 2005
Based on the selected location for CATE 2004, the committee needs to recommend
the general location for CATE 2005.
6. Affordable Meetings Convention.
Anne and I attended a convention planners meeting on March 31 and April 1.
We talked to dozens of representatives from possible sites for CATE conventions
and board meetings. We attended numerous seminars covering legal issues,
negotiating, how to reduce costs and other related areas. The convention
was free and we were able to arrange for a hotel room at half price.
7. Appointment of Convention Coordinator for 1999-2000.
| Report Index |
CATENet Report
Jim Burke, CATENet Moderator
CATENet has continued to grow daily. It has proven particularly helpful to a number of people lately who are writing articles and books about the "reading wars." These inquiries have forced me to go back into the archives to find past messages. This is not the way I prefer to spend my time, but it does point out that the archives are, for the most part, accessible in the pinch.
CATENet has helped to promote such regional gatherings as summer institutes and Asilomar.
Finally, I was recently nominated by a group of people for the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award (for my work through CATENet). I am supposed to see the testimonials from people ranging from Ken Goodman to Connie Weaver, Don Graves to Diane Levin some time in the future. I will be happy to share those when I receive them. Should I receive this award, I plan to use it as an opportunity to recognize CATE's leadership and example to other affiliates. The award is supposed to be announced at the November convention.
I have been in several different panels recently where I spoke of CATE's commitment to helping with the reading lists and the exit exams, most recently as a member of California Reads, Clinton's western region version of America Reads, where I had the chance to speak with Sec. Hart's Deputy Secretary of Education at some length.
If any one has any questions, please send them along.
Submitted in good faith,
Jim Burke
| Report Index |
Redwood Council Report
The Redwood Council Executive Board met on April 13 to discuss our final
general meeting of the year and to set some tentative goals and an agenda
for our general meeting to be held on April 29. We were especially pleased
by the turnout for the reception for the classroom excellence award winner
from our area and discussed ways to include community college members in
our future endeavors.
On April 29, we met at a local restaurant. The program was a mini-course on creating student books and ways to bind them. During the business portion of the meeting, we reported on the opportunities for current members to invite new members with the half price offer found in California English. Many of the teachers in attendance at the meeting who were not members took advantage of the offer. We are encouraged that we have more local teachers attending each meeting and that those in attendance are inviting others to join.
We also discussed the success of CATE 99 and talked about the fact that CATE 2000 will be easier for us to attend because it is in Sacramento. There was a concern that our site councils and administrations understand how valuable CATE convention can be for teachers. Members asked me to write a letter as the council representative explaining why teachers should be financially supported in their requests to attend CATE 2000 and to send it to local school districts and their site councils.
CATEweb and CATEnet were explained by member Bob Chapman. Many were interested in signing onto CATEnet. We especially discussed the value of knowing about the legislative directions since most of us only find out when our administrations tell us that we have new requirements, tests, etc. Professionally, it is a good way to stay current.
Our hot topic of the meeting was the CATE writing contest. We made a push this year to have entries for the state writing contest, a change in format from previous years in our local contest. Hopefully some strong entries were sent to the state contest from Redwood Council. Some teachers were concerned that we had changed our local contest so drastically from a genre focus to a theme focus. We had a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of each and agreed to address the issue in the fall when each school comes back to the meeting with input from teachers at each site.
We discussed specific goals for next year. We will hold four formal meetings, starting with a reception and book exchange in the fall to welcome new teachers and invite them to join CATE. We plan to recognize teachers for classroom excellence at more than one level, and we plan to at least double our attendance at CATE 2000. We also would like to work on promoting CATE as a significant opportunity for articulation between the English teachers at all levels in our area.
After a slow start, Redwood Council seems to be gaining momentum. As president, I am encouraged by the local interest. Each meeting has drawn new attendees, and people have been returning to continue supporting our efforts. I look forward to the challenges and rewards of next year.
--respectfully submitted by Joan Williams, Redwood Council Representative
| Report Index |
California English
May 1, 1999
TO: CATE Board
FROM: Carol Jago, editor
RE: California English
Manuscript report, February 1998- May 1999
Total manuscripts submitted 28
Manuscripts accepted 12
Manuscripts rejected 10
With reviewers 6
I have entered California English in the NCTE affiliate journal award contest. Entries were due May 1. It was a difficult decision whether to enter the "Who Will Teach Them to Read?" issue or the "Literature Standards" issue (we can only submit one). I sent in the most recent issue thinking that this is a model for what other affiliates might be doing for their own standards.
The California English session at CATE 99 on "Writing for Publication" was very successful. Over 40 members attended. 25 of them signed up to be reviewers for the magazine. I have written follow-up letters to each of them thanking them and outlining the responsibilities of a reviewer. All but 4 have already received manuscripts to assess. I continue to believe that being a reviewer is a valuable step towards writing for publication. A good example of this is Pam Harrelson who read many manuscripts for us and had an article of her own in the spring issue of California English.
Calls for manuscripts:
Fall 1999
The Play¹s the Thing (deadline July 15, 1999)
Many of us teach Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, The Glass Menagerie, The
Crucible, and Antigone. What other plays have you had success with in your
classroom? Have you experimented with lesser-known Shakespearean works? What
new plays have you seen that you would love to teach? And how does one "teach"
a play, anyway? Have you found pairings of classical and contemporary drama
that work particularly well? Do you ask students write their own plays? What
does drama do for readers and viewers that other genre cannot?
Winter 1999
Censorship in the Classroom and inside Ourselves (deadline October 1, 1999)
Book-banning in public schools erupt periodically throughout the United States.
What experience have you had with censorship? Do you find you avoid books
that might create waves? How have you helped students understand censorship
and the reasons why their right to read is so important to defend? NCTE and
IRA have stated that "All students in public school classrooms have the right
to materials and educational experiences that promote open inquiry, critical
thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others." What
books have raised questions in your community? How have these questions been
answered? Please consider writing a rationale for the teaching of a piece
of literature that others might find dangerous.
| Report Index |
Submitted by Larry Jordan
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