KATE Summer 2023 Executive Board Meeting Summary

ELA educators participate in KATE Camp after the KATE Executive Board Meeting. Pictured from left to right: Jordan Darkis, Marah Koster, Beth Gulley, Amanda Little, Rebecca Pflughoeft, LuAnn Fox, Addie Corman, April Pameticky, Lex Elkins.

by KATE PAGES Editors

The Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE) held its summer executive board meeting on June 21, 2023, at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas in conjunction with KATE Camp (pictured above). The meeting covered various reports, discussions, and action items to enhance the organization's initiatives and activities. Below is a summary of the key points discussed during the meeting.

Reports
Voices of Kansas (VOK): April Pameticky, the editor of VOK, reported that they received over 100 submissions. However, they primarily came from a core group of teachers. April emphasized the need for more academic work submissions to provide exemplars across the spectrum. The deadlines and submission guidelines may be revised to accommodate teachers' schedules better.

Kansas English: Dr. Katie Cramer provided a written report regarding KATE’s educator journal. While the journal still received an array of submissions, the new column to be headed by Sun Young Lee on Diverse Children’s Literature did not receive any submissions. The journal also needs more reviewers with expertise in elementary and early childhood education. 

William Allen White: Rebecca Pflughoefft provided an update on the William Allen White Awards. Multiple rounds of nominations have been received, and the final selections will be made on August 28th.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Krystal Jordan raised important questions regarding distributing informational supplies by KATE and recruiting members from diverse communities during teacher orientation at school districts like Wichita USD 259. The board discussed the possibilities and agreed to take action on these matters.

Conference Committee: The committee reported that keynotes Brian Skinner (KTOY) and Gabe Acevedo (NCTE) have been confirmed. They have finalized the graphics, theme ("Grow Through What You Go Through"), and are continuing to work on the creation of swag, recruiting vendors, and obtaining door prizes for the conference.

Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) Report: LuAnn Fox shared updates from KSDE, including AP Summer Institutes, text complexity and 2025 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) changes, standards revisions, and the state writing assessment. LuAnn emphasized the importance of using more complex texts and implementing new standards by 2025.

KNEA: Amy Jensen reported that this fall KNEA is focusing on helping local Associations with BOE elections. There are many bad actors running for school boards with the intentions of banning books, challenging curriculum, and enacting parent rights.

KATE PAGES (Blog): Amanda Little, the editor of KATE PAGES, announced her plans to step down after the conference due to a new job. The blog's schedule will be condensed for upcoming posts, focusing on KATE Camp and revisiting the protocol for publication.

Membership: Shayn Guillemette provided a written update on membership, which currently stands at 141 active members. The results of a survey conducted among non-active members were discussed, including reasons for not attending the conference. Social events were also reviewed, and it was noted that attendance has been low despite advanced advertising.

Action Items and Follow-up
Several action items and follow-ups were discussed, including the annual review of the constitution and leadership duties. Changes were made and approved through voice votes. The executive board nominations deadline was changed to August 31st, and modifications were made to fix inconsistent language concerning attendance for the executive board. General board member roles were added to the constitution for clarification purposes and to promote continuation of duties once members step down or fulfill their appointments. Various committees were assigned tasks related to the conference, diversity and inclusion, membership, socials, PR, and publications.

Reminders and Adjournment
The board provided reminders to nominate educators for awards, and encourage scholarship applications and board nominations. The meeting adjourned at 12:03 PM.