KATE Fall Annual Conference
READING & WRITING BETWEEN WORLDS
Imagination and Reality in ELA
October 30th and 31st, 2026
Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview, Wichita
About the 2026 Conference
There was once a time when it was commonplace to find avid readers scattered out and about in the community; wherever the sunshine was warm and distractions were minimal, readers would abound and hungrily escape into a new world with a simple turn of a page. Unfortunately, with widespread use of and access to social media and smartphones, such practice is truly a thing of the past.
In recent years, national interest in the mental and emotional wellbeing of students has escalated. Specifically, more students reportedly struggle with problem solving, critical thinking, and envisioning their future. Accordingly, English Language Arts (ELA) educators across the spectrum must serve as guides to introduce or reconnect all students to the power of reading. If properly encouraged, anyone can learn to escape into the stories of others, thereby (a) developing healthy coping skills to tackle the distressing noises of real life and (b) using critical skills gained from reading.
This year’s conference, Reading and Writing between Worlds: Imagination and Reality in ELA, brings together educators, researchers, and literacy leaders from PreK-12 and higher education to explore ways we can:
On-Time Proposal Deadline: May 1, 2026
Extended Proposal Deadline: June 1, 2026
In recent years, national interest in the mental and emotional wellbeing of students has escalated. Specifically, more students reportedly struggle with problem solving, critical thinking, and envisioning their future. Accordingly, English Language Arts (ELA) educators across the spectrum must serve as guides to introduce or reconnect all students to the power of reading. If properly encouraged, anyone can learn to escape into the stories of others, thereby (a) developing healthy coping skills to tackle the distressing noises of real life and (b) using critical skills gained from reading.
This year’s conference, Reading and Writing between Worlds: Imagination and Reality in ELA, brings together educators, researchers, and literacy leaders from PreK-12 and higher education to explore ways we can:
- Utilize literature and language as tools for guiding students to escape into different realms, discover new relationships, and develop healthy coping methods
- Promote students’ realization about their control over their future by strengthening their language skills and writing ability
- Encourage students to develop peer-based projects and activities that serve students across grade levels, encouraging older students to advocate the unharnessed power of reading and language to younger students
- Harness language and literature as a tool for unity to inspire community-based activities and events (i.e., book discussions, celebratory events for Kansas authors, formal service-learning projects, small group writing sessions to explore publication, etc.)
- Promote inter-disciplinary projects that tackle difficult subjects, encouraging unity
- Elevate and celebrate notable authors by building class assignments that include them, especially authors from Kansas
- Explore how literature can broaden students’ understanding of the world and reflect the many experiences that shape our communities
- Share best practices for professional development, relationships, and longevity as ELA educators
On-Time Proposal Deadline: May 1, 2026
Extended Proposal Deadline: June 1, 2026
NEW CONFERENCE PRICES!
Early & late registration. Discounted speaker registration. Institutional group discounts and sponsorship.
Are many people from your district or school planning on attending?
Download the above graphic with an ad explainer for your admin! Institutional sponsorships save money and have perks!
Download the above graphic with an ad explainer for your admin! Institutional sponsorships save money and have perks!
General admission
Full Conference $190
Full Conference Presenter: $160
Single-Day Registration: $130
Single-Day Presenter: $100
Late Full Conference: $240
Late Single-Day Registration: $180
Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
Full Conference Presenter: $160
Single-Day Registration: $130
Single-Day Presenter: $100
Late Full Conference: $240
Late Single-Day Registration: $180
Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
Students & retirees
Full Conference: $100
Single-Day Registration $80
Late Full Conference: $125
Late Single-Day Registration: $100
Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
Single-Day Registration $80
Late Full Conference: $125
Late Single-Day Registration: $100
Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
Institutional Sponsorships
Send your educators to the best ELA conference in Kansas. Recruit the best to your institution, too!
Each sponsorship level comes with unique perks!
See this PDF for more details!
REGISTRATION NOTE: Institutional registration is for multiple attendees and receives a discounted registration rate. All registrations are for a FULL 2-day conference. No single-day registrations. PLEASE include the names AND emails of EVERYONE you are registering for in the "Note to Seller." Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
AND
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVERTISING: In the NOTE TO SELLER, please provide a stable URL to any graphics for advertising your school district/institution, names and emails for persons attending the conference to speak (Gold & Platinum sponsorship–only), QR code links to site/HR, etc. in accordance to the sponsorship level (see image/graphic).
Send questions to and coordinate your advertising with the KATE President, Rebecca Pflughoeft: [email protected]
Each sponsorship level comes with unique perks!
- Platinum: 10 Registrations (save $300) | Full page program ad | Front page ad on KATE Website | Eligible for institutional representative speaking opportunity before KATE general membership on day of your choice | $1600
- Gold: 8 Registrations (save $200) | Full page program ad | Front page ad on KATE Website| Eligible for institutional representative speaking opportunity before KATE general membership on day of your choice | $1320
- Silver: 6 Registrations (save $120) | 1/2 page program ad | MED. ad on KATE Conference website page | $1020
- Bronze: 4 Registrations (save $60) | 1/4 page program ad | SM. ad on KATE Conference website page | $700
- General: 2 registrations (save $20) | 1/8 page program ad | SM. ad on KATE Conference website page | $360
See this PDF for more details!
REGISTRATION NOTE: Institutional registration is for multiple attendees and receives a discounted registration rate. All registrations are for a FULL 2-day conference. No single-day registrations. PLEASE include the names AND emails of EVERYONE you are registering for in the "Note to Seller." Conference registration includes KATE membership and conference meals. Include any meal preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian. Travel and lodging not included.
AND
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVERTISING: In the NOTE TO SELLER, please provide a stable URL to any graphics for advertising your school district/institution, names and emails for persons attending the conference to speak (Gold & Platinum sponsorship–only), QR code links to site/HR, etc. in accordance to the sponsorship level (see image/graphic).
Send questions to and coordinate your advertising with the KATE President, Rebecca Pflughoeft: [email protected]
2026 Keynote Speakers
FRIDAY LUNCHEON: TBA
SATURDAY LUNCHEON: Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Guadalupe García McCall is the award-winning author of several young adult novels, some short stories for adults, and many children’s poems. Guadalupe has received the Prestigious Pura Belpre Award, a Westchester Young Adult Fiction Award, the Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award, and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award and the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, among many other accolades.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Guadalupe is a compelling speaker who has visited many middle schools, high schools, universities, festivals, conferences, and organizations all over the country. In 2016, she was invited to give a writing workshop and a keynote address at the Sirens Women In Fantasy Conference. In the spring of 2017, Guadalupe was selected as the Inaugural Artist in Residence by the Arne Nixon Center where she visited local high schools and taught courses at California State University Fresno. Also in 2017, Guadalupe gave the keynote for the National Latino Children’s Literature Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In 2018, she gave the keynote at the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts Conference in Galveston, Texas. In 2021, Guadalupe had the honor of moderating the panel, Hispanic Heritage Month Authors Series, Celebrating Latino Experience, History, People, & Cultures, US Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA with the White House Initiative on Advancing Education, Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity (WHIAEEEE), Washington DC. However, her proudest distinction came when her alma mater, Sul Ross State University (SRSU), selected to feature her image and biography on their Living the Dream II – Cultural Pride on Campus mural outside of the Gallego Center.
As an educator, Guadalupe taught K-12 in San Antonio Texas for decades before she moved to the Pacific Northwest to teach undergraduate courses in literature, women’s studies, and creative writing at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. She is currently a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing in the low residency MFA Creative Writing program at Antioch University in Los Angeles, CA, where she teaches graduate courses. As an educator, author, poet, and speaker, Guadalupe is an advocate for literacy, diverse books, and Own Voices. She is now a full-time author/part time educator and lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Jim, where she is working on two more books, Secret of the Moon Conch and Hearts of Fire and Snow, coming from Bloomsbury in 2023 & 2024.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Guadalupe is a compelling speaker who has visited many middle schools, high schools, universities, festivals, conferences, and organizations all over the country. In 2016, she was invited to give a writing workshop and a keynote address at the Sirens Women In Fantasy Conference. In the spring of 2017, Guadalupe was selected as the Inaugural Artist in Residence by the Arne Nixon Center where she visited local high schools and taught courses at California State University Fresno. Also in 2017, Guadalupe gave the keynote for the National Latino Children’s Literature Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In 2018, she gave the keynote at the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts Conference in Galveston, Texas. In 2021, Guadalupe had the honor of moderating the panel, Hispanic Heritage Month Authors Series, Celebrating Latino Experience, History, People, & Cultures, US Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA with the White House Initiative on Advancing Education, Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity (WHIAEEEE), Washington DC. However, her proudest distinction came when her alma mater, Sul Ross State University (SRSU), selected to feature her image and biography on their Living the Dream II – Cultural Pride on Campus mural outside of the Gallego Center.
As an educator, Guadalupe taught K-12 in San Antonio Texas for decades before she moved to the Pacific Northwest to teach undergraduate courses in literature, women’s studies, and creative writing at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. She is currently a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing in the low residency MFA Creative Writing program at Antioch University in Los Angeles, CA, where she teaches graduate courses. As an educator, author, poet, and speaker, Guadalupe is an advocate for literacy, diverse books, and Own Voices. She is now a full-time author/part time educator and lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Jim, where she is working on two more books, Secret of the Moon Conch and Hearts of Fire and Snow, coming from Bloomsbury in 2023 & 2024.
2025 Conference Program
Highlights from Past Conferences
CTE High School Students, Welcome at KATE!
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Bring your CTE students who are interested in teaching to the fall conference for an opportunity to grow future educators!
Students will . . .
For $25 flat fee, 2 days, meals included: Why not? MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY TEACHER |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I send pURCHASE ORDERS/oBTAIN iNVOICES FOR THE CONFERENCE?
- Please use this invoice file!
- For all other financial questions, please contact our Treasurer Eileen Wertzberger.
DOES YOUR CONFERENCE OFFER CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT?
CE Credit will not be offered for the 2024 conference. PD certificates will be emailed to addresses provided with registration.
2025 Conference Sponsors & Partners
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