Red Clay Writing Project

NCTE is thrilled to announce that award-winning author Margaret Atwood will be a keynote speaker at our 2026 Annual Convention, happening in Philadelphia November 19–22.

Atwood has written more than 50 books, including Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic The Handmaid’s Tale was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which became a global number-one bestseller, won the Booker Prize, and was adapted into a television series launched in April on Hulu. NCTE is grateful to Atwood for generously donating her time for the Annual Convention.

We can’t wait to welcome Atwood and thousands of ELA educators to Philly this fall! REGISTER NOW for : four days packed with amazing speakers, more than 1,000 professional learning sessions, and endless opportunities for connection. https://bit.ly/4bilTUK

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NCTE Position Statement on Media Education Position Statement on NCTE’s stance on media education that aligns current research with core practices in English language arts grades K—12.

What's one moment this last school year that shifted your thinking? In your practice, what are things you want more of and what do you want less of? Join colleagues in the to share and reflect. https://bit.ly/3SOwCRe

A few more magical moments of Red Clay SI…

Y’all! This 2026 Red Clay Writing Project Summer Institute has been under way since last week, and I’m now just posting, apologies! This cohort of fellows-they are remarkable. We are so fortunate to have these 14 writers, thinkers, artists, leaders, educators in our midst, and we are learning so much from them every day! Pictured here are a few days of the Institute. We had Life come and facilitate his echo circles with us-three different rounds and incredibly powerful writing created each round. 
We had our own Stephanie Jones come immerse us in the graphica genre, and now I hear side convos of graphica possibly being on this year’s t-shirt design (will keep you posted). We had a 2024 fellow, Caroline Cook bring 2 of her recently graduated high school students presents their civic public administration projects. One was a magazine about ICE in Georgia, and the other was a documentary about Flock cameras and surveillance around communities in GA. They were so brave to come share their work with a group of adult-strangers, and they nailed it!

We have had toy-hacking and testimonios with Mariana. A little multigenre lesson. A zines workshop. And we get to do quilting tomorrow. The fellows have led gorgeous morning pages and mini lessons on such a wide range of topics highlighting their talents and gifts.

So many things continue to grow in red clay. 🙏🏻

Spread the good word! 2026 Summer Institute 🔥

Calling all humans interested in a fantastic teacher education program and one year experience who want to teach in Clarke County Schools!

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Mary Frances Early College of Education

Saturday, December 6, we celebrated the many-ith year of the annual Red Clay Writing Project Conference. These are only a few of the beautiful moments we shared through community, writing, and creating, and this year’s Fellows blew us away facilitating their mini-conference sessions. Among the guests this year, we had past Fellows from the 2022 and 2023 cohorts, and we had a past Fellow from the 2015cohort. We had a few other invited guests of the Fellows, and we had a walk-in guest who joined out of curiosity! A first year PhD student came to catch up on some work, saw the Red Clay conference sign, and wandered into the sessions to see what was what. He ended up staying the rest of the conference, was one of our raffle winners, and best of all, is applying to the 2026 cohort. Our own Stephanie Jones joined us on Zoom to wrap up the conference—and we talked about encountering moments in our lives with a beginners mind. So many good things continue to grow in Red Clay.💖

Had a beautiful, soul filling Red Clay writing day at Ben Burton Park. And a powerful TLE facilitated by former Fellow Mellisa Kurtz! Good things grow in Red Clay✍️