Cultivating Literacy Leaders by Connecting Learners Adolescence Education – English (AEN) Literacy Leadership NCTE Student Affiliate (NCTESA) Founded as part of a course project in 2009 by AEN undergraduate Sarah Kane, members of the NCTESA currently engage in and sponsor several literacy-related activities and events throughout the year, all of which afford members the chance to develop a range of leadership skills. Presently, the NCTESA: Raises funds for literacy initiatives through their semiannual Scholastic Book Fair Collaborates regularly with the Cortland Family Reading Partnership Sponsors a Bright Red Bookshelf at the Cortland Youth Bureau (the sole Young Adult BRB in the region) Donates sets of books to ELA classrooms in the Cortland City School District Funds members’ travel to the annual NYSEC conference (NCTE affiliate of NYS) Hosts campus-wide literacy-related speakers, events and departmental teas for job candidates Leverages members’ expertise and office to advocate for change Authentic Learning Through Local Partnerships AEN teacher candidates frequently realize course objectives through hands-on, project-based learning opportunities that connect them with community members and students in area schools. These projects have included: Online book clubs consisting of members from AEN methods courses and students in Cortland High School’s “Writing Studio” classes The Book Buddies initiative between teacher candidates in AEN Young Adult literature courses and students in area ELA classrooms Cortland Reading Partners that paired AEN graduate students with an adolescent reading partner enrolled in after-school program for area at-risk youth The Re-Imagining Girlhood Participatory Media Workshop that grouped AEN teacher candidates in filmmaking cohorts with local adolescent girls The biennial D.A.T.E. (Discussions About the Teaching of English) conference in which AEN teacher candidates and program alumni have regularly participated with area English teachers The Flat Classroom Project Beginning in spring 2011, AEN teacher candidates will participate in this digital, global collaborative project Digital Advocacy In recent semesters, AEN teacher candidates have been actively engaged in planning and presenting at two day- long conferences about 21 st -century skills: 21 st -Century Leadership Forum o 8:30-3:00, April 14, 2010 at SUNY Cortland o Event was the culminating project for ENG 307: New Media Literacies and the ELA Classroom Connecting Rural Schools for 21 st -Century Readiness o 8:30-3:00, December 10, 2010 at SUNY Cortland o Co-sponsored by OCM and TST BOCES These events catered to administrators, teachers and technologists from both area districts and the College community – members all of the Cortland Regional Professional Development School. The centerpiece of both events was the Student Exhibition, during which conference participants visited stations where AEN teacher candidates demonstrated their Web 2.0 projects. Candidates’ goal? To help build local (and online) learning communities around Web 2.0 and 21 st -century skills integration. Professional Presentation of Scholarship, Learning, and Expertise Teacher candidates present their work at the local, state, and national level, as this sampling of titles demonstrates: Readin', Writin', & Cheatin’ Presentation to the campus community by AEN MAT and MSEd students as part of the Plagiarism and Its Just Desserts series; Spring 2010 Blogs, Wikis, Webquests, and Video Games and Their Effects on Learning and Literacy Tim Casey (MAT); Scholars’ Day 2010 Reading Reflection and Self-Growth: Thematic Units as Instruments of Social Justice Pedagogy Brian Cibelli (MAT), Joyce Hansen (MAT), Kari Redmond (MAT); National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention 2010