Resolutions 2023 - California Association of Teachers of English (2023)


Intro to the 2023 Resolutions

  1. Resolution on Book Bans
  2. Resolution to Embrace Ever-changing AI as it Relates to Education
    1. ChatGPT-Created Resolution on its Integration into High School English Curriculum
  3. Resolution on the Science of Reading
  4. Resolution on English Matters to Everything
  5. Resolution on Co-teaching in English Classrooms at the Secondary Level
  6. Resolution for Commendation

Intro to the 2023 Resolutions

In the 2023 CATE Resolutions, the committee shares CATE’s position on five topics that were brought forth by CATE members before and during the Monterey convention. The resolutions that follow address the issue of book bans, the emergence of AI in the classroom, the discussion around the science of reading, the impact of English on everything (with a focus on higher ed), and the importance of proper co-teaching.

To get to the drafts that you see below, the committee, representing five of our nine local councils, went through a process of writing and rewriting, presenting two times to the CATE Board, and then finally reading the resolutions to our members and having them pass at the Sunday Business Meeting/Town Hall.

These resolutions are for you. Please use them to aid you in the classroom and to support you in discussions with your colleagues, your administration, and your school boards.

If there is a concern that you are experiencing or noticing that is affecting the English profession and would like CATE to address it, please reach out to your local council representative.

All the best,
Ashley Prevo, MAL Secondary, Resolutions Chair


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I. Resolution on Book Bans

BACKGROUND

In 2022, California Association of Teachers of English recognized The American Library Association had seen an unprecedented number of challenges (330), particularly concerning books addressing LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC and resolved to reaffirm the principle that the decision on what books to teach are best made by professional teachers working in established curricular committees, encouraging English teachers to resist censorship of challenging books and topics (II. RESOLUTION ON AFFIRMING TEACHERS’ OBLIGATION TO TEACH CRITICAL READING, WRITING, and THINKING). CATE further resolved to continue to recognize the importance of language in challenging the dominant power structure in order to continue a democratic society by preserving teacher autonomy, honoring their professionalism, and protecting their authority to open the classroom to diverse ideas, and in order to resist legislation which threatens this autonomy (III. RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS AND EMPOWER TEACHER AUTONOMY). In an article, published in April of 2022 and revisited in September, PEN America reported on the continuing book bans occurring throughout the greater United States. California has not, at the state level, banned any books between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, however, there have been multiple books challenged within libraries and schools at the elementary, high school, and community college levels, and also within various districts throughout California (https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/).

Whereas, CATE commends the legislation of California for its stance against banning books; and

Whereas, the California Department of Education has outlined that books chosen for California schools and classrooms will be made at the site or district level, and

Whereas, we recognize the role of educators to be one of challenging students to see the world through another lens and to interact in compassionate and empathetic ways that lay the foundations for a civil, democratic society through inquisitive and well-rounded discourse, and

Whereas, books whose characters and/or themes are or relate to LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC are banned at a higher percentage than any other books, and

Whereas, book bans disproportionately affect access to already marginalized students as their access to books may only be through the public institutions of school and libraries, and

Whereas, a large majority of book bans currently underway are brought forth by advocacy groups that demand censorship along concerns stemming from their ideological standpoint rather than concerns stemming from an educational standpoint, and

Whereas, book bans actively restrict people from language and ideas which might challenge a power structure, but which also may expand and highlight the corruption of a society, exploring ideas and world views not immediately present in one’s daily life;

Be it therefore resolved, that CATE, alongside its national organization, National Council of Teachers of English, and sister organizations such as California Library Association, California School Libraries Association, and California Reading Association, refuses to censor books, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE advocates for student access, and teacher autonomy and professional ability, to choose books which represent characters who not only reflect student backgrounds, understanding of the world, but also give them a window into a world view outside of their own, and

Be it further resolved that teachers communicate empathetically with parents in a way that builds bridges between families,guardians and teacher goals for students – communicating rather than dismissing immediately the concerns that may lead to division and push for censorship.

Therefore, be it finally resolved, CATE will continue to encourage its membership to be active in advocating for book reading and intellectual freedoms within their local classrooms, schools and public libraries.

Freedom to Teach: Statement against Banning Books

https://ncte.org/freedom-teach-banning-books/

District Selection Policies – Recommended Literature List (CA Dept of Education) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/rl/litrlppolicies.aspp

Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/

Workbook for Selection Policy Writing https://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=dealing&Template/ContenManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11173

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics

U.S. school book bans on the rise due to advocacy groups, report says https://www.reuters.com/world/us/organized-groups-fuel-rapid-rise-us-book-banning-report-says-2022-09-19/

Book Banning, Curriculum Restrictions, and the Politicization of U.S. Schools https://www.americanprogress.org/article/book-banning-curriculum-restrictions-and-the-politicization-of-u-s-schools/

How conservative and liberal book bans differ amid rise in literary restrictions https://abcnews.go.com/US/conservative-liberal-book-bans-differ-amid-rise-literary/story?id=96267846

As Book Bans Escalate, Here’s What You Need to Know https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/as-book-bans-escalate-heres-what-you-need-to-know/2022/09

TO

California English

California School Library Association

(Video) Most Powerful video you will see on New Year Resolutions - 24 Resolutions for 2023!

California Reading Association

National Council of Teachers of English

California Department of Education

County offices of Education


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II. Resolution to Utilize Ever-changing AI as it Relates to Education

BACKGROUND

The pace of technological development occurs at a breakneck speed. Now, educators have to grapple with the rapid improvement of AI-generated writing. In late November 2022, ChatGPT, one of many AI-generative websites, went live. In rapid succession, a Princeton student created a website that can determine if a text has been generated by AI. Like all technology, AI-generated text platforms improve every second as more and more people use them; and these tools change more rapidly than educators can keep up. College professors and secondary educators are already starting to see AI-generated work in their classrooms. Additionally, elementary and middle school students will grow up with and into an understanding of the use of AI, and as such their educators have the opportunity to frame its use as an educational tool. Some educators’ first impulse is to reject the technology and seek blocks against these websites. In a similar vein, educators already use intrusive monitoring websites like GoGuardian to monitor which online tools students use. Conversely, educators are trying to understand and leverage AI technology to help their students navigate the ever-changing online world. This directly relates to this year’s CATE Convention theme: “Sea Changes: Traditions and Transformations in California English Language Arts.”

Whereas, educators recognize that 21st century students have unmitigated access to online tools, and they will use them to complete a wide range of assignments within their professional and/or academic careers, and

Whereas, students of all ages have already normalized behavior that engages with various AI technology, like Siri, Alexa, search engines, gaming platforms, etc, at home and at school, and

Whereas, educators often require students to use technology to brainstorm, plan, draft, and revise a wide range of texts, and

Whereas, policing student work for AI-generated content would be a sisyphean task for English teachers, and

Whereas, these platforms have limitations: according to the Chat GPT website, Chat GPT acknowledges that its responses “May occasionally generate incorrect information…May occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content…[and] Limited knowledge of world and events after 2021,” and

Whereas, the staggeringly rapid output of these AI models may eventually exceed human writing output, and by extension will eventually source their own responses, potentially creating a degradation loop (a la a copy of a copy) which may dilute or distort the quality of their output or the intent of the human generated source material, and

Whereas, student perspective and student voice are becoming an increasingly needed consideration when generating discussion and writing responses, while the reliance on AI-assisted brainstorming, researching, summarizing, and reporting, all distance the learner from their own unique thoughts and perspective, and

Whereas, students have already shown challenges with media literacy, fact checking, and bias detection, and that they are already unlikely to challenge the top results found in search engines, social media posts and blogs/vlogs, news headlines, etc., let alone second guess a technology that does not show sources to even allow it to be readily fact checked, that writes in an emulated academic level that prevents most students at or below reading level to recognize the evidence of the biases or inaccuracies of the content, and

Whereas, these platforms already have paid-for services which can raise the potential for equity challenges (in addition to already prevalent disparities in tech hardware and connection access) especially in regards to resource and service gate-keeping as premium subscriptions discriminate between socio-economic divisions of access;

Be it therefore resolved, that CATE embrace the possibilities presented by AI-generated work, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE support educators in how they might use the ever-changing AI writing tools to teach students to be creative, critical thinkers and writers.

  • Teach students how to use AI for brainstorming and planning.
    • Teach students how to use general AI responses as a draft to incorporate more current and specific examples.
  • Teach students how to critically analyze the bias in AI-generated responses.
  • Teach students how to use AI for metacognition in their own writing processes.
  • Teach students how to be more digitally literate, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE urges school districts to provide professional development that is fresh and exploratory with the intent to be flexible with the ongoing changes to AI tech. This includes funding and other support for curriculum development that incorporates AI technology, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE urges all educators to actively engage in conversations and research about best practices in AI technology, and will use the most up-to-date research coming from colleges and universities, bridging idea access from those on the cutting edge of these tech frontiers to those in the classroom using tried and tested pedagogy, and

Be it finally resolved, that CATE will encourage local school sites to solicit student voice and input in how schools appropriately leverage this technology.

TO

California Teachers Association

California Department of Education

Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Instruction

CA English

CA subject matter projects

County Offices of Education

Local school boards

References

Huang, Kalley. “Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach,” The

New York Times, 16 Jan. 2023, The New York Times, Co.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/technology/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-universities.html.

Jimenez, Kayla. “ChatGPT in the Classroom: Here’s What Teachers and Students are Saying,”

USA Today, USA Today, 1 Mar. 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/03/01/what-teachers-students-saying-ai-chatgpt-use-classrooms/11340040002/.

Miller, Matt. “ChatGPT, Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence in Education,” Ditch That Textbook,

Ditch That Textbook, 17 Dec. 2022. https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai#t-1671292150906.

McMurtrie, Beth. “AI and the Future of Undergraduate Writing: Teaching Experts are

Concerned, but not for the Reasons You Think,” The Chronicle of Higher Education,

The Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 Dec. 2022, https://www.chronicle.com/article/ai-and-the-future-of-undergraduate-writing.

(Video) (English) Meeting of the Board of Education, March 15, 2023

Short, Casey. “Introducing ChatGPT to Your Classroom,” MiddleWeb: All About the Middle

Grades, updated 10 Jan. 2023, https://www.middleweb.com/48319/introducing-chatgpt-to-your-classroom/.

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II. A) Artificial Intelligence-Generated Resolution on its Integration into High School English Curriculum

Note from Resolutions Committee: This resolution was created using ChatGPT for comparative purposes.

Whereas, ChatGPT is a powerful and innovative artificial intelligence language model designed to assist in communication and learning; and

Whereas, ChatGPT is capable of providing students with real-time feedback on their writing assignments, answering questions, and engaging in educational discussions; and

Whereas, High school English teachers are always seeking innovative ways to enhance their teaching and provide their students with the best possible learning experiences;

Be it therefore resolved that high school English teachers should integrate ChatGPT into their curriculum to enhance their teaching methodology and assist their students in developing their writing skills.

The integration of ChatGPT into the high school English curriculum will provide students with access to an innovative educational tool that can assist them in improving their writing skills. ChatGPT is capable of providing students with immediate feedback, and it can also assist students in identifying their mistakes, which can be beneficial in the learning process.

Furthermore, ChatGPT can be used to supplement the classroom environment by providing students with a virtual learning experience. It can be used to engage students in educational discussions, answer questions and provide them with relevant and up-to-date information.

High school English teachers can use ChatGPT to enhance their teaching methodology by utilizing its features to design innovative lesson plans that are more interactive and engaging. Teachers can also use ChatGPT to provide students with writing prompts, and the model can provide students with feedback on their writing, which can help them improve their skills.

In conclusion, the integration of ChatGPT into the high school English curriculum can provide numerous benefits to both teachers and students. Teachers can utilize the model to enhance their teaching methodology, and students can benefit from its features to improve their writing skills and engage in interactive learning experiences. Therefore, it is recommended that high school English teachers should embrace ChatGPT as an innovative educational tool and incorporate it into their teaching methodology. (Chat GPT Created on March 2, 2023)

OpenAI. ChatGPT. chat.openai.com/. Accessed 2 Mar 2023.


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III. Resolution on the Science of Reading

BACKGROUND

In 2022, the podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong,” hosted by Emily Hanford, brought to light particular failures of reading instruction and companies that thrive from those missteps in education which precipitate the need for intervention classes and services throughout a student’s academic career. A scholarly article published by Lexia Learning states that the science of reading “refers to more than five decades of gold-standard research about how we learn to read and how reading is effectively taught.” This practice was developed based on the model of the “Reading Rope” as developed and published by Hollis Scarborough in 2001. This is an instructional approach to teaching reading through phonological awareness, decoding, and sight awareness which is rooted not only in theoretical research and data, but also in classroom evidence of success.

Resolutions 2023 - California Association of Teachers of English (1)

Whereas, we know that reading is the foundation of a literate society and enables people to fully engage through job skills, citizenry, and personal fulfillment, and

Whereas, reports and qualitative evidence are emerging which identify a wide variety of students that are displaying clear challenges with reading, and

Whereas, teaching foundational skills such as decoding may be interpreted as tedious rather than understood correctly as the beginning of a student’s reading journey, at any grade level, and

Whereas, educators need not start again from scratch, nor see alternate past instruction as a failure in instruction; instead they should recognize and embrace opportunities to continue to model what it looks like to be effective lifelong learners who incorporate research based practices such as direct instruction in phonics and decoding, grounded in the California ELA/ELD Framework into their teaching practice, and

Whereas, our focus always has to be the student, which requires attention to best practices and new research in teaching;

Be it therefore resolved, that CATE share and continue to support best practices around the science of reading, by urging districts to provide professional development to guide teachers in honing their craft based on reading strategies that have been empirically proven to work in order to center teacher professionalism and autonomy.

“What Is the Science of Reading? How the Human Brain Learns to Read.” Lexia Learning,

https://www.lexialearning.com/blog/what-is-the-science-of-reading-how-the-human-brain-learns-to-read.

“Scarborough’s Reading Rope: A Groundbreaking Infographic.” International Dyslexia

Association, 4 Apr. 2018, https://dyslexiaida.org/scarboroughs-reading-rope-a-groundbreaking-infographic/.

TO

Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California State University’s Chancellor’s Office

University of California’s Board of Regents

California State University Provosts and Presidents

California Faculty Association

California Department of Education

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

California Teachers Association

National Writing Project

California English

County Offices of Education

Teaching Preparation Programs

(Video) The List: Pat's 2023 New Year's Resolutions

National Council of Teachers of English

Modern Language Association

Conference on College Composition and Communication

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

California Teachers Association


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IV. RESOLUTION THAT ENGLISH MATTERS TO EVERYTHING

BACKGROUND

There is a pattern across California State University (CSU) campuses to cut liberal-arts, humanities, and language courses. Such cuts have trickled down to California’s community colleges, and subsequently have profound implications for all of our K-12 scholars and teachers.

Our colleague at CSU Long Beach, Professor of English, Dr. Boak Ferris, recently wrote to California’s English Council listserv and stated

As a former (multilingual) Composition Coordinator/GWAR Coordinator with teaching duties in both English and in Comparative World Literature/Classics, I have followed with professional outrage a pattern across the CSU campuses to cut liberal-arts, humanities, and language courses from GE.

Echoing Ferris’ concerns, Dr. John R. Edlund, Professor Emeritus of English and Modern Languages at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, stated that these “programs are declining mainly because students are not enrolling in them. It is not the prejudices of a few administrators that are causing this, it is the general trend of our society.” He recommended that

Rather than defending the value of the English major as it currently exists…it is necessary for English departments to re-think and re-invent themselves, perhaps as Writing Studies departments. But it will be a lot of work and may not be successful. Times have changed.

If student enrollment in these programs is a problem, then a deeper understanding of the critical function of a liberal arts education and study in the humanities is needed. The humanities provide students with classes in which they can study a number of topics including: languages, literature, art, dance, history, music, theater, law, and philosophy. These courses equip students with skills including reading comprehension, written and oral communication, critical thinking, the ability to understand and solve complex problems, and how to work well with others, which are essential to a wide-variety of occupations. Whether one wants to be a doctor, an engineer, or a biologist, having skills that are uniquely offered by liberal arts courses, like those in the humanities, is essential. (See the article in the Harvard Business Review: “Yes, Employers Do Value Liberal Arts Degrees.”) Additionally, in 2022, California voters made their support for funding the humanities abundantly clear with 64% voting in favor of Proposition 28, which meant allocating $1 billion of additional funding for music and the arts in education.

In terms of majoring in English specifically, there are countless ways students can use this degree, as illustrated in the image below (“The Norton Critical Edition Chart of Literary Stars Infographic Poster” designed by Leah Clark).

Resolutions 2023 - California Association of Teachers of English (2)

In addition to providing the essential skills, knowledge, and understandings necessary for any occupation, humanities courses are also the foundation to democracy, as John Dewey (1922) and countless others (Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2020; hooks, 1994; Morrell, 2008) have written about extensively, and international bodies have further affirmed. Recognizing the centrality of literacy for shaping life possibilities, for being able to eradicate poverty, realize gender equality, establish sustainable development, reduce child mortality, and promote peace and democracy, the United Nations General Assembly declared the period between 2003 and 2012 to be the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNESCO, 2005), a decade for “Literacy as Freedom,” a decade in which literacy is recognized as a human right to be championed for all. Included in the vision was an emphasis on establishing stronger connections between formal and informal education and also between policy design and practice. Among the 129 countries providing data for the decade, the conviction is clear: the importance of literacy is universal.

Beyond the CSUs, there are similar moves to cut English at the university-level around the country. Marymount University recently eliminated its English major (Anderson, 2023). And, according to a March 6th article in The New Yorker, “From 2012 to the start of the pandemic, the number of English majors on campus at Arizona State University fell from nine hundred and fifty-three to five hundred and seventy-eight” (Heller, 2003). The article further notes that ASU is not alone. At Ohio State, from 2012 to 2020, the number of students graduating with a humanities degree dropped by 46%. Tufts lost close to 50%. Boston University lost 42%. Notre Dame’s had a 50% attrition. For SUNY Albany, it was nearly 75%. The liberal arts colleges of Vassar and Bates lost nearly half of their humanities majors. And, in 2018, the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, entertained eliminating 13 majors, which included English. During the past decade, those studying English and history in college have decreased by a third, and those studying humanities have fallen by 17% overall.

We may see state administrators and trustees making systemwide curricular policy based on fads and trends suggesting that “Liberal” “Arts” are simply not “scientific.”

Whereas, declining enrollment numbers and budget cuts are creating the impetus for colleges and universities to restructure schools, including the slashing of schools of arts and humanities, and

Whereas, universities are defunding English programs, and

Whereas, fatalism about the longevity of English majors is being propagated in the mass media, and

Whereas, language-fluency underpins STEM expertise, including understanding natural language programming and artificial intelligence, and

Whereas, literacy is foundational to any democracy and informed civic participation, and

Whereas, literacy is essential in shaping life possibilities, eradicating poverty, realizing gender equality, establishing sustainable development, reducing child mortality, and promoting peace and democracy, and

Whereas, studies in the humanities are essential for cultivating students’ critical-thinking and empathy; they are also essential for establishing professional and ethical guidelines and personal conduct, and

Whereas, studies in the humanities are necessary for developing one’s philosophy/ideology and understanding of how to navigate the world compassionately with respect, care, and commitment to everyone’s collective well being, and

Whereas, English is essential for student success in general education courses, and

Whereas, the study of English is essential in fostering literacies of access and social justice, and

Whereas, the study of English is indispensable for incubating the essential skills, knowledges, and understandings to access higher education as well as gainful and rewarding employment, and

Whereas, the study of English is central in shaping a more vibrant, participatory, and socially just global society,

Be it therefore resolved that CATE urge teachers of English to make explicit to scholars in their classes how English matters to everything in its myriad applications as a discipline, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE urge that educational bodies take deliberate and immediate steps to integrate humanities and STEM education, and

Be it finally resolved, that CATE urge universities and state administrators to refuse to give into pressure to eliminate English majors, classes, and the educators who teach them, and actively protect, promote, and fund the study of English at all levels.

TO

Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California State University’s Chancellor’s Office

University of California’s Board of Regents

California State University Provosts and Presidents

California Faculty Association

California Department of Education

(Video) Are Your New Year Resolutions Similar To Those of French People? | Easy French 144

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

California Teachers Association

National Writing Project

California English

County Offices of Education

Teaching Preparation Programs

National Council of Teachers of English

Modern Language Association

Conference on College Composition and Communication

References

Anderson, N. (2023, February 25). Marymount votes to cut many liberal arts majors. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/24/marymount-university-humanities-majors-eliminated/

Dewey, J. (1922). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: The Macmillan company.

Heller, N. (2023, February 28). The end of the English major: Enrollment in the humanities is in free fall at colleges around the country. What happened? The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/06/the-end-of-the-english-major.

Fay, Leah (n.d.) What can you do with an English major? [Infographic Poster for W.W. Norton & Company]. Retrieved March 4, 2023, from https://leahfay.com/infographics.

Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Giroux, H. (2020). On critical pedagogy. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.

Morrell, E. (2008). Critical literacy and urban youth: Pedagogies of access, dissent, and liberation. New York, NY: Routledge.

Pasquerella, L. (2019, September 19) Yes, employers do value liberal arts degrees. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2019/09/yes-employers-do-value-liberal-arts-degrees

UNESCO (2005). UNESCO and Education. Paris, France: UNESCO.


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V. Resolution on Co-teaching in English Classrooms at the Secondary Level

BACKGROUND

With the passage of, and subsequent amendments to, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), many districts have moved to a co-teaching model which assigns a general and special education teacher sharing a classroom. While the intention is to better serve and integrate students in a more equitable way, many of these districts have failed to define the co-teaching relationship, to provide professional development to support it, to establish a baseline for the roles and responsibilities, or to reinforce the parity that should be shared between the two educators.

Whereas, often, teachers are not provided with rosters or student demographics prior to the start of school, and, once the teachers are given their rosters, the access special education teachers and general education teachers are given to student background information may conflict and so their ability to equally plan for daily lessons and work in an equally collaborative environment is stunted, and

Whereas, often the shared classroom is challenged for space, so that the co-teacher may not have a dedicated desk and may have to sit at a student desk, leaving everyone involved with the perception that they are not equally teachers in the classroom, and

Whereas, an imbalance in the educator workload is created not because either teacher could not have contributed but because of the lack of clear expectations surrounding each educator’s contributions within these roles, and

Whereas, in order for successful collaborative teaching to take place, there must be time allotted for collaborative planning, assessment evaluation, building rapport between teachers, and this allotted time must be protected, encouraged, and supported by the school districts, and

Whereas, the imbalances will systematically cause a direct impact on the effectiveness of instruction, the co-teacher’s ability to support students, and ultimately will result in a negative impact on the students’ academic potential in the classroom, and

Whereas, out of respect to the expertise and professionalism of both teachers involved in this co-teaching model, the value of their roles and contributions should be treated with the consideration and esteem afforded by their specialized experience, and

Whereas, large class sizes alongside special education caseloads, and the number of special education students rostered to single classrooms, reduce the efficacy of these co-teachers resulting in students not receiving the required support, and

Whereas, we recognize that this is fundamentally an issue of equity for our students,

Be it therefore resolved, that CATE urge that in order for the co-teaching model to be effective and to meet the needs of all students, co-teaching roles must be clearly defined per local board policy, and substantial and sufficient resources should be allocated to the preparation and maintenance of the co-teaching relationship so that all students’ needs are met, and

Be it further resolved, that CATE urge that the ratio of special education students to general education students in a classroom should not exceed 30%; further, the spirit of this policy should not be subverted by doubling class sizes to accommodate student numbers which assume a separate case load for each educator.

TO

California Department of Education

California Teachers Association

County Offices of Education

CSU Chancellor’s Office

UC Board of Regents


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VI. CATE 2023: BOARD RESOLUTION–COMMENDATION OF THE CONVENTION COMMITTEE

Sea Changes, the theme of this year’s convention, moves us to ride the wave of tradition and transformation. The guest speakers and teacher presenters have encouraged us to reflect on the changes that we have experienced in the teaching profession and come together, via the California Writing Project, as well as a variety of strands, to support our scholars through the rapids of education and into the ocean of life.

(Video) Adult Education Week Resolution 2023

The annual CATE convention happens only because of the efforts of many teachers and other volunteers who donate their time and energy to make this weekend possible.

Be it therefore resolved, that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) thank and commend the following outstanding volunteers and members of the convention committee:

Convention ChairSusan Dillon, Central Catholic High School, Modesto
CWP Pre Convention ChairTim Dewar, UC Santa Barbara
Convention CoordinatorsAnnie Gervais, Mills Middle School, Rancho Cordova
Jennifer Silver, Vistamar High School, El Segundo
Audio Visual ChairChas “The Wizard” Gervais, assisted by Mark Olsen
Autograph/Bookstore Liaison ChairLiz McAninch, Retired, Mercy High School, San Francisco
CATE Membership BoothLori Campbell, Kern Learn, Bakersfield
Volunteer CoordinatorGina Vattuone, Bonita Vista High School, Bonita
President’s ReceptionRobb Polski, Independence High School, Bakersfield
College Credit ChairKim Flachmann, CSU Bakersfield
CYRM Award CoordinatorTeresa Twisselman, Retired, Bakersfield
Meal Decor ChairLexie Fontes and Gaby Arabou, Our Lady of Fatima School,
New Teacher Booth ChairJoan Williams, Retired, Arcata High School, Eureka
Convention PhotographersGreg Johnson, Central Valley Continuation High School,
Program Sessions ChairCarole LeCren, Retired, La Jolla High School, San Diego
Signs ChairMichelle Berry, Retired, Windsor High School, Santa Rosa
Speaker HospitalityLiz McAninch, Retired, Mercy High School, San Francisco
Additional Committee MembersJulie Burnett, Kern LEARN, Bakersfield
Trevor Guina, Central Catholic HS, Modesto
Ashley Prevo, Pacific Beach Middle School, San Diego
Fallon Fowzer
CATE TreasurerDenise Mikkonen, Retired, Stone Ranch Elementary, Poway
Exhibits/Advertising ManagerLana Neudorfer, eventPower
RegistrationKate Coelin, eventPower
Registration LiaisonCindy Conlin, Stratham, New Hampshire
Flyer/Program PublicationCarole LeCren, Retired, La Jolla High School, San Diego
PrinterRick and Carol Benson, Golden Ink Litho, San Diego


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Job: Sales Executive

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Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.