What can WLAC do for you?

Most of us in the teaching and teaching-related professions struggle with a lack of time. At WLAC, we want to be so purposeful about what we do -- together -- that joining, participating, and leading feels like something you can’t live without rather than “one more thing.”

We put together a short list of examples of what we have done, can do, and will do in the future at WLAC.

English Teachers Talking and Working Together
We want to gather teachers in our state (and others whose work includes the support of teachers of English and teaching students English) to rely on one another as resources. Here we are thinking not just of resources related to the teaching of English, but also resources related to sustaining ourselves in our important work. We see this initiative as part of many others described below.

Mentorship
No matter where you are at in your career, it is helpful to have people you can seek for questions big and small. While sometimes those mentors appear in our school buildings, other times they do not. In fact, there are benefits to having some mentors who work outside of the building where you teach. WLAC is working on building mentorships for all English teachers, and especially for new teachers and teachers of color.  

Study Groups
In addition to sustained and ongoing discussion, we facilitate purposeful time together to influence our teaching. This includes group trips to museums, cultural sites, book studies, performances, writing groups, and more. We are interested in removing barriers to access these kinds of opportunities for teachers in Washington state and productive work around using what we learn in our classrooms.

Conferences
WLAC has a history of bringing some of the best authors and speakers to Washington state to talk to teachers of English. Our annual conferences are a great place to learn and share knowledge for your classroom practice.

Publications
NCTE affiliates produce award-winning national publications from a local perspective, and one of our initiatives this year is to add our state’s voice to this venture. Washington state is a leader set apart in many ways, and a WLAC publication that promotes these voices on the teaching of English is a project we think is valuable and needed.
​
We have to be passionate about what we are doing and why we are doing it. That is why it is important to us at WLAC to encourage active participation and say in what we do together. Do you have ideas and/or needs as a teacher of English that WLAC might help serve? We want to work with you to improve our support. Email WLAC.NCTE@gmail.com to find out about how you can participate at the level that feels right to you!