Basic Qualifications
Any bona fide association organized to serve the interests and the purposes of persons who share special interests or who have similar professional assignments may apply for NCTE Assembly status, provided that the purposes of the association are consistent with and supportive of the purpose of the Council as listed in Article III of the NCTE Constitution, and provided that purposes of the proposed Assembly do not substantially overlap with the purposes of an existing NCTE Assembly or other constituent group.
Requirements for Assembly Status
1. The assembly shall have a minimum of twenty-five NCTE members.
2. All members of the governing board of the assembly shall be members of the National Council of Teachers of English.
3. The assembly shall have a written constitution, ratified by a majority vote of the members of the association, that provides for continuity of leadership within the administration of the organization. (Although no uniform pattern is required, continuity can be achieved through establishing a clear succession for certain offices or retaining past officers as members of the governing board.)
4. The assembly shall have a written policy of involvement of persons of color.
5. The assembly shall pay to the National Council annual dues which shall be keyed to the size of the assembly membership and shall follow the same membership formula that governs dues for NCTE affiliates ($10.00 for assemblies having between 25 and 249 members; $15.00 for affiliates having between 250 and 499 members; and $25.00 for assemblies having 500 or more members).
6. All assemblies shall be entitled to name one member to the Board of Directors. Assemblies which have between 150-359 members who are also members of NCTE shall be entitled to name two members to the Board of Directors; assemblies with 350-549 such members, three directors; with 550-749, four directors, and so on, up to a maximum of six directors.
7. An assembly shall plan a meeting/workshop for the annual NCTE convention. (See “Assembly Benefits”)
a) Submit in writing to Convention Director by May 1 request for Special Interest Group meeting time.
b) Submit workshop proposal according to directions on the convention proposal form. (NCTE will notify assembly program chair when proposal is approved.)
8. Each assembly shall submit reports at least annually to the Council. These reports are to include the following:
a) a statement of the membership of the assembly accompanied by a membership list
b) an annual report
c) an updated roster of officers
d) notice of special needs, situations, or problems of the assembly.
9. Each assembly must develop and maintain effective means of communicating with its members.
a) Provide for manuscript preparation, editing, printing, and distribution of a regular assembly newsletter (or other publication).
b) Supervise appointment and orderly replacement of editor(s) for newsletter and/or other publications.
10. Each assembly must maintain membership files to recruit members, send out renewal notices when memberships lapse, provide membership list to person responsible for mailing newsletter, and provide NCTE with a list of members once a year.
11. An assembly must maintain official organizational files, including at least the following records:
a) Copy of constitution and record of amendments.
b) Copy of all policies, including the policy on involvement of persons of color.
c) Minutes of meetings of the membership and of the governing board.
d) Election results, including slates of candidates.
e) Copies of conference programs.
f) Copies of all publications
g) Copies of financial reports.
h) Records of bills and payments of bills.
Preliminary Planning
Please realize that it is unlikely that any newly proposed NCTE assembly will reach fully recognized assembly status within a single calendar year of the impulse to form it. A constitution has to be drafted and ratified, a minority involvement policy has to be developed and approved, officers have to be elected, at least 25 NCTE members have to be recruited and dues have to be established and collected.
Meeting time for groups that wish to explore forming an NCTE Assembly may be provided during one of the Convention time blocks set aside at the NCTE Annual Convention, provided that organizing groups request meeting space and time by writing the Convention Director by May 1 preceding the next NCTE Convention.
An optimal schedule might look like the following. The organizers agree that a new assembly is needed. For the following Annual Convention, they plan an organizational program to “test the waters,” to gauge the interest. At a second organizational meeting during the following NCTE convention, the organizers present a draft constitution and policy on involvement of persons of color and seek ratification; present a slate of officers and conduct an election; appoint or elect NCTE Director(s) to represent the assembly and collect dues from at least 25 NCTE members. Prior to the following February meeting of the Executive Committee, they could fill out the appropriate forms and submit the required documentation and dues to complete their application for assembly status with NCTE.
But until all these procedures are carried out, action by the NCTE Executive Committee to approve the application cannot take place. Note that this optimal calendar anticipates a gestation period of about eighteen months. An energetic planning group might find ways to accelerate one or another of these steps, but doing so might diminish the possibility of creating a stable organization as envisioned in the NCTE Constitution, an organization offering continued service to an identifiable constituency.
Steps Toward Authorization
1. An officer of the proposed assembly, usually the president or chair, submits a formal request to NCTE, through the Director of Affiliate and Member Services, who will send the necessary application forms. Part of the letter of request should be a statement of the purpose of the assembly and the constituency it will serve. If the group wishes to call an organizational meeting at the next convention, that should also be noted in the letter.
2. The group’s officer returns
b) a list of the names and addresses of the members of the governing board,
c) a statement certifying that all members of the governing board are members of NCTE,
d) a list of the Director(s) to represent the assembly,
e) a list of all the members of the assembly,
f) a copy of the group’s constitution,
g) a copy of the group’s policy on involvement of persons of color,
h) and payment of assembly dues.
3. The completed application is presented to the NCTE Executive Committee for review.
4. If the application is approved, a letter is sent to the chair announcing the approval of the new assembly. In addition, an announcement of approval is made in a regular Council communication (e.g. Council-Grams).
Note: Because of the limited meeting time and the press of other NCTE matters, the Executive Committee may not act on applications for assembly status at convention meetings. Applications may be received and acted upon at other meetings of the Executive Committee (February, April, September).
Governance
Assembly Benefits
- Connection to a national network of professionals working to improve the teaching of English language arts.
- Representation on the NCTE Board of Directors and publication of assembly annual reports in the NCTE Annual Reports document.
- Information on assembly activities and operations and leadership through Council-Grams (a newsletter for Council leaders).
- Information on NCTE through the NCTE Directory, NCTE press releases and other announcements, and the NCTE Web site.
- Ability to obtain tax-exempt status with the IRS through the NCTE Group Exemption Letter
- Publications benefit through the Information Exchange Agreement and the Committee to Review Publications of Affiliates and Assemblies.
- Membership recruitment through the Special Interest Brochure which is sent to all new NCTE members, through the NCTE Web site links to assembly membership information and to the assembly’s Web site (if there is one), name and address lists or labels for NCTE members with the same interests as those of the assembly, and ideas and success stories in Council-Grams.
- Consulting services from NCTE staff on affiliate projects, such as conference planning, membership recruitment, and involvement of people of color.
Note: In addition assemblies receive specific benefits at the NCTE convention and, possibly, other NCTE meetings. These benefits are based fundamentally on assembly size, linking Council services to the number of people served and encouraging assemblies to increase their membership in order to effect a corresponding increase in services.
| Level | Required # of members | Annual Convention Benefits Available | Member Promotion Benefits | Other | B.O.D. Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (Entry Level) |
25-99: must maintain a minimum of 25 NCTE members |
SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session |
|
NA |
|
| Level 2 |
100-249 |
SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session |
|
Time & space for meetings at other NCTE conferences |
|
| Level 3 |
250-999 |
|
|
Time & space for meetings at other NCTE conferences |
|
| Level 4 |
1000+ |
|
|
|
|
Level 1 (Entry Level)
Required # of members:
25-99: must maintain a minimum of 25 NCTE members
Annual Convention Benefits Available:
SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session
Member Promotion Benefits:
- Promotion in certain NCTE publications, mailings
Other:
NA
B.O.D. Membership:
- One (25-149 NCTE members)
Level 2
Required # of members:
100-249
Annual Convention Benefits Available:
SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session
Member Promotion Benefits:
- Promotion in certain NCTE publications, mailings
Other:
Time & space for meetings at other NCTE conferences
B.O.D. Membership:
- One (25-149 members)
- Two (150-349 NCTE members)
Level 3
Required # of members:
250-999
Annual Convention Benefits Available:
- SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session
- Part I Concurrent session OR Part II workshop*
- Exhibit booth
Member Promotion Benefits:
- Promotion in certain NCTE publications, mailings
Other:
Time & space for meetings at other NCTE conferences
B.O.D. Membership:
- Two (150-349 NCTE members)
- Three (350-549 NCTE members)
- Four (550-749 NCTE members)
- Five (750-949 NCTE members)
- Six (949 or more NCTE members)
Level 4
Required # of members:
1000+
Annual Convention Benefits Available:
- SIG (Special Interest Group) time for meeting or session
- Exhibit booth
- Part I concurrent session AND Part II workshop
- Meal Function**
Member Promotion Benefits:
- Promotion in certain NCTE publications, mailings
Other:
- Time & space for meetings at other NCTE conferences
- negotiable: maintenance of membership lists, mailings, etc.
B.O.D. Membership:
- Six (949 or more NCTE members)
* Annual Workshop Provision: An assembly of level 3 or 4 may offer its workshop annually, provided paid registration indicates continuing interest (50 enrollees at one-day workshops; 100 at two-day workshops). Assemblies do not receive revenues from convention events, but do receive free handouts such as NCTE publications (limits to be established by the Council) and preconvention publicity.
**Meal Function Provision: An assembly at level 4 may sponsor and administer a meal function annually at its own financial risk and perhaps through its own advertising network (e.g., its journal), providing that meal function is scheduled during a non-conflicting meal slot.
(Revised 1/2018)