News: NCTE Awards

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Exceptional Educators Receive 2025 NCTE Leadership Awards

Today we are announcing the recipients of the 2025 National Council of Teachers of English Leadership Awards. It is an honor to recognize the profession’s leaders for their commitment and dedication to advancing literacy, the field of education, and the organization.

2025 NCTE Leadership Award Recipients

James R. Squire Award: Ernest Morrell, University of Notre Dame

Distinguished Service Award: Douglas Hesse, University of Denver

NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award: E. Sybil Durand, University of Arizona

NCTE Leadership Award for People with Disabilities: Brittany R. Collins, Write the World, Inc.

NCTE LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Leadership Award: Josh Thompson, Virginia Tech

NCTE Media Literacy Award: Cassie J. Brownell, University of Toronto
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David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English: The Magnitude of Us: An Educator’s Guide to Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms by Marlee S. Bunch

NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award: Frank Strong, KIPP Austin Collegiate High School, Texas Freedom to Read Project

NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award Honorable Mention: Ben Hodge and Patricia A. Jackson, Central York High School

Alan C. Purves Award: “Heteroglossia and Community Translanguaging in an English-Medium Classroom: Multilingual Elementary Students’ Use of Multiple Voices in Digital Texts” by Lindsey Rowe

Award recipients will be honored during a ceremony at the 2025 NCTE Annual Convention in Denver on Saturday, November 22, at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Individuals who are interested in nominating an NCTE member for a 2026 Leadership Award may fill out this form. Winners will be honored at next year’s NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia.