The James Gray Memorial Preconvention at CATE

CATE 2026: Power to the Teacher, Preserving Narratives, Amplifying Perspectives

Hilton LAX, March 6-8, 2026

Pre-Convention by the California Writing Project on Thursday March 5

From Classrooms to Communities: Teaching Writing for a Democratic Future

• • Enjoy a day of CWP expertise and camraderie.  Start the morning with an inspiring keynote by Nicole Mirra on fostering civic engagement through literacy instruction.  Also included are three rounds of resource-and-strategy-packed workshops led by CWP teacher leaders that focus on, but are not ilmited to, the following topics: 
    • Growing students’ civic engagement by inviting
      them to research issues within their community and
      to propose solutions
    • Using writing to address issues of racial and
      environmental justice and to support the teaching
      of Ethnic Studies
    • Connecting student interests and social
      engagement to academic studies, civic
      participation, college preparation, and career
      opportunity
    • Developing students’ abilities to present arguments
      and use evidence and supporting student
      interaction with challenging texts, perspectives, and
      issues through strategic use of print, digital, and
      multimodal sources
    • Tapping into digital tools that enrich teaching,
      writing, and learning
    • Unleashing the power of writing for self-care

• Morning coffee/tea and luncheon will be provided.

To Register: www.CATEweb.org