UCTE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Annual Conference Information
Each year, UCTE hosts an annual conference in Sandy, Utah for secondary ELA teachers across the state of Utah. The conference features a keynote speaker (often a Young Adult author, teacher educator, or other well-known practitioners in the ELA field). In addition to a keynote, the conference features presentations from local secondary teachers and university faculty.
The conference also hosts The Future Is Now, a roundtable session for undergraduate and graduate students to present ideas relating to teaching English language arts.
Lastly, awards for Teacher of the Year are presented at the annual conference to honor secondary ELA teachers at various stages in their careers.
Keynote UCTE 2026
Ruta Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Considered a “crossover” novelist, her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and recently honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Ruta is renowned for giving voice to underrepresented history and those who experienced it. Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Born in Michigan, she was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. She is passionate about the power of history to foster dialogue and global understanding. The New York Times Book Review declared, “Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history.” Ruta lives with her family in the hills of Tennessee. Read more about her work on her website.
Photo Credit: Laura Smith/rutasepetys.com
Present at UCTE
Have an excellent teaching idea or practice. Consider submitting a presentation proposal for the UCTE Annual Conference. UCTE accepts proposals from educators of all grade levels, and focused on many different topics, from integrating technology to teaching with young adult literature, teaching grammar in context, or developing students speaking and listening skills.
Pre-service teachers, graduate students, and novice teachers can consider submitting a proposal for The Future Is Now Roundtable Session. During these sessions, presenters are grouped with 2-3 other presenters and a respondent where they share a 10-12 minute presentation on things they have been learning and working on in their academic or professional experiences. This session is a great opportunity to get some initial experience presenting and to connect with others who have similar areas of interest.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Calling All Educators!
This is your chance to present at UCTE!
We invite proposals on a wide range of topics in English education, grounded in current research. Whether your work was done individually or in collaboration with fellow educators and researchers, we welcome your contributions.
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Possible Topics Include:
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Using mentor texts to teach writing
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Reaching struggling readers
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Effective revision strategies
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Building a classroom library
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Vocabulary instruction
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Poetry
SUBMIT A PROPOSAL
Due Date: December 12, 2025
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