The DATE Conference was founded at SUNY Cortland by Professor Patricia Shedd as an informal group of teachers getting together to discuss and share ideas in the field of teaching English. When Shedd retired in 1985, now-retired Professor Emeritus Ann Gebhard took the reins. When Gebhard became President of the New York State English Council in 1987, she used the DATE Conference to help create a regional chapter of NYSEC, called Finger Lakes English Educators, representing Central New York.

 

Professors Mary Lynch Kennedy and Jane Richards later took control of the conference, and under their guidance it took place yearly through 1999. After a seven-year hiatus, the conference has been resurrected by Professors David Franke and Karen Stearns and will return to SUNY Cortland in March 2007. The DATE Conference has always featured presentations and workshops by both coordinators and visiting teachers, sharing new and exciting concepts in literature, the teaching of writing, and other topics important to those in the field.

 

Some examples of previous workshops held at DATE are below:

 

Keeping Current with Historical Novels

How Can You Help Your Special Education Students Meet the New English Standards?

The Value of Running Records in Mapping a Successful Literacy Path

Thirteen Ways at Looking at NYS ELA Grade 8 Test Scoring

 

Understanding and Using Rubrics

“Whadya Get?” The Ironies and Agonies of Creating a Benchmark Exam for our District

Designing Curriculum to Align with New York State Standards

The Critical Lens Question (part IV)