New England English teachers gather at Eastern

English teachers from across the Northeast gathered at Eastern on Oct. 23-24 for the 124th New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE) Conference. This year's gathering was titled “Contested Knowledge: Literacy, Access, and Censorship Across the Curriculum.”

NEATE promotes networking and educational resources for English teachers. Presentations included "Escalating English Language Arts for Literacy Learning"; "Pushing Past Censorship to Ignite Mental Health Literacy"; "Using Contemporary Literature as an Essential Bridge in the ELA Classroom"; and "Rethinking AI Use as a Question of Authority."   

According to The Washington Post, more than 400,000 teaching positions across the United States are either unfilled or filled by underqualified individuals. Connecticut is facing this shortage, too. On July 23, 2026, the Connecticut State Board of Education declared a shortage in eleven different teaching subjects across the state.

While the subjects of English and language arts aren't hurting as much as others, Education Department Chair Mark Fabrizi said, “Finding classroom teachers is approaching crisis levels in CT and the United States. Many positions continue to go unfilled.” 

Fabrizi acknowledges the challenges of teaching in the age of AI, but asserts, “Eastern does an excellent job preparing secondary English teachers. ... More than 90% of our graduates remain in the field after five years.”  

Eastern has a long history of educating teachers. Originally founded as Willimantic State Normal School, an all-female training facility for elementary school teachers, the University remains a top-notch teacher training institute. Hosting NEATE continues Eastern’s commitment to fostering a space for all educators to share knowledge and gather in pursuit of scholarly inquiry.