Cooks, who leads Chabot College in California, will take office during the 2025 NCTE Annual Convention in Denver in November
Dr. Jamal A. Cooks has been elected as the incoming Vice President of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Cooks is the president of Chabot College in Hayward, California, where he champions access, justice, and excellence in education.
Cooks brings to the NCTE Vice Presidency a vision grounded in decades of scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy that will amplify voices, promote inclusive literacy practices, and advance the field for future generations.
“It is an honor, and even surreal, to be elected as Vice President of NCTE. I am deeply humbled by the trust the membership has placed in me to serve on the leadership team for the next four years,” Cooks said. “I look forward to building on the exceptional work of our current leadership team and continuing NCTE’s rich legacy of advocacy, scholarship, and inclusion. Together, we will keep pushing boundaries in literacy education to better serve all students and educators across the nation.”
A prolific scholar, Cooks has coedited volumes such as The Black Excellence Collective: A 10×10 Model for Academic and Student Success for Black Students (Chabot College) and the “Urban Middle Literacies” special issue of Voices from the Middle. His work in adolescent literacy and culturally relevant pedagogy has appeared in leading NCTE journals including English Journal and Voices from the Middle.
Cooks has been a committed leader and contributor to NCTE for three decades. He has served as a Rainbow Strand member, a Cultivating New Voices mentee, Co-Chair of the Black Caucus, and a member of numerous key committees including the Committee on Research, the Conference on English Education (now called English Language Arts Teacher Educators), and the David H. Russell Award Committee. He is also a winner of the NCTE Richard W. Halle Award for Outstanding Middle Level Educator.
“I attended my first NCTE convention in 1995 as a graduate student at the University of Michigan and was inspired by the collective brilliance and passion of outstanding literacy educators,” Cooks said. “Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to serve NCTE in many capacities—from mentee to mentor, from committee member to Black Caucus President, from journal reviewer to editor. NCTE has shaped my professional identity, offered me a community committed to equity, and nurtured my development as a scholar and leader.”
Cooks will join the NCTE Presidential Team that currently includes President Tonya B. Perry, President-Elect Antero Garcia, Vice President Detra Price, and Past President Rochelle (Shelley) Rodrigo. He will take office during the NCTE Annual Convention in Denver in November.
About NCTE
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is the professional organization for literacy teachers spanning preK through college. Through the expertise and advocacy of its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge, NCTE has served at the forefront of every major improvement in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts since 1911. For more information, please visit ncte.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Allie Ciaramella, NCTE: aciaramella@ncte.org