Instructions for Teachers

 

Due Dates for 2026 Festival

 

September 30, 2025	New contact training online -  4pm https://ysu.webex.com/ysu/j.php?MTID=mc09bbeed2e087f4e2e3f1c3583af910c (Meeting password: ReadWriteGrow)
November 1-November 15, 2025	Online Registration of schools.
December 1, or December 2, 2025	DeBartolo Hall, Second Floor - 3-5pm  Registration payment due/pick up materials.
February 20, 2026	Student contest deadline for Candace Gay Memorial Essay, Stephanie Gent  Art Contest, Graphic Essay, and Jeremy Salvner Memorial Music Award.  Final judge and monitor information as well as student attendance counts known at this time should be submitted online. Student attendance numbers may decrease but may not increase.
April 15 or April 16, 2026	Mandatory Training Session for Festival judges and monitors; YSU, 4-6pm
April 22-24, 2026 (Wednesday - Grades 10-12, Thursday - Grades 7-9, or Friday - Grades 7-9)	English Festival  (Times are tentative)    Welcome 9-9:10am Session 1: 9:25-10:20am Session 2: 10:35am-11:30am Lunch: 11:30am-12:30pm Session 3: 12:30-1:10pm Session 4: 1:25-2:05pm Session 5: 2:20-3pm Awards Ceremony 3:15-3:45pm

 

Here are some general instructions for teachers to follow to prepare for the English Festival:

• Please invite all your students, not only your best students, to attend the English Festival since it is designed to encourage reading among all students as well as to reward superior reading, writing, and thinking.
• When you share the Festival book list with your students, explain that the books are selected with them in mind—books that explore the experiences of the young and provide pleasure in reading.        
• Do not prepare your students for the Festival by teaching the literary qualities of the books. Coaching undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the Festival and suggests to the students that winning is more important than finding satisfaction in reading and writing.
  You may, however, encourage students by talking to them and arranging for them to talk to one another about the impact the books have had on them and on the significance of this literature to their lives. Perhaps you might organize a book club for Festival participants through which they can share reactions and insights from their reading.
• Encourage your students to submit entries to the Candace Gay Memorial Essay Contest by the deadline. Do not help them write or revise the essay, and do not grade it.
  Do not make the writing of the Candace Gay Memorial Essay Contest a class assignment or a requirement for Festival attendance. As you know, the best way to help students prepare for Festival competitions is to give them regular writing assignments. The more students write, the more proficient they become at writing and the more at ease they feel when called upon to write.
• Consider entering the English Festival Writing Award for Teachers competition so that you can tell your students that you, too, are writing.
• Explain that the success and benefits of the Festival depend on the cooperation and enthusiasm of those attending. Tell them that each year many students who wish to participate are turned away because all places have been filled.
• Ensure that your students attend the sessions for which they are scheduled. Names of those who fail to attend their scheduled sessions will be reported to your principal.

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