Dr. Sara Hoeve, who is director of student teaching and teacher certification at Hope College, has been elected vice president of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE).
Her term as vice president began on July 1, 2023, and is the beginning of a four-year cycle that will continue with service to the MCTE as president-elect, president and past-president.
Hoeve spent more than 10 years as a secondary English teacher before earning her Ph.D. in English Education at Western Michigan University. Prior to coming to Hope in 2020, she was a visiting assistant professor of English education on the Lafayette campus of Purdue University.
In her letter of interest for the position of MCTE’s vice president, she discussed the value of professional organizations to her as a secondary teacher and now as a professor of English Education. She explained that she views professional organizations “as places to develop and share best practices and new understandings about our field, while also advocating for our teachers and students at the local, state and national levels.”
Hoeve is author of the book “Teach Writing with Growth Mindset: Classroom-Ready Resources to Support Creative Thinking, Improve Self-Talk, and Empower Skilled, Confident Writers,” published in March 2022. Also in 2022, she and Dr. Susan Brondyk, who is the Irwin B. and Margie E. Floyd Associate Professor of Education, launched a new pilot program to provide university-based induction mentoring for alumni of Hope’s education preparation program. In October 2022, she was among the local educators participating in the panel discussion “Responding to the Teaching Shortage” held at Hope and co-sponsored by the college’s Department of Education and the Hope Academy of Senior Professionals (HASP).
In her most recent research, Hoeve investigated attempts to ban books in Ottawa County. She interviewed teachers and administrators to understand the impact on educators of the current efforts to ban books. She will be presenting her findings at the Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English this fall and publishing the book chapter “Classroom Curriculum, Critical Texts and Cries for Censorship: The Attack on Educators in One West Michigan Community.”
In addition to her Ph.D., Hoeve holds a master’s degree from Western Michigan University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Calvin University.
The Michigan Council of Teachers of English is the state affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. The organization serves Michigan’s K-16 English language arts teachers and English educators.