Hatboro-Horsham Teacher Named To National Poetry Committee

HATBORO/HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —A Hatboro-Horsham first-grade teacher has been appointed to a national poetry committee.

Willeena Booker, a first-grade teacher at Hallowell Elementary School, will serve as a member of the national children’s poetry awards committee, the school district said.

Booker will serve a three-year term on the National Council of Teachers of English committee through its annual convention in November 2025.

“It means I can align myself with passionate poetic people, who are like-minded, and also carry the torch that lights the way for all things poetry," Booker said. "It means I will contribute my
voice to the stirring topic of excellence in children’s poetry.”

As a committee member, Booker will:

• Recommend every two years a living American poet or anthologist to receive the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in recognition of his or her aggregate work.
• Establish an annual list of Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels published in the current year by any poet, living or deceased, and of any nationality.
• Sustain a collection of poetry books of past and future award winners in the University of Minnesota, Kerlan Collection.
• Recognize and foster excellence in children’s poetry by encouraging its publication.
• Explore ways to acquaint teachers and children with poetry through such means as publications, programs, and displays.

With the expertise of its members, NCTE leads the nation in its most important decisions and trajectories around preK–16+ literacy, writing, and literature thinking, the organization said.

As an African-American poet and writer, Booker said she will bring her unique experiences to the committee and lend her voice to the discussion around children’s poetry.

“As a poet, the thing I enjoy most about reading and writing poetry is the power of a poem to tap into all of the anticipation in a room, and dare not disappoint,” Booker said. “The poem reaches every ear, holds every heart, and holds the reader close until a connection is made that bonds the poem and the reader together in a dynamic way. Powerfully put, a poem moves the mind and quiets the soul.”