Tracey McGee, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Lleij Schwartz, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

Greetings PAIS Community,

Welcome to our latest edition of the PAIS Newsletter, TESOL’s Program Administration Interest Section (PAIS) newsletter! We hope you are not only surviving this year, but thriving in the midst of constant change. Where do we begin to address what a challenge 2020 has been, and continues to be, not only for all of life, but specifically related to our work in program administration? We have seen our professional communities come together in (dare we use it once again) unprecedented ways to support one another, share ideas, and keep our programs running. Learning from our program administration colleagues across the world has truly been one of the silver linings in this difficult time. As we live out our professional development in ways that no conference, workshop, or webinar could have ever prepared us, it is exciting to see how the field is adapting rapidly to these changes despite the terror that might accompany those changes for many of us.

Adapting to change is the highlight of not only the year but key in this edition of the newsletter as we hear from Jennifer Wingate and Nadine Baladi on the importance of differentiating ourselves as English language programs. Thank you to both Jennifer and Nadine for such a timely article, and ongoing thanks as always to Amy Cook, our PAIS Newsletter editor.

As a PAIS community, we want to support you in your work in program development and management, strategic planning and marketing, and managing innovation; we invite you to consider joining us at MyTESOL’s PAIS Community online to collaborate with your colleagues and to continue the conversations we have been having frequently, in formal and informal ways, throughout the past year. Come and share your ideas so we can all learn from one another!

While at My TESOL, make sure to also check out the recording and slides from our recent webinar, “Innovating and Adapting Programs and Materials When Everything is Changing.” Originally, it was designed as an InterSection panel collaboration between PAIS and the Materials Writers Interest Section for TESOL 2020. Instead, we pivoted and presented it as webinar in late July with 77 attendees and six engaging panelists representing multiple countries and a variety of programs.

In looking forward to the months to come between now and TESOL 2021 in Houston, Texas, 23–26 March, what other support do you need as program administrators? What topics interest you? Where are the gaps in your professional development in the time of a global pandemic? Please let us know through MyTESOL or feel free to email us directly at tmcgee@iit.edu or l.schwartz@snhu.edu with any ideas you might have, and perhaps we can plan professional development opportunities around your needs and ideas.

Sincerely,

Tracey McGee

Lleij Schwartz

PAIS Co-Chairs