Education Professional Organizations

My choices of professional organizations in education reflect how my roles/focuses have evolved. When I was student teaching I joined my first organization - AATSP (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese). I was doing my Master's literature study on Spanish for Native Speakers classes, and the organization was a good fit for me. During my first teaching position, I was not a member of any educational group, other than NEA and OEA, which I had also joined as a student teacher.

When I switched to my second teaching position as a middle school reading intervention teacher while also completing coursework for my reading endorsement, the International Reading Association was a great resource. I am still a member, but I just received my renewal notice in the mail. After three years, my question is, to renew or not? It is the only organization I currently belong to because my current school does not have a union, so I no longer receive mailers from NEA and OEA.

Lately I have been considering joining NCTE. Now that I am a regular mainstream language arts teacher this seems like it may be a better fit. While I still enjoy reading IRA's newspaper when it arrives in the mail, I have been hearing a lot about NCTE such as in this post over at A Year of Reading, which prompted me to ask them their thoughts on the benefits of being a member of NCTE. Here is Franki's response to me:
"I have been a member of NCTE for 20ish years. It has been my anchor professional organization. For me, the people I've learned from all of my professional life are key people in the organization. I believe in what NCTE stands for, love the journals, enjoy the convention each year and am currently thrilled at all they are putting out there as a support for our work. If you aren't sure, spend some time on the NCTE website. For me, it is a perfect match--my professional beliefs and what I need to grow. I think that's the case for lots of people. Hope that helps!"

I do not necessarily want to pay for two memberships, and right now I am leaning toward NCTE. Franki's thoughts along with seeing educators/authors I respect as members and leaders in the organization such as Kylene Beers and Sharon Draper make me think it has a lot to offer.

What educational organizations are you or have you been a member of? Which has been the most helpful?