19 Mar2018
By Shardae Proctor
AACTE Media Relations Intern Shardae Proctor, a communications major at Maryland’s Towson University, attended the AACTE Annual Meeting earlier this month. Ed Prep Matters asked her to report on what she learned at one of the Deeper Dive sessions.
Participants discuss research and strategies to bolster and diversify the teacher pipeline at the March 1 Deeper Dive session organized by the editors of the Journal of Teacher Education.
Across the country, many schools continue to struggle to staff their classrooms with qualified teachers and to diversify their workforce to more closely match student demographics. To explore the contributing factors and potential solutions to this challenge, the editors of AACTE’s Journal of Teacher Education organized a “Deeper Dive” session at the AACTE Annual Meeting March 1 titled “Filling the High-Quality Teacher Pipeline: Promising Research and Strategies.”
15 Mar2018
By Zachary VanHouten
The U.S. Department of Education has announced it will redirect $22.9 million in unspent funds to provide assistance to institutions that have been affected by the 2017 series of severe hurricanes: Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
According to the announcement, the Department “will provide $5.4 million to students through the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant Program, at 285 colleges and universities, including 277 postsecondary schools located in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” Additionally, the Department plans to provide $17.5 million by means of the Federal Work Study program.
13 Mar2018
By Kristin McCabe
UPDATE: Video recording is now available! Visit the AACTE Learning Center to watch.
At the March 3 closing session of AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting, Diane Ravitch delivered a rousing defense of public schools and an unsparing critique of those who seek to privatize education in America.
She opened with a declaration of admiration for the bravery and articulate activism of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, following the recent tragic shooting there. Ravitch noted their engagement has been enabled by a well-rounded education—including drama, speech, and other subjects that have been eclipsed in many places by the focus on raising test scores.
13 Mar2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The March 1 Opening Keynote Session at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting featured an interactive panel discussion on recruiting and retaining profession-ready candidates in teacher preparation programs as well as increasing the number of teacher candidates of color. AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone, who facilitated the discussion, was joined by special guests Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, assistant vice chancellor of Teacher Education and Public School Programs for the Chancellor’s Office of the California State University (CSU) System, and Kimberly Tobey, executive director of the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP).
The conversation began with identifying ways for how teacher preparation programs are effectively implementing programs and practices that reaffirm strengthening and diversifying the teacher candidate pool. The panelists highlighted successful strategies such as developing community college partnerships, creating capacity for students to have ease of transfer, and providing support to assist first-generation college students and others to pass through required pathways to completion.
13 Mar2018
By Shardae Proctor
During the 70th Annual Meeting preconference events for the AACTE Holmes Program, selected Holmes Scholars participated in a brand-new competition to receive AACTE funding for their dissertation research. AACTE is pleased to announce that the winner of the AACTE Holmes Dissertation Funding Competition is Kayla C. Elliott of Florida Atlantic University for her study, Pride, Power, and Prejudice: The Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Public Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The funding competition, announced to Holmes Scholars in December, offered a prize of $5,000 to support the winning applicant in completing his or her dissertation. In addition, the winner will receive complimentary registration to the 2019 AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
12 Mar2018
By Jerrica Thurman
Today kicks off national Public Schools Week, March 12-16, celebrating the success of public schools around the country. AACTE is among the 50 national education groups representing teachers, principals, superintendents, parents, and other civic organizations that have issued a joint statement in support of public education and are celebrating the critical roles for public schools in developing future generations of successful citizens.
Sponsored by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the weeklong event provides opportunities for supporters to speak out about the value of public education. Using the hashtags #PublicSchoolsWeek and #LovePublicEducation, participants are encouraged to express their own feelings toward public education and why the success of public schools is essential to the future of education in America.
12 Mar2018
By Joe Lubig
The author presents at the AACTE preconference workshop on quality assurance in Baltimore, Maryland.
The AACTE Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability (CPPA) is charged with providing leadership in the development of professional consensus on standards, assessment, and practice in educator preparation. Our work is most effective when it is driven by the AACTE membership. The 70th Annual Meeting preconference workshop conducted by CPPA, “Quality Assurance: Moving Beyond Data Collection Towards Assuring Quality,” reinforced the collective wisdom of our profession and the level of care we put into our programs, candidates, and clinical partners.
Those in attendance at the February 28 session repeatedly raised the need for leadership at educator preparation institutions to foster a collaborative culture that constantly questions our practice. We all recognized that there is a delicate balance between the critique of our work and assuring that we are celebrating and advancing those parts of our systems that are working well. The tension most outstanding in our conversations was that of turnover of leadership or faculty in institutions. These observations led to thoughtful discussion by those in attendance to assist colleagues in planning quality assurance processes with an emphasis on program goals and outcomes and how we all could use those goals and outcomes specific to our institutions to keep drawing our faculty, candidates, and clinical partners back to our established priorities and purpose.
12 Mar2018
By AACTE
On behalf of members and the AACTE Board of Directors, President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement March 8 regarding the Association’s position on school safety:
“It is imperative to protect the safety of teachers and students in the classroom, as it is a fundamental right for children to go to school and learn and for teachers to teach without fear; the sanctity of the classroom must be preserved. Since Sandy Hook in 2012, there have been 239 school shootings; 438 people have been shot and 138 killed. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, and its students’ advocacy have reinvigorated an urgency in the national discourse to ensure safe learning environments across America.
12 Mar2018
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Wednesday, March 21, AACTE will host a free webinar on principal leadership, supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of the Association’s ongoing partnership to disseminate the latest research and practice innovations in principal preparation. Please join us from 3:00-3:45 p.m. EDT for Leveraging Community Resources to Strengthen Clinical Practice for New Principals: Partnering with Legal and Social Services.
Difficult and changing situations with students and their families require principals to broaden their support network beyond school resources. The panelists on this webinar will discuss scenarios and possible resources available within the community. They will also share ideas for making intentional connections with community partners.
08 Mar2018
By Kristin McCabe
Opening Keynote speakers Lynn M. Gangone, Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, and Kimberly Tobey on stage at the Baltimore Convention Center
To all 1,900 of the AACTE members, partners, and supporters who joined us last week in Baltimore for the 2018 Annual Meeting: Thank you! Your presence was a valuable part of “Celebrating Our Professional Identity” for the Association’s 70th anniversary.
Over the coming weeks, Ed Prep Matters will bring you a variety of conference coverage. Meanwhile, you can view (and share!) conference photos on Facebook, browse the event’s Twitter feed, and enjoy the following recap videos:
08 Mar2018
By Zachary VanHouten
As we await a spring thaw, things are heating up in Washington as Congress continues tackling a crowded agenda. With a March 23 deadline to pass an omnibus funding the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018, advocacy abounds to fund educator preparation programs. In addition, the process for Fiscal Year 2019 kicked off with the president releasing his budget request to Congress on February 12, launching Congress into its appropriations process.
With Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization moving in the House and a bill rapidly approaching in the Senate, what might the final bill look like? Will it be bipartisan? Will the process continue or devolve as the election year unfolds? Aside from HEA, will you pay more for Internet access, or will the joint resolution to address the rules change move forward under the Congressional Review Act? Join AACTE’s Deborah Koolbeck to learn about these and other important topics by signing up for the March Federal Update webinar – an exclusive AACTE member benefit.
08 Mar2018
By Gail Bozeman
During its meeting February 28, AACTE’s Board of Directors chose officers for the coming year to serve with new Board Chair Wanda Blanchett (see press release).
Effective now through next February, the AACTE Executive Committee includes the following leaders:
06 Mar2018
By AACTE
(March 3, 2018, Baltimore, Md.) – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is proud to welcome the new chair of its Board of Directors: Dr. Wanda J. Blanchett, interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. During her one-year term, Blanchett will lead the Board through strategic planning in partnership with AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone.
“What I’d like to see AACTE do is to continue on the path that it’s been on for 70 years,” Blanchett said. “Continue to be that education, and specifically, teacher education policy advocate. Continue to be that professional standards advocate.” In addition, she said, she hopes the Association will take bold steps in supporting its members to increase the diversity of the profession at all levels from PK-12 teachers to the professoriate, ensuring that the curriculum in our teacher education programs better prepares all candidates to meet the needs of today’s diverse students and their families and reflects a commitment to diversity, equity, and social justice, and taking a stand with like-minded organizations to improve school safety for all students and educators, including advocating for and securing common-sense gun laws.
02 Mar2018
By Zachary VanHouten
To keep members informed, AACTE regularly monitors and reports on the activity of the National Council on Teacher Quality that could affect educator preparation programs. Visit our NCTQ resource page for additional information.
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released an analysis and set of recommendations for states to track teacher shortages and surpluses.
01 Mar2018
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 71st Annual Meeting, to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, February 22-24, 2019. We also invite applications by May 22 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
