Strategic Planning Update: Forging a Bold Vision for the Future


Greetings! It has been several months since the last update on AACTE’s strategic planning process, and there is plenty to report. First, if you have been following these blogs you will note that I am not writing with my friend and colleague, Kim Metcalf.  Kim is now the chair of the AACTE Board of Directors, and he has asked me to assume the solo chairmanship of the Strategic Planning Task Force since he will have a lot on his plate. I know he will stay close to the work and will be a huge help as we work to complete he plan.

Along with Kim’s departure from the Task Force, there have been additional changes. We have bid a fond farewell to Dean Alberto Ruiz of Texas A & M University Kingsville, who has rotated off the AACTE Board of Directors, and have welcomed Chair-elect of the Board Ann Larson, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville and new board member Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, who is president of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a former college of education dean. These new Task Force members join Laurie Mullen, dean of the College of Education at Towson University, and members of the National Office staff (see the full Task Force roster).

I reported in December that members had asked us for a strategic plan that is bolder and more future-oriented than our original draft. Since then, we have rolled up our sleeves. We met in January and February, reviewed strategic plans from a variety of organizations, and listened to members at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville. We are now in the process of synthesizing all that we have learned into a next iteration of the plan. We will be sharing our work with the Executive Committee of the Board in April. Our goal is for the AACTE Board of Directors to approve the final document in June. You can view our complete timeline. This plan will guide the association through its 75th anniversary in 2023, and we hope that it presents a vision that can fuel our progress for the next decade.

If you have not yet weighed in on the plan, it is not too late. Share your thoughts with the Task Force by dropping a quick note to Jacqueline King, who is staffing the Task Force, at jking@aacte.org. We would appreciate having your thoughts on the following questions:

  • What is your vision for what educator preparation should look like in 10 years? How can AACTE help the profession achieve that vision?
  • What do you most value about your membership in AACTE? What would you like AACTE to offer that it currently does not?

I look forward to hearing from you and to sharing the plan with you as we near completion of this important work.


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Michael Dantley

Miami University, Ohio