Did you know AACTE produces a mini-documentary series called AACTE InTouch? These brief videos inform the public about educator preparation and ways to advocate for, get involved in, and support the education profession.
The series educates viewers on how effective teachers are prepared and showcases successes and challenges in educator preparation. The video content is designed to align with the Association’s key messages focused on quality, advocacy, partnerships, and innovation. Featuring a variety of topics and layered storytelling, the series helps viewers understand the critical issues in educator preparation, feel connected to AACTE’s mission, and learn about innovations in the field.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new AACTE task force to study how to improve the preparation of special education teachers through clinical practice. Growing out of the work of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC), the AACTE Special Education Task Force held its inaugural meeting October 1-2 in Washington, DC.
The task force is charged with applying the CPC frameworks for clinical educator preparation to the particular needs of developing special education teachers. During this week’s meeting, the group began outlining the scope of its work, which is supported by a grant from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. The task force will study areas such as dual licensure and dual preparation models, pipeline strategies around recruitment and retention, interdisciplinary collaboration, and other factors pertinent to this specialized preparation. They ultimately plan to identify models and develop recommendations to amplify promising practices, establish continuous improvement benchmarks, and provide guidance for the field.
Today, we are excited to unveil the new AACTE Video Wall as a tool to better showcase members’ impact and amplify their voices. Please check it out at videos.aacte.org!
For several years, AACTE has encouraged members to “tell their stories” so local communities and policy makers can learn more about the positive work educator preparation professionals do every day. Storytelling is indeed essential to getting your message out in a way that creates lasting impressions in people’s minds and hearts. AACTE is now integrating storytelling, video and technology to more broadly disseminate member stories.
There is only one month left to nominate a respected colleague for an AACTE professional achievement award! We are excited to see nominations coming in for AACTE awards and hope yours will be among them. By October 12, please take a moment to nominate someone deserving for one or more of these awards:
The Margaret B. Lindsey Award for Distinguished Research in Teacher Education recognizes distinguished achievement in research, by an individual or team of individuals, over the last decade that has had a major impact on the field of educator preparation. Lindsey was a longtime professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, whose own writing and research had a tremendous and lasting impact on the field. Recent recipients include James Hiebert of the University of Delaware, Jeanne Wilcox of Arizona State University, and Guofang Wan of Ohio University.
This month’s episode of Education Talk Radio spotlighted AACTE’s national Black & Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and other efforts to increase men of color in the teaching workforce. In the August 9 show, host Larry Jacobs interviewed Director of College Access and Completion Michael Dennehy of Boston University (MA), Director of Call Me MISTER Roy Jones of Clemson University (SC), Associate Professor Shatriya Collier-Stewart of California State University-Northridge, Executive Director Lemuel Watson of the Center for Innovation in Higher Education at the University of South Carolina, and Behavior Interventionist Ryan Jeffery at Fairfax County Public Schools (VA).
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, just 2% of public school teachers across the country are Black males and fewer are Hispanic males. AACTE’s national NIC initiative helps institutions identify innovative strategies to increase the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino men receiving initial teaching certification through their preparation programs.
The AACTE team has embarked on a new adventure and we can’t wait to share it with you!
This undertaking is engaging all of us in a significant self-study – not unlike what you do on your campuses for quality assurance and continuous improvement – using an improvement science model. Over the next few months, the team will conduct a deep audit of our operations, looking at internal protocols and processes along with membership structures, programs and services, and resources. AACTE is working with the rpk GROUP consulting firm to assist us with this project. This internal work is simultaneous with a comprehensive member survey that is being released next month. These concurrent efforts will empower AACTE as it anticipates its 70th anniversary in 2018.
In a letter led by the American Council on Education, AACTE joined 32 organizations this month in supporting the Dream Act of 2017, a bipartisan bill introduced July 20 by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The legislation would provide a path for young immigrants who entered the United States as children to attain lawful permanent residency status if they meet a series of requirements.
The target population is immigrants who in essence know only the United States as their home. Individuals may be eligible if they meet the following criteria:
Time is running out to apply for the 2018 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award! Entries must be made online by Friday, August 18. Help AACTE recognize outstanding doctoral research in educator preparation by encouraging your top recent graduates (or recent hires) to apply for this prestigious award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize.
The Committee on Research and Dissemination will review submissions this fall, and applicants will learn of their status in November (although the announcement of the winner is embargoed until February). The winner will be recognized during AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, March 1-3, 2018.
On July 27, AACTE will host the final installment of a four-part webinar series highlighting the experiences and findings of each of the 10 institutions in the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The webinar, “Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline at CSU-Fullerton and Northeastern Illinois University: Lessons From AACTE’s NIC,” will be held on Thursday, July 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT.
In this webinar, presenters from California State University, Fullerton, and Northeastern Illinois University will discuss the how their teams applied improvement science in the context of the NIC, as well as at their own institutions. The discussion will feature specific initiatives and strategies developed by both institutions’ teams and will demonstrate how NIC-developed approaches can be adapted locally to advance a common goal – in this case, to increase the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino men receiving initial teaching certification through educator preparation programs.
Two final videos are available this week on AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the St. John’s University (NY) School of Education clinical preparation program known as RISE. These videos focus on building successful collaborations among professors, future teachers, and schools, and on important themes such as flexibility, humility, and remembering the “bottom line” goal of helping children learn.
The latest monthly episode of Education Talk Radio spotlighted the AACTE Holmes Program and other efforts to increase the diversity of the U.S. teaching workforce. In the June 14 show, host Larry Jacobs was joined by Dean Monika Shealey of Rowan University (NJ), Student Services Director Jarren Jeffery of Mount Vernon High School (Fairfax County, VA), current Holmes Scholars Janelle Alexander (Rowan University) and Dana Dunwoody (Boston University, MA), recent Holmes alumnus Ahmed Fahad (University of Cincinnati, OH), and AACTE’s Tim Finklea.
Schools across the country have more diverse student populations than ever, yet the teaching workforce is still predominantly White and female. The AACTE Holmes Program, which for decades has supported students from historically underrepresented backgrounds pursuing doctorates in education, was expanded 3 years ago to include master’s, undergraduate, and even high school students in an effort to provide deeper support in the pipeline of future educators.
A member of the North Carolina A&T State University team shares its work during the May event at Morgan State University.
Abiodun Fasoro of Central State University discusses his campus’ minority male STEM program during the Verizon Innovative Learning Showcase.
Last month, I had the privilege of participating in the Building a Networked Improvement Community Around Engaging Minority Males in STEM Workshop at Morgan State University. The workshop focused on advancing the work of the Early STEM Engagement for Minority Males (eSEM) Initiative, a network of 16 minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
Led by Morgan State and in partnership with Verizon Innovative Learning Programs, SRI Education, the National CARES Mentoring Network, and local school districts, eSEM is a growing collaborative seeking to address STEM achievement challenges and improve outcomes for middle school minority male students through the development of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The initiative is supported through grants from the National Science Foundation and includes the following universities:
Data, data everywhere – so now what do you do? When you are awash in student test scores, survey responses, or research results, how do you determine what they mean – and what actions to take as a result?
For a concise and engaging introduction to data sources, uses, and improvement processes, try AACTE’s online professional seminar Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes, opening July 17 for a 3-week run on the FutureLearn social-learning platform. It requires only 3 hours per week and costs nothing! (Or you may choose to upgrade your enrollment, for a fee, to participate in tests, obtain a completion certificate, and gain unlimited access to course materials in the future. A completion certificate is required if you plan to become an AACTE consultant.)
Two new videos are available this week on AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the St. John’s University (NY) School of Education clinical preparation program known as RISE, or the Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators. This week’s video interviews present faculty and administrators discussing various challenges they’ve had to overcome in setting up and sustaining the RISE Program – and why the results are worth the effort.
The School of Education at St. John’s University (SJU) and its Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators (RISE) have hit a stride with their clinical partnerships to prepare new teachers – but it wasn’t always easy. To get to this point, all parties have worked to overcome hurdles and cultivate strong relationships that set them up for successful navigation of future bumps in the road.
