Students of Color Advocate for Educator Preparation during AACTE’s Washington Week

Rep. Bobby Scott to Deliver Keynote

Today the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) launches its inaugural virtual Washington Week by hosting the Holmes Policy Institute, an event that amplifies the voice of masters- and doctoral-level students of color on policies affecting educator preparation. Themed “Moving towards Equity through Advocacy and Policy,” this year’s Institute takes place September 8-10.

“We are thrilled to support AACTE Holmes Program students in addressing critical issues in educator preparation, such as increasing teacher diversity and equity,” said Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D., AACTE president and CEO. “This signature event offers our future teacher educators of color the tools to navigate national, state and local policies that directly impact those most-often marginalized in education systems.”

Over the course of three days, Holmes students, coordinators, and leaders throughout the country will explore best practices in education advocacy by participating in presentations and small group discussions. In response to the recent, racial unrest in the United States, several sessions will examine these issues as they relate to equity in educator preparation, including:

  • Civil Rights in Education: History, Resistance and Opportunities
  • Policing in Schools and Efforts to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline
  • Community-Based Participatory Research to Achieve Social Justice

The Holmes Policy Institute will culminate with a closing keynote address by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. Throughout his 14 terms representing Virginia’s third congressional district, the congressman has been a champion on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and has advanced policies addressing the equity gaps in education. Following his keynote remarks, Rep. Scott will engage in an interactive discussion with the Holmes students about the state of public education, educator preparation, and the importance of diversifying the educator workforce.

Next week, a number of Holmes students will apply what they learn and put their advocacy skills into practice during AACTE’s Day on the Hill event, joining the Association’s state leaders in virtual meetings with Congressional representatives.

 

 

Nominations Open for Everyday Champion Award to Recognize Achievements in Remote Learning during Pandemic

National Center for Learning Disabilities logoCOVID-19 has created unprecedented obstacles to learning, for educators, school administrators and parents/caregivers. Yet even in the face of this disruption, educators and families have found innovative ways to keep learning going and help our kids succeed.

To recognize these heroic efforts, the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) will present the Everyday Champion Award for outstanding achievements in remote learning during the 2020 Pandemic. NCLD will honor three courageous and innovative, educators, administrators and parents/caregivers, who have done an outstanding job helping children with learning and attention issues through this time of remote learning.

NCLD will give three awards, each in the amount of $5,000.00. We’ll present these awards to one educator, one  administrator, and one  parent/caregiver. The recipients of the 2020 NCLD Everyday Champion Award will be honored at NCLD’s Annual Benefit, virtually, in December.

Nominations may be made by any parent, teacher, community members, or administrator by submitting an application for NCLD’s Everyday Champion Award. The award descriptions and schedule are below:

Educators Present Anti-Racist Teaching Practices in Fall Webinar Series

This article originally appeared on the California State University, Fullerton new site and is reprinted with permission.

California State Fullerton’s College of Education faculty members are rising up to promote anti-racist teaching and learning.

In response to African Americans killed by police across the country and the disproportionate rate of COVID-19 infections among Black and Latinx communities, the Department of Secondary Education is offering a free webinar series this fall semester to address underlying racist policies and practices that exist in schools, said Natalie Tran, chair of secondary education and professor of educational leadership.

The webinars, open to teachers, teacher candidates, faculty, and community members, focus on dismantling racist policies, practices and ideas that influence schools, teachers and children, and most importantly, on taking actions that address anti-racist teaching.

Informing Your Teaching Practice With Dr. Grenot-Scheyer

The following article is an excerpt of a transcribed podcast interview on the GoReact blog with AACTE board member Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, who serves as the assistant vice chancellor of Educator Preparation and Public School Programs for California State University (CSU). Grenot-Scheyer also sits on the board of directors for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. In this episode, she discusses her experience in special education as well as CSU’s exciting initiatives and research.

Marquita Grenot-ScheyerWhen did you realize that you wanted to dedicate your career to teaching students with disabilities?

Grenot-Scheyer: I don’t think I realized it until I was a freshman in college, but my mother always reminded me that I talked about wanting to be a teacher from a very young age, and I just have no recollection of that. But my freshman year in college, at California State University, Los Angeles, I had an incredible field experience with some really complex and endearing young people. And that just set the path forward for what I wanted to do.

How Special Education Has Changed Over Time

So, as you mentioned, you began working with students with disabilities in the 1970s. What was it like to do special education at that time, and how has it changed since then?

Grenot-Scheyer: So when I began my career as a special educator, students with disabilities were predominantly served in isolated, segregated schools and classrooms. So that is, all students with disabilities in one facility. And so my first clinical experience was in a segregated school in a small community in Los Angeles, where students with the most challenging behavioral and physical and developmental abilities were all clustered together. And at the time, the feeling and the research said that was the best way to provide services to kids with disabilities. We now know, decades later, based upon research, based upon federal and state laws, that in fact, the best place to educate students with disabilities is in regular schools, alongside typically-developing peers. So the service delivery models have changed dramatically in some schools and in some communities, but in other schools and communities, students with disabilities are still being served in segregated settings. But we now know that’s not the best way to do it.

Educator Preparation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned for Fall

Online Teaching

This article originally appeared on the EdPepLab blog and is reprinted with permission.

As U.S. schools closed their doors this past spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-considered effect was the impact of school closures on the preparation of the next generation of educators. Teacher and leader candidates all over the country had their field experiences abruptly cut short, and educator preparation programs (EPPs)—in partnership with school districts and state education agencies—had to adapt quickly to ensure candidates continued to receive high-quality preparation and were able to complete their licensure requirements.

As districts begin to enact school opening plans, EPPs are building off of lessons learned from the spring as they engage candidates in equity-centered, deeper learning preparation. LPI has been in discussion with members of EdPrepLab—a network of programs working to continuously improve and share their practices—to better understand how they’re responding to this unusual time. Three themes have emerged as guiding their strategy and practices moving forward:

  • Focusing on core program strengths
  • Shifting from crisis mode toward innovation
  • Capitalizing on innovations to strengthen educator preparation after COVID-19

Equity in Teacher Education

Hands of diverse races

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

This article orginially appeared in University Business and is reprinted with persmission.

We are living in a monumental moment in time. The unjust deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many others call for greater social justice and equity in our society. While many institutions of higher education and educator preparation programs are talking about equity in education and the need for actionable change, having a deep passion and a meaningful, verbal commitment to social justice is not enough. We cannot move the needle forward in creating a more equitable education system until we address the root areas where change needs to happen—implicit, institutional, and systemic biases.

Andrew DaireThe data is clear. We live in a more segregated society now than the past 30 to 40 years. When students are segregated in elementary, middle and high school, they may not have any meaningful interactions over a long period of time with people who are different from them. When students graduate from high school and enter into a teacher preparation program, they could potentially complete their entire program without ever having a faculty of color.

Candidates have not adequately learned about racism in America, and they do not possess the context to understand the frustration and anger that underrepresented minorities feel. Students may be offered a gratuitous multiculturalism course in which they superficially learn about diversity, but do not learn about critical race theory, cultural responsiveness and proficiency as a standard part of the curriculum. They may never receive the opportunity to confront their own implicit biases, and then are placed in a classroom full of children with cultural backgrounds that they simply do not understand. From the lens of the children in the classroom, they do not see a teacher who looks like them or that they can relate to, and therefore, they are not drawn to pursuing a career in education.

Online Teaching Curricula in Ed Prep

Last March, many educators were caught off guard—and dismayed—when they learned their school doors were closing and teaching would move online due to COVID-19. Rightfully so. They simply were not prepared for one of our nation’s greatest education experiments turning in-class instruction into online learning with a flip of a switch.

While some schools had already implemented remote learning strategies, the vast majority believed that teaching online and in blended environments would happen sometime in the future. No one anticipated that PK-12 schools and universities would be forced online overnight—without a plan.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 shed a light on the need to enhance online teaching curricula in our educator preparation programs. Prior to the pandemic, most teacher education programs prepared candidates to go into brick and mortar schools, so their emphasis on teaching online was minimal. Often, teacher candidates were taught to use technology in classrooms as a tool to convey information or allow students to seek answers. What was not being done was a wide scale effort to prepare future teachers to model and integrate online technology in their pedagogical approaches.

Congressman to Deliver Keynote at AACTE’s Holmes Policy Institute

Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” ScottAACTE’s Washington Week virtual conference is quickly approaching. This year’s event will feature the Holmes Advanced Policy Short Course, Holmes Policy Institute, AACTE’s Day on the Hill, and the State Leader’s Institute.

Joining the Holmes Policy Institute this year is Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. Congressman Scott will deliver the closing keynote address at this year’s Holmes Policy Institute on Thursday, September 10.

Throughout his 14 terms representing Virginia’s third congressional district, Congressman Scott has been a champion on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. He has advanced policies to address the equity gaps in education, employment, and healthcare. In 1993, Chairman Scott became the first African American elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia since Reconstruction and only the second African American elected to Congress in the history of Virginia. Congressman Scott continues to break barriers and create opportunities for future generations of African American and minority leaders.

Following his keynote remarks, the Congressman will engage in an interactive discussion with the Holmes Scholars about the state of public education, educator preparation, and the importance of diversifying the educator workforce.

To learn more about the AACTE Holmes Program, contact me at wjames@aacte.org.

How Better Preparing Your Teacher Candidates Can Save Time and Money

Hillary Gamblin, MAIf you could build a teacher prep program from scratch, what would it look like? 

This wasn’t a theoretical question for Loleta Sartin. In 2005, Sartin helped develop—from the ground up—a progressive teacher education program at Middle Georgia State University, formerly known as Macon State College.

So what did she focus on? Giving candidates as many classroom experiences as possible. The program “ensured our teacher candidates were not just staying in the ivory tower,” explained Sartin. On day one, the faculty taught their courses on-site at local schools.

A decade later, Middle Georgia State found a way to provide its teacher candidates with even more diverse classroom experiences by adopting a video-based assessment tool called GoReact.

Soon, GoReact became an indispensable tool for Sartin and her colleagues to better prepare their candidates while saving their program time and money.

Washington Week Registration Deadlines Fast Approaching

2020 Washington Week - Register Now

You haven’t registered yet for the upcoming virtual AACTE Washington Week?  Make sure to do so now as the deadlines are quickly approaching. Registration rates have been reduced to offer you more opportunities to participate. You don’t want to miss this full lineup of events:

Holmes Advanced Policy Course:  September 2-3

This course is for Holmes Scholars who have participated in a previous Holmes Policy Institute or are in the final year of their doctoral program.  Participants will explore policy and advocacy principles and address current events that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in education. 

Deadline to register:  August 31 

Touro University California Hosts Webinar Series on DEI

Diversity Now

The Graduate School of Education (GSOE) at Touro University California (TUC) is hosting a series of informative and courageous conversations about what it means for education to live diversity in 2020 and beyond. The Diversity Now Webinar Series covers a variety of subjects designed to stimulate thinking and action. Join experts from GSOE for weekly panel discussions facilitated by Ijeoma Ononuju, coordinator of the Equity, Diversity & Inclusive Education program, through September 30, 2020.

The series launched in July with the webinar, Building a Pipeline for Black Male Teacher Success – A Local Response, and can be viewed as a recorded session. The August webinars, also recorded for on-demand viewing, cover the following topics:

Register for the next webinar:

A Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist SEL

Abolitionist Teaching Network

The Abolitionist Teaching Network recently released a Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).  Founded by educators and activists, the Network’s mission is to develop and support educators to fight injustice in their schools and communities.

The Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist SEL seeks to engage teachers and administrators in critical reflection and action to address the injustices that impact Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and families. It also challenges educators to abandon the Eurocentric approach of SEL that promotes the use of school resource officers and exclusionary discipline practices. Instead, educators are encouraged to adopt abolitionist practices of SEL that are culturally responsive, reciprocal in nature, transformative and centered on healing.

The guide also accentuates the important role of educator preparation programs to prepare more Black, Brown, and Indigenous teachers, school counselors and administrators. Research consistently suggest that all students benefit from having diverse educators, including increased academic and social emotional outcomes. Diverse educators also have unique attributes that can break down racial stereotypes, and an innate ability to affirm Black, Brown, and Indigenous students’ sense of belonging.

Read more about the guide and resources to promote anti-racist teaching and learning.

 

Tiffany Hamm Named August Scholar of the Month

AACTE congratulates Tiffany Hamm, Holmes Scholar of the Month for August 2020.  Hamm is in the third year of her doctoral program at Syracuse University, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in science education. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies, Hamm taught earth science in her hometown of Bronx, New York, and earned a B.S. in marine sciences from Stony Brook University and an M.Ed. in Urban Adolescence Education from Long Island University- Brooklyn Campus. 
 
Hamm’s research interest is centered on urban science education. Her life’s work is to study ways to make science education more accessible to students attending schools in urban communities. Hamm recently completed a TED talk titled Urban Narratives in Science Education for the TEDxSyracuseUniversity program

AACTE Offers New Resource to Build or Expand a Holmes Program at Your Institution

Holmes Scholars logoHaving a Holmes Program at your institution is an excellent way to provide professional development and student support for racially diverse candidates in educator preparation programs (EPPs). With the upcoming financial challenges COVID-19 will bring to funding efforts that will lead to diversification in the field, AACTE is committed to helping provide those development opportunities with a new resource—the Holmes Program Coordinators Directory.

Are you interested in expanding or creating a Holmes Program? AACTE Holmes Program Coordinators have the experiential knowledge to share with those looking to learn more about the benefits and logistics to starting a Holmes Program at the Masters or Doctoral level. You can learn more by accessing the new Holmes Program Coordinators Directory in the AACTE Resource Library.

How Two Professors Helped Secure Flint Water Crisis Settlement

Bill Therrien and Gail LovetteThis article originally appeared in the University of Virginia’s UVAToday online news magazine and is reprinted with permission.

Two University of Virginia professors who played a significant role in this week’s Flint, Michigan, water crisis lawsuit settlement are being applauded around the country.

Gail Lovette and Bill Therrien, professors in UVA’s Curry School of Education and Human Development, worked pro bono on the case for nearly four years, analyzing how increased exposure to lead in Flint’s municipal water supply affected children’s learning.

On Thursday, they saw their work pay off in the form of a $600 million settlement with the State of Michigan and other defendants that includes at least $9 million in new funding for special education programs in Flint Community Schools and surrounding school districts that educate special education students who were on the Flint water lines.

Lovette and Therrien called the result a “testament to the people of Flint.”

“Parents and teachers—some at potential great risk because they were still employed by the schools—stood up for their community’s children and students,” Therrien said.

The two professors were part of the litigation efforts of the ACLU of Michigan, the Education Law Center and the New York-based global law firm White and Case. They spent time in Flint, speaking with educators and families and reviewing documents associated with the schools and districts.