29 Aug2019
By Mary Murray
As the school year gets underway and state chapter fall meetings start up, remember it’s also election season. Now is the time to nominate yourself or a colleague to serve on the Advisory Council of State Representatives (ACSR) Executive Committee. If you are an immediate past-president, president, or current ACSR liaison and want to expand your service to the national level, this is an opportunity for you. We are seeking nominations for three open positions: The chair-elect, South Region representative, and Midwest Region representative.
The chair-elect fulfills a 3-year commitment, transitioning from chair-elect, to chair, to past-chair. During this 3-year period, the chair-elect also serves on the AACTE Board of Directors with all the associated requirements and duties, representing
29 Aug2019
By Jerrica Thurman
Members of AACTE’s Committee on Meetings and Professional Development took time a few weeks ago to share their views about how the Annual Meeting strengthens educator preparation! Watch the short videos below to learn more about the topics attendees should look forward to exploring during AACTE’s 2020 Annual Meeting, February 28-March 1, in Atlanta, GA. Here are a few highlights from the committee:
“I have been a participant of AACTE’s conferences for many years… The conferences provide us an opportunity to join experts in the field and colleagues…to learn from each other, share ideas and strategies, and reinvigorate ourselves,” said
26 Aug2019
By Ward Cummings
State of the States Legislative Roundup
As AACTE director of government relations, I will guide attendees through this members only webinar, a brief overview of the recent legislative trends in education policymaking emerging around the country. The 2018-19 legislative session was active and productive, with many states introducing and passing bills on a range of issues that directly impact the education profession. Please join us for a rundown of some of the more noteworthy legislative proposals advanced by state legislatures over the past year.
Register now for the AACTE members only webinar, taking place Wednesday, September 18 from 11am to Noon, EST.
Introducing AACTE’s New Legislative Resource Webpage
Join Allen Clarkson, Western Governors University government relations manager and AACTE Government Relations Committee member, as he leads a webinar describing the features of AACTE’s new legislative resource webpage. The new webpage will include links to three legislative search engines as well as other useful resources that AACTE members can use to pursue their research and advocacy goals. Clarkson will guide participants through the features of the new webpage and invite you to ask questions afterward. The webinar is open to all and will be recorded and posted on the AACTE Advocacy Center state page.
Please join us on Thursday, September 26 from 11am to Noon, EST. Register now.
22 Aug2019
By Emily Stembridge
The IMPACT-PD grant—Improving Preschoolers’ Acquisition of Language through Coaching Teachers and Professional Development—is playing an integral role in providing preschool educators the tools they need to help their students develop proficiency in English as a second language.
The United States Department of Education National Professional grant, funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition, aims to provide educators with professional development opportunities for improving instruction of dual-language learners in preschool.
The IMPACT-PD program, a partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, focuses on four goals to further training and education to children learning English early in life:
22 Aug2019
By Susan Blystone
This article and photo is reprinted with permission from Illinois State, August 2019 issue.
Media alerts announce another school shooting with lives lost. Another extended teachers’ strike is called to protest inadequate pay. Another round of standardized test results show that American students are falling behind. Another cut made in funds earmarked for public education cripples school districts struggling to keep pace with changing curricula and technology.
ISU College of Education Dean James Wolfinger will tell you the regular recurrence of such reports sparks mounting negative sentiments toward the teaching profession as a whole, which results in one more equally troubling headline: America is facing a critical shortage of teachers.
“The problem is serious, it is real, and it is not overblown by the media,”
22 Aug2019
By Bob Cooper
The Washington Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (WACTE) is receiving the payoff from its long-term efforts working with the Washington Legislature. WACTE first hired a contract lobbyist in 2005, and their 14 years of work have made the chapter a significant voice in state education policy.
For instance, teacher shortage has largely been defined either broadly across states or regions, or anecdotally. Now, the state of Washington will attempt to refine the definitions and locations of shortages with a “collaborative” that includes WACTE as a member, following the group’s testimony and request for the designation during the recent legislative session.
This effort is part of a large, omnibus education bill passed by Washington lawmakers this year, which also includes a number of provisions from WACTE to attract more candidates to the teaching profession (Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1139).
Those provisions include $1 million per year in “teacher shortage grants” to enable
22 Aug2019
By Ward Cummings
AACTE’s contact lists for state policy makers in each state and the District of Columbia have been updated and are now posted in the AACTE Resource Library (accessible to AACTE members only!). The links to these lists also can be found on the AACTE Advocacy Center’s State Advocacy page and on AACTE’s State Policy and Legislation page.
These resources are an AACTE member benefit to support you in your state-level advocacy work. I encourage you to use them to find key state policy officials, such as legislators for authorizing and appropriating education funds and state department of education contacts.
Of course, state officials change often. If you discover your state’s contact page needs to be updated, please email the new information to gra@aacte.org.
21 Aug2019
By Jacksonville State University
JSU and Southern Union State Community College are joining forces to provide a smoother route to an early childhood or elementary education degree through the newly established Teacher Prep program.
Teacher Prep creates opportunities for Southern Union students to seamlessly enter JSU’s School of Education through concurrent enrollment. Students are able to earn college credit simultaneously at the community college and university level, placing students on a quicker and more cost-effective pathway to receiving an associate’s degree and a
21 Aug2019
By Azaria Cunningham
Congratulations to Danna Demezier, Holmes Scholar of the Month for August 2019! Demezier is pursuing a doctorate in counselor education at Florida Atlantic University. Demezier’s primary research interest surrounds examining culturally responsive interventions for diverse ethnic populations and the impact of such interventions on treatment outcomes. Secondarily, she is interested in investigating the mental health seeking behaviors of ethnically diverse populations.
Demezier is a nationally certified counselor and a licensed mental health counselor. In 2016, she participated in a mission trip to Haiti where she served on the mental health team. She is also a member of the Human Rights Committee of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Demezier is the recipient of many scholarships. Currently, she serves as a clinical research assistant at the University of Miami and FAU.
An advocate for the Holmes Scholar Program, she believes it is an intricate part of securing a successful matriculation within her doctoral program and that the program provides a sense of community. Her future career goals are to serve as a university professor and supervisor.
19 Aug2019
By Jerrica Thurman
The AACTE Awards Program recognizes excellence in educator preparation in nine categories. One category is the Outstanding Dissertation Award, which honors doctoral research that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. Overseen by AACTE’s Committee on Research and Dissemination, the award includes a $1,000 cash prize as well as special recognition at AACTE’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, February 28 – March 1, 2020.
The video above features the 2018 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award recipient, Molly Baustien Siuty, assistant professor of inclusive teacher education at AACTE member institution
16 Aug2019
By Linda Minor
Registration is now available for the AACTE 72nd Annual Meeting, in Atlanta, Georgia, February 28 – March 1, 2020. Sign up by October 30 to secure the Early Bird registration discount!
The 2020 Annual Meeting is themed “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
16 Aug2019
By Kate Robertson
This article originally appeared in on the University of Tulsa Appalachian website and is reprinted with permission.
Oklahoma is facing a troubling teacher shortage. To ensure public school students have instructors in classrooms this fall, the state has issued 3,000 emergency teacher certifications. The Oklahoma Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (OACTE) analyzed data to uncover the ramifications of an increased number of emergency certificates, and on Monday, Aug. 12, The University of Tulsa hosted the Oklahoma Teacher Pipeline Summit to share their findings and discuss possible solutions to the crisis.
16 Aug2019
By Lynn M. Gangone
Educators and students are facing unprecedented times. The challenges both students and their teachers confront today vastly affects the efficacy of even the best educator’s efforts to create and foster students’ zeal for learning and to contribute to the society they will one day shape. Yet, educators must stay committed to fulfilling their social responsibility now more than ever before.
What Should Social Responsibility Look Like in the Teaching Profession?
This varies from educator to educator, so the answer to this question is complicated and multi-faceted.
Education is about opening minds, creating new knowledge. It is an expansive endeavor. In theory, education should provide us with the understanding and capacity of what it means to be a citizen of this nation and the world. Our nation’s founders understood the importance of an educated citizenry. Today, I believe that we need educators to support both a students’ academic development and citizen development.
16 Aug2019
By Amanda Wilkerson and Deshawn Chapman
In the fall of 2019, educational leaders of AACTE will have another opportunity to access and join a meaningful Topical Action Group (TAG). The Urban Education TAG is brand new and serves as a special work group committed to establishing a storehouse of information with reliable resources to bolster and practically support urban educators. Additionally, exciting programming is already underway in the form of webinars, podcasts, research dissemination, and professional networking opportunities.
The timing of the group’s formation is significant. The TAG is launching during a period in our profession wherein education is rife with concerns. It is no secret that within our field there is growing inequality experienced by
16 Aug2019
By Lynn M. Gangone
As today’s leaders in educator preparation, we must address the persistent problems and inequities of access, discrimination, and bias that plague our schools and communities. It has long been the work of educators to embrace their social responsibility and instill in children the importance of making a difference in the world. We must continue to tackle social justice issues, including the underrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse populations among educators. Please take a few minutes to watch the video below (or read the transcript) to learn how you can engage with AACTE to promote the social responsibility of educators.
