12 May2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
I’m downright excited to have some GREAT news to report from Washington! Some of our leaders want to increase the federal INVESTMENT in public education! Hallelujah.
- House Moves Expansive Education Funding Bill through 8 Hour Marathon Mark up
This week Chair of the House Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) successfully moved her spending bill out of the full Appropriations Committee. The bill retains its overall 6% increase for education from last fiscal year, bringing the Department of Education to $75.9 Billion, and features significant increases for key education programs.
12 May2019
By Amber Haley
I am thrilled to invite all Holmes Scholars to this year’s Research & Scholarship Expo! The 2019 Expo theme is Building Bridges: Promoting Impactful, Equitable Research. Sponsored by the Holmes Scholar Program and the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF), this Expo will provide the opportunity to engage all doctoral students in conversations focused on research, scholarship, external grant funding, and the publication process while learning strategies to navigate higher education through mentorship, advocacy, and productivity. Faculty are also invited to attend and take part in the conversation.
The Expo will take place June 28-29, 2019 in sunny Orlando, FL on the beautiful UCF campus. The Keynote address will be delivered by David H. Jackson, Jr., dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Florida A&M University. It will conclude with a social gathering of participants to network and continue the conversation work.
Special online registration rates are available for all Holmes Scholars, Holmes alumnus, doctoral students, and faculty/mentors. Please visit
https://2019ucfholmesscholarexpo.eventbrite.com for more information and to register online. See you there!
08 May2019
By Allen Clarkson
Summer is a time when most educators are thinking about taking a break from the demands of the academic year and focusing their attention on matters outside of the classroom. That makes summer the perfect time for educators to reach out to the institutions off-campus that impact their work as teachers, including legislators, regulators, and colleagues at other academic institutions.
We must never lose sight of the fact that educator preparation is held accountable at the state level and that graduates of teacher programs move into the PK-12 system—which itself is predominantly funded and certainly accountable at the state and local level. For these reasons, it is key to engage with the state agencies, commissions, and other entities that comprise your state’s educator preparation accountability system.
We want to help you.
The AACTE Government Relations and Advocacy Committee is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, May 16 at 11:00 a.m., specifically designed to help educate educators on the procedures and practice of summertime advocacy.
08 May2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE. To view the full blog, visit janewestconsulting.com.
Congress is back from a two-week recess and education saw a lot of action this week!
- House Subcommittee Marks Up FY 2020 Funding Bill with a 6% Increase for Education!
This week, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) began the FY 2020 appropriations process by moving the Labor/HHS and Education bill through the subcommittee. Her first bill as chair of the subcommittee reveals an impressive high-water mark for education spending, raising the federal investment by 6% over last year. Lead Republican on the subcommittee, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), noted that he does not think the large increases in the bill will be supported by the Senate or the president and that at best, this disagreement will lead to a year-long continuing resolution or at worst, another government shutdown. Nonetheless, the bill was passed out of subcommittee and will likely be marked up by the full House Committee on Appropriations next week.
08 May2019
By Erica D. McCray
The CEEDAR Center will present Culturally responsive education: A course enhancement module (CEM) designed to ensure every educator meets the needs of each learner on Tuesday, May 21, 1:00 p.m. (ET). Registration is now open.
The CEEDAR Center, an OSEP-funded technical assistance center is proud to collaborate with national organizations, technical assistance centers, and stakeholders across the country to ensure that every student with a disability has an equitable opportunity to achieve. Teacher and leader development through policy, preparation, and program improvement is central to our mission. Our partnership with AACTE provides an opportunity to support AACTE’s strategic focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
06 May2019
By Linda Minor
Last week, Deborah Koolbeck, Brandon Frost, and I went to the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel to get familiar with the venue and surrounding area where Washington Week will take place June 2-5. Although it was raining that day, we decided to walk from the Crystal City Metro stop to the hotel—about a 10 minute walk. There is an underground walkway with numerous shops and restaurants, but we enjoyed the outdoor walk and getting acclimated to the area.
06 May2019
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
AACTE received nearly 50 applications from preparation programs across the country to participate in the Reducing the Shortage of Special Education Teachers Networked Improvement Community supported by the CEEDAR Center! The AACTE Reducing the Shortage of Special Education Teachers Networked Improvement Community (NIC) aims to address the problem of the shortage and lack of diversity of fully prepared and credentialed special education teachers in public schools across the nation.
AACTE is proud to be partnering with the following member institutions in reducing the special education teacher shortage:
Cleveland State University
Eastern Michigan University
Texas State University
University of Central Florida
University of Nebraska at Omaha
University of Northern Colorado
University of Oregon
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Virginia State University
Western Kentucky University
06 May2019
By AACTE
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement today responding to the passage of HB 7093 through the Florida legislature:
“While it is in the purview of states to determine paths forward on school safety that protect students and teachers, the passage of this particular bill in Florida is disconcerting at best.
In particular, after Parkland, Florida enacted a law that created an optional program to have armed ‘guardians’ on school campuses, but explicitly prohibited teachers engaged in classroom instruction from being a guardian, with limited, focused exceptions. HB 7093 eliminates this prohibition, opening the door for classroom teachers to be armed. Expanding what was already a controversial policy is the wrong path toward ensuring the safety of all students and staff on school campuses.
06 May2019
By Linda Minor
AACTE is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Outstanding Book Award. Nominations must be made through the AACTE online submission system by May 16.
The Outstanding Book Award, overseen by the AACTE Committee on Research and Dissemination, recognizes exemplary books that make a significant contribution to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation.
Here are our most recent winners:
2019 Mary Dilworth, Millennial Teachers of Color (Harvard Education Press)
2018 Marcelle Haddix, Cultivating Racial and Linguistic Diversity in Literacy Teacher Education: Teachers Like Me (Routledge & NCTE)
2017 Eva Zygmunt and Patricia Clark, Transforming Teacher Education for Social Justice (Teachers College Press)
06 May2019
By JTE Insider
Read the latest JTE Insider blog interview by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team. This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles in the JTE online archives—just log in with your AACTE profile.
This interview features insights from Melanie M. Acosta, author of the JTE article “The Paradox of Pedagogical Excellence Among Exemplary Black Women Educators.” The article is published in the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education.
Q1. What motivated you to pursue this particular research topic?
I was compelled to study the professional experiences of exceptional Black women educators for many reasons. One of the most important reasons was related to my own positionality as a Black woman educator with a record of success in teaching. Another crucial reason I wanted to pursue research on Black women educator professional experiences was related to expanding and complicating the dialogue on diversifying the teaching force to focus on issues affecting Black teacher retention, which includes teachers’ positionalities and the treatment of Black women educators in schools.
06 May2019
By Matthew Wales
Looking to begin, or even expand upon, your career as an educational leader? AACTE’s Leadership Academy is your opportunity to discover who you are as an academic administrator. We asked a member of AACTE’s Academy Faculty, John Henning, to elaborate upon his experiences as a three-time attendee. Henning had this insight to offer, as well as advice for future Academy participants:
What year(s) did you attend the Academy, and what position were you in at the time?
I first attended the Academy as a newly-hired, outside department chair in 2009. I attended again in 2013, when I was promoted to Associate Dean. Finally, I attended a third time in 2015 when I began my dean’s position.
06 May2019
By AACTE
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is pleased by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies’ (Labor-H Subcommittee) draft bill released for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) yesterday. Among the programs seeing an increase in funding is the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant program, the only federal initiative dedicated to strengthening and transforming educator preparation at institutions of higher education.
AACTE members have worked tirelessly to inform Congress about the effectiveness of this program, and the result is now tangible. The AACTE community can take heart, as their voices have clearly been heard on Capitol Hill. The bill in its current form increases TQP by $10 million for a total of $53 million; TQP has been flat-funded at $43.1 million since FY15.
30 Apr2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE joins the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) in celebrating Teacher Data Literacy Week, April 29 – May 3. The initiative is to elevate the importance of teacher data literacy, including why it is critical to ensure students and states meet their education and workforce goals, and the different actors who are involved in making it possible.
DQC will co-host with the National Parent Teacher Association and Teach Plus a Twitter chat using #TDLMatters at 3:00pm EDT on Thursday, May 2. The discussion will address the many barriers teachers face to being data literate, what teacher data literacy looks like in action, and what policymakers can do to support teacher data literacy.
For more information about Teacher Data Literacy Week, https://dataqualitycampaign.org/topic/strong-teachers-and-leaders/.
29 Apr2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE congratulates 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson and AACTE member institutions Virginia State University and Virginia Commonwealth University, which helped prepare him for his distinguished career path. Robinson is a 19-year teaching veteran who received the national honor last week by the Council of Chief State School Officers. (See AACTE’s press release issued today.)
Robinson teaches social studies at Virgie Binford Education Center, a school inside the Richmond Juvenile Justice Center, where he creates a positive school culture by empowering his students. He earned a bachelor of arts in history from Virginia State University and a master’s in educational administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University.
29 Apr2019
By Linda Minor
Being new to AACTE, I learned a lot about what to expect during Day on the Hill when Deborah Koolbeck and I recently went to the Capitol. I have never been on the Capitol grounds before, although I have lived in the DC area for over 20 years, and it is beautiful. The weather was perfect. View video clip about Capitol Grounds.
So, what can you expect during Day on the Hill? Tuesday will be a full-day of orientation at the hotel where you will build skills and prepare for their meetings with your congressional offices. Then, on Wednesday morning you will be bused to Capitol Hill for scheduled appointments with your elected officials. “But what about their luggage,” I asked? Attendees can bring luggage on the bus to the hill—or you can stay in town a little longer and take advantage of all the activities DC has to offer. View video clip about luggage.
