06 Dec2022
By Michael Rose
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education issued a reminder that TEACH Grants are available to those who are interested in pursuing a career in education.
The TEACH Grant Program, which was created approximately 15 years ago, provides grants of up to $4,000 a year to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching. A TEACH Grant-eligible program is a program of study that is designed to prepare you to teach as a highly qualified teacher in a high-need field and that leads to a bachelor’s or master’s degree or is a post-baccalaureate program. A two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree is considered a program that leads to a bachelor’s degree.
06 Dec2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The countdown is on for Congress to pass a fiscal year (FY) 2023 package before the 117th Congress ends at the end of this month. As you will recall, the government is currently operating on a continuing resolution. Essentially what this means is the government is operating on last fiscal year’s funding levels through December 16. At that time, a budget or another continuing resolution must pass or the government will shut down. While its widely reported that the four corners have not yet agreed on top line numbers, many believe a budget will pass before the 118th Congress begins, even if that means working up to Christmas Eve. Stay tuned!
29 Nov2022
By Michael Rose
In light of a District Court’s ruling in early November that President Biden overstepped his authority in creating a student debt relief program without congressional approval, the Administration recently announced that it would extend the repayment pause on federal student loans potentially through June 30, 2023 (the exact timing depends on any court rulings). The Biden Administration argued that this will allow the Supreme Court time to provide clarity to borrowers.
28 Nov2022
By UF College of Education
With a decade of marked success, this University of Florida-led effort has received an additional $17.5 million to support technical assistance efforts through 2027. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs has already invested $46.5 million in the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center to improve teaching and school leadership for students with disabilities in states across the nation.
The center, which has been housed at UF since 2013, provides customized support to state departments of education and partnering educator preparation programs to develop effective teachers and leaders who can successfully prepare students with disabilities for college and career.
“We have steadily worked to move the needle for underserved learners and look forward to continuing in this vein with an even keener focus on students who are multiply marginalized based on intersecting social identities,” said Erica McCray, CEEDAR Center director and professor of special education. “Our focus remains on ensuring that each student is served by an effective, stable educator workforce that includes diverse teachers and leaders who are equipped to deliver a responsive education.”
21 Nov2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
It has been a busy week in Washington with Members returning after the mid-term elections and the new freshman class of Members arriving on the Hill for orientation. Speaker Pelosi made the momentous decision to step down from Democratic leadership. Speaker Pelosi is a historic figure, having become, at the time, the most powerful elected woman in U.S. history when she assumed the Speakership in 2007. The decision to step back from leadership paves the way for a new generation of Democrats to rise in the ranks; Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Caucus Vice Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) are viewed as the heirs apparent to the “big three” — House Democratic Leader, House Democratic Whip, and Democratic Caucus Chair. In remarks to her colleagues on the House floor, Speaker Pelosi recalled the first time she saw the Capitol, saying “I will never forget the first time I saw the Capitol.[…]The Capitol is a temple of our Democracy, of our Constitution, of our highest ideals[…] Indeed, American Democracy is majestic — but it is fragile.” Thank you Madam Speaker, for your years of dedicated service to the Republic.
21 Nov2022
By Kansas City Teacher Residency
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given away nearly $2 billion over the last 7 months, and a Kansas City nonprofit just became the latest recipient of her generosity. Kansas City Teacher Residency (KCTR) is pleased to announce the acceptance of a $5 million donation. This award will be utilized to support KCTR’s ongoing work and secure the organization’s future for the long term. These funds will allow KCTR to recruit, cultivate, and retain more diverse teachers in the communities we are serving and in turn provide equitable classrooms for all students.
21 Nov2022
By UNI College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences
This article was originally published by Inside UNI.
The United States Department of Education has awarded two University of Northern Iowa professors a $1.48 million grant to launch a new project to improve English as a second language (ESL) instruction for both pre-service and in-service teachers.
Aliza Fones and Carmen Durham, both assistant professors of TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages)/applied linguistics, were awarded the grant to carry out Project UNITED (University of Northern Iowa Teacher Education for Diverse Learners).
Project UNITED will provide research-based ESL teacher preparation and professional development to current and future teachers.
21 Nov2022
By Michael Rose
The Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to remind them that they can continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by using funds Congress appropriated in response to the pandemic to, among other things, expand opportunities for high-quality work-based learning, often referred to as “apprenticeships.”
15 Nov2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
A recent Enquirer analysis of state data found educator resignations in Ohio nearly quadruped from 2019 to 2021, in addition to there being five times as many retirements. State and local education leaders met to address the teacher shortage crisis late last month during a series of solutions-centered meetings.
The first event, hosted by Miami University, took place at the Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester Township. University leaders and officials from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education were in attendance along with 100 additional stakeholders in education, business, and government.
15 Nov2022
By Michael Rose
A U.S. District in Texas ruled on November 10 that President Biden overstepped his authority in creating a student debt relief program without congressional approval, preventing the Administration from providing relief to federal borrowers. A federal appeals court expanded the ruling on November 14 saying, the pause “will remain in effect until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States.”
10 Nov2022
By Michael Rose
AACTE recently sent a letter to all members of Congress urging them to cosponsor the EDUCATORS for America Act (S 3360/HR 6205), which would invest in and revitalize federal educator preparation programs. These programs are critical to addressing the shortage of profession-ready, fully licensed teachers in our nation’s classrooms. The letter was cosigned by 41 other education groups.
31 Oct2022
By Michael Rose
The Department of Education recently announced permanent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to make it easier for borrowers to see their federal student loans forgiven under the program. Many of these changes were announced earlier this year on a temporary basis; they will take effect in July 2023.
31 Oct2022
By University of San Diego Media Relations Office
The School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) at the University of San Diego has received a $1.5 million grant from the San Diego Foundation to develop and launch the Black InGenius Initiative (BiGI)– a college access and early literacy program for Black students within the San Diego region.
Sixty rising sixth graders will be selected for BiGI every year starting in fall 2023. USD will provide students with consistent academic support delivered by SOLES students and faculty trained in neurodivergent teaching, which is the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in different ways, therefore there is no one “right” way of thinking, learning or behaving.
20 Oct2022
By FutureEd
Teacher shortages dominated education headlines during the summer. The billions of dollars of federal pandemic-relief money states and school districts are pouring into the teaching force—and the funding’s substantial consequences for longstanding policies and practices in the more-than-three-million-member profession—have received far less attention.
18 Oct2022
The U.S. Department of Education Grant Will Fund Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Education for Principals Programs.
By High Point University
High Point University’s Stout School of Education is a recipient of a nearly $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund two graduate programs for teachers and principals for the next five years. The school will receive $9,786,041, the second largest federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant awarded to 22 universities in the nation.
The Teacher Quality Partnership grant is the largest competitive grant ever awarded to High Point University, says Amy Holcombe, dean of the Stout School of Education. This is the second Teacher Quality Partnership Grant awarded to HPU’s Stout School of Education, which received a previous $4 million grant in October 2018.
