09 Dec2021
Three Westminster College Experts Lay Out Problems and Solutions in Education
By Marilee Coles-Ritchie, Melanie Agnew and Anneliese Cannon
This article originally appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune and is reprinted with permission.
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Students raise their hands in full classroom of 32 students in a Spanish class at South Jordan Middle School in 2017.
A crisis is defined as a time of intense danger when important decisions must be made. It can’t wait!
A few days ago, we read with frustration an article in The Salt Lake Tribune about the substitute teacher crisis in Utah—a direct result of Utah’s severe teacher shortage. The substitute statistics were staggering. Granite School District needed 518 subs at the end of September and couldn’t fill 194 of those positions.
07 Dec2021
By Katrina Norfleet
CNN’s Katie Lobosco recently reported on President’s Biden’s universal pre-K plan that would make preschool available and affordable for six million more children and the resulting challenge of hiring “tens of thousands” of new teachers. In referring to the teaching shortage, Lobosco writes, “The average number of college graduates who completed teacher preparation programs fell 24% between the 2009-10 and 2018-19 academic years, according to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.”
06 Dec2021
By Nicole Dunn
The third episode of AACTE’s new University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) Podcast series chronicling this Wallace Foundation multi-year principal program redesign initiative is now available. In the last episode, AACTE identified the gaps between “learning” and “doing.” In this episode, guests dive into a case study of the UPPI program at University of Connecticut (UConn ) and what they have learned from their program redesign. Episode 3 features Richard Gonzalez, who oversees the principalship and superintendency program at UConn and serves as the director of UConn’s UPPI initiative project. Gonzalez and current program candidate Symone James, explain the core assessments, how they were tied to clinical practice and what that structure accomplished in closing the “learning” and “doing” gap of principal preparation.
29 Nov2021
By Deirdre Smith
In a bonus episode of the Next Education Workforce podcast, former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. tells Brent Maddin of Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College about the impact public school had on King’s life and how his work today has been shaped by his experiences as a student, classroom teacher, civil servant and policymaker.
23 Nov2021
By Nicole Dunn
While the role of the principal remains essential, it has evolved over time. Throughout its evolvement, preparation programs, districts, and state policy makers have worked in silos, creating gaps between the skills learned in an educator leadership program and what a principal actually does on the job. In the second episode of AACTE’s new University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) Podcast series chronicling this Wallace Foundation multi-year principal program redesign initiative, listeners will learn what the research says about what the gaps between “learning” and “doing” and how to address them.
In the “Gaps in the Journey to Becoming a Principal” podcast segment, listeners will hear how those findings are seen and implemented through the eyes of one of the UPPI’s Project Directors, Tim Drake.
16 Nov2021
By Katrina Norfleet
In a recent Washington Post article, AACTE Dean in Residence Leslie Fenwick and two corporate CEOs explore the research that confirms early childhood education programs advance cognitive development and academic achievement that reduces the long-term attainment gaps and produces functioning, responsible adults. Moreover, the authors underscore the critical need to counter the current historic setbacks to high-quality child care—for working mothers and their families and for the U.S. economy at large.
Fenwick, along with Roger W. Crandall, chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual, and JD Chesloff, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, share a perspective that the business community has a critical role to play to make universal child care and Pre-K a reality.
The article focuses on three primary areas: an evolving American workforce and caregiver model, promoting economic growth and equity in education, and advocating for a solution.
To read the full article, “The business case for public investment in early-childhood programs,” visit the Washington Post website.
15 Nov2021
By Meghan Grenda
As the fall semester creeps to a close, it’s easy to forget about all that is available to you via your AACTE membership. Check out these member resources:
Resource Library – Have you accessed the AACTE Resource Library lately? If so, you have probably noticed a few changes, including a single sign on system. AACTE has completed its database migration and with that you will find a seamless way to transition between your AACTE profile and the improved AACTE Resource Library. Feel free to view some of the latest resources below:
05 Nov2021
By Nicole Dunn
AACTE has released a new podcast series that chronicles the multi-year principal program redesign initiative undertaken by the Wallace Foundation: The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). This podcast is designed to inspire learning opportunities and educational partnerships among AACTE members and stakeholders and to create highly trained and qualified principals who will influence and shape their learning communities.
In the first episode, AACTE interviews Rochelle Herring, senior program officer at the Wallace Foundation, to introduce the initiative, though which seven principal preparation programs were selected to partner with district and state leaders in their redesign efforts, as well as investigate how state policy could be leveraged to improve the quality of principal preparation statewide. Throughout the conversation, Herring cites research proving that the principal is a multiplier of good teaching and therefore, improved learning.
07 Oct2021
By Jane Bray
This op-ed originally appeared in District Administration and is reprinted with permission.
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented responses. For the first time, much of the country appears to have the same goal: getting both students and teachers back into schools. To that end, there has never been a more critical time to advocate for educator preparation and policies than now.
COVID-19 drastically changed the world, and its impact continues to influence opinions, strategies, and even political policies. The pandemic shined a spotlight on the importance of education for both students and educators alike. Everyone could finally see the existing deficits in the education system. The absence of education in the physical classroom revealed the importance of educating our children and ensuring quality learning environments.
27 Aug2021
By Lynn M. Gangone
This article originally appeared in The Hechinger Report.
Long before the pandemic, school districts across the nation struggled to staff classrooms with skilled teachers. The crisis did not create the teacher shortage, but it accelerated teacher retirements and other departures while contributing to declining enrollments in educator preparation programs.
Our nation’s education system spans national, state, district, classroom and community levels. Many rightly wonder if this ecosystem’s demand for qualified teachers can be met in the post-pandemic era.
To do so, we need deeper—and more active—collaborations to address the multiple layers of challenges inside the teaching profession so that we can effectively recruit, train and retain more teachers.
20 Aug2021
By Gaelle Gilbert
Series one, episode six of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest and final episode of series one features a discussion surrounding the critical question: How do we design authentic field experiences that equip students with evidence-based skills to support a sustainable career? Tara Mathien from the University of Florida shares how the adaptations that her educator preparation program made throughout this past year has led to lasting change that will continue to be implemented in the future.
Listen now to Episode 6: Jack Be Nimble
05 Aug2021
By Gaelle Gilbert
Series one, episode five of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest episode features one of the largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the nation, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), embarking on a transformation of its teacher preparation program centered on the college mission, vision, and three priorities: quality, culture of inquiry, and positionality. In this episode, Sandra Musanti and Alma Rodriguez from UTRGV share what they have identified to be the three areas of emphasis to guide the transformation work: a practice-based teacher education model, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, and technology for the 21st century.
Listen now to Episode 5: Transformiing Teacher Preparation
23 Jul2021
By Gaelle Gilbert
Series one, episode four of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest episode features the story of an educator preparation program facing multiple challenges in its work to prepare teacher candidates for the classroom. Additionally, covering how their local school district faces its own pressures impacted by teacher shortages, poor teacher performance, high burnout, and issues with retention. In the fourth episode of the Revolutionizing Education Podcast, Jeff Bill and Ashley Smith from Pitt County Schools and Christina Tschida from Appalachian State University share three case stories featuring the use of co-teaching and demonstrating a partnership between university and schools that builds capacity, efficacy, and resilience in teachers at various levels of preparation.
Listen now to Episode 4: Learning Together
20 Jul2021
By AACTE
On behalf of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement on the House Appropriations Committee passage of the fiscal year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill:
“AACTE is deeply gratified to see such an historic investment in education, and particularly in educator preparation. While our members have advocated for years, indeed decades, for such investments, this is the first time Congress has responded with such a robust bill. These unprecedented increases will make a significant difference in addressing the long-term deficits in our nation’s education system. They will enable our nation to address the critical shortage of educators and the lack of diversity in our profession in transformative ways. AACTE urges Congress to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden for his signature as soon as possible.”
13 Jul2021
By Gaelle Gilbert
Series one, episode three of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest episode features The RockTEACH Program at member institution Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. It covers the efforts of the university to diversify the teacher workforce by recruiting underrepresented minority high school students to the field of teaching, providing financial assistance and mentoring support through the RockTEACH Program. AACTE members Monique Alexander, Jeremy Lynch, Christine Walsh, and Linda Zane of Slippery Rock share the story, the situation, and the results of the program. Listeners will gain insight into a burgeoning and multifaceted program to support a diverse teacher pipeline and develop an understanding of the critical elements and challenges of their story.
Listen now to Episode 3: The RockTEACH Program
