$6 Million Gift Bolsters Effort To Diversify The Educator Workforce

By Jackson Holtz

The University of Washington today announced a $6 million anonymous gift earmarked to bolster diversity in the education workforce, a key driver in ultimate K-12 student success, especially for students of color.

The gift will expand financial support for and recruitment of teacher candidates from diverse backgrounds, including candidates of color and those who are multilingual. In addition, the gift provides professional learning and supports to enhance retention in the teaching workforce, and evaluation and dissemination of the key learnings to aid efforts across the nation to boost the racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity of teachers entering the profession.

“This extraordinary and generous donation will help to develop a more diverse and representative educational workforce,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “We are deeply grateful for this forward-looking gift that will do so much to benefit students, especially multilingual students and students of color, as well as the students they go on to teach and mentor as educators.”

Call for Proposals: Third Annual New Jersey Convening on Diversifying the Teacher Workforce

By John Henning and Stacey Leftwich

The theme of  the Third Annual New Jersey Convening on Diversifying the Teacher Workforce is “Leadership for Diversity: Creating Culturally Responsive Recruitment, Instructional Practice and Retention Strategies.”

The New Jersey Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Convening, co-sponsored by Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, New Jersey Department of Education, and the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is intended to address the serious need to increase the diversity of the New Jersey teaching population and increase culturally responsive practices in the state. This meeting is designed to engage stakeholders and constituents in New Jersey in considering the barriers and supports to diversifying the teacher workforce to increase our numbers of culturally responsive practitioners and to develop culturally responsive practices among New Jersey’s educators. This convening will also provide opportunities for participants to learn about promising and successful efforts to increase teacher diversity in New Jersey and for growing and sustaining culturally responsive educators.

AACTE Holmes Program Sponsors Back-to-School Event

By Weade James

AACTE in collaboration with the Holmes Scholars Council is offering a Virtual Writing Session to help provide a community of support for students’ personal and professional writing and publishing endeavors. Participants of the event will learn about strategies and tools for effective writing from guest speakers Andrew Daire, dean of the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Diandra Prescod, associate professor of  counselor education and counseling psychology at University of Connecticut.

Along with a designated space for both collaborative and individual writing, participants will also have the opportunity to work with writing coaches in pre-scheduled one-on-one coaching sessions to enhance research and scholarly productivity. Students will receive constructive writing feedback from faculty members at Boston University, University of Central Florida, DePaul University, and Florida Atlantic University. The goal for this event is to ensure that Holmes Scholars have a supportive space to focus on their writing goals and academic endeavors during this unprecedented and difficult period.

Events will occur on Saturday, August 15 and 22 from 11:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (EST). Interested scholars are encouraged to register and sign-up for a one-on-one coaching session in advance.

VCU Hosts Holmes Scholars Fall 2020 Research and Mentorship Summit

By Ejana Bennett

The Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) School of Education is sponsoring a  two-day research and mentorship summit on August 13 and 14 designed for historically underrepresented schools and colleges of education Ph.D. student, as well as M.Ed. students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. The summit will offer resources and professional development to facilitate students’ success as doctoral students who will be positioned for tenure track faculty positions. Students will have opportunities to discuss and better develop their research and scholarship interests and skills, learn strategies for success, and network with other underrepresented minority graduate students and faculty. 

Register in advance for the virtual (via Zoom) VCU Fall 2020 Research and Mentorship Summit.

Registration Now Open for AACTE’s 2020 Washington Week

By Linda Minor

Registration is now open for AACTE’s virtual 2020 Washington Week! Connect with peers from across the country for the premier national advocacy event for educator preparation. Take advantage of the reduced event rates and encourage your colleagues and students to join policy leaders in impacting our profession.

Registration rates are as follows:

Register for AACTE’s Washington Week today! Learn more about the affordable rates and other event details at www.aacte.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and join the conversation using #AACTEWW20.

Do you have questions or need assistance? Please email events@aacte.org.

Attend the Back to School Series with ATLAS, ISTE and LPI

By Nicole Dunn

Higher education and PK-12 school systems around the country continue to persevere through the pandemic while the policies that structure the new school year continue to change day-to-day. Since the onset of COVID-19, our partners have observed how the pandemic has affected teacher and leadership preparation programs and are excited to share lessons learned. This August, join us for a “Back to School” webinar series with three of our strategic partners: Learning Policy Institute (LPI), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Accomplished Teaching, Learning and Schools (ATLAS) group. In each, we will discuss how to apply what was learned this past spring to the upcoming academic year within higher educator preparation programs.

AACTE Member Leaders Discuss the Importance of Collaborating During COVID

By Jerrica Thurman

AACTE Board members Kimberly White-Smith, Stephanie Knight, and John Blackwell met with me to discuss the importance of collaboration during times of crises. In the videos, White-Smith, Knight, and Blackwell shared the following:

“Academic justice is of critical importance right now. And that is our contribution to the change that is happening. As educators, we have the ability to work with our communities to provide education to our in-service and pre-service teachers so they come out of this experience better prepared,” said Kimberly White-Smith, dean of the University of La Verne’s LaFetra College of Education. “We know that many of our families are experiencing trauma right now due to illness with COVID or have experienced other sort of trauma as a result of anti-blackness, or racist ideologies or policies in our community. We can better support our communities, our students, and develop educators who can address those concerns head-on.” White-Smith is the intellectual force behind a number of scholarly endeavors that foster academic justice for traditionally underserved students through enhanced educational environments, policies, and teaching strategies.

AACTE Statement on ICE Guidance for International Students at U.S. Colleges and Universities

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 regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s guidance that forces colleges and universities to reopen with in-person classes:

“AACTE is appalled by efforts to deny international students from attending U.S. colleges and universities on the basis of enrollment in online versus in-person classes. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s position prohibits new or initial students on foreign visas after March 9 from entering the country and enrolling in fully online courses, thus forcing them to take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction this fall. This policy is both harmful to the health, safety, and overall well-being of the students and detrimental to their educational trajectories. Additionally, this action exacerbates the complex challenges institutions of higher education already face during this unprecedented time.

Tips for Successful Submissions to the AACTE #DEIHandbook

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

AACTE wants to celebrate your successful strategies to diversify the profession and professionally develop your faculty and staff. We plan to share members’ strategies in a handbook focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This handbook will be distributed to congressional leaders and their staff during Washington Week 2020. The handbook will also be located on the AACTE website for our members to share their successes with one another.

Now that you’ve read about the Handbook, you’re likely planning your submission. We want to support you every step of the way. Below are a few tips for a successful submission to the DEI Handbook.

Can Congress Deliver on a Much Needed COVID Relief Package

By Jane E. West

Senate Republicans Reveal Proposal for Next COVID Relief Package—a Nonstarter for Democrats

We ended the week with the chasm between Democrats and Republicans looming as the clock ticks toward recess and campaigning, not to mention expiring unemployment benefits, expired eviction prohibitions and schools and higher education struggling with reopening plans. Leader McConnell revealed the HEALS Act—the Senate Republican response to the House Democratic HEROES Act—as the opener for negotiations on the next COVID relief package. A third proposal, CCERA, was put forward by Senate Democrats. A comparison of education spending in the three bills reveals the following: