Advocacy Efforts Showing Results in Mississippi
In October, I was excited to head south to participate in the fall convening of the Mississippi Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE).
Mississippi had received national attention last spring when its legislature passed a law raising entry requirements into teacher preparation programs. Over the last year, the chapter has been working on strengthening its advocacy efforts and ensuring its members a seat at the table when the state is deliberating on laws such as this one and other regulations that impact educator preparation.
These efforts seem to be paying off—the fall meeting agenda included sessions with a representative from the governor’s office, staff from the state department of education, the chair of the Mississippi Senate Education Committee, and others. In addition to my sessions on national and federal issues and on state chapter advocacy strategies, the meeting provided many opportunities for MACTE members to share research on teacher preparation and the work they are doing to prepare high-quality educators for the state’s schools—and for Mississippi policy makers to see input from MACTE members on issues related to educator quality.
To learn more about MACTE, visit http://www.mississippi.edu/oasa/macte.html. If you’d like AACTE staff to present at your state chapter conference, visit the AACTE web site to learn what presentations are available.
Tags: AACTE in the community, state affiliate, state policy
