Michigan Chapter Benefits From AACTE Grant
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Thanks to an AACTE State Chapter Support Grant, the Michigan Association for Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE) brought together university leaders in educator preparation and the Michigan Department of Education for a 4-day retreat in June on the campus of Northern Michigan University (NMU). The Pine Tower Retreat was an invigorating experience for all of us and helped us create tangible outcomes for the academic year.
At the retreat, the collaborative and trusting relationship that has been established among educator preparation stakeholders in Michigan was employed to assign roles, resources, and timelines around four strategic goals. These goals, which became the driving force and rallying point for subsequent MACTE meetings, were developed through consensus and reflect a commitment to educating the public on the important work we do on a daily basis. We agreed on the following goals:
- Develop a committee structure for MACTE that parallels AACTE’s, and mobilize committees based on annually identified MACTE priorities.
- Develop and implement an advocacy plan for educator preparation at the state level around legislative policy and regulatory matters related to initial and advanced educator preparation and licensure.
- Develop and disseminate position statements on issues of importance to educator preparation and licensure.
- Develop a statewide initiative showcasing excellence in educator preparation.
This fall, the MACTE Strategic Plan was voted on by the entire MACTE membership and accepted at our September 27 meeting held at Michigan State University. The plan was also endorsed by the Michigan Deans at their meeting earlier in September. The combined efforts of all groups who have chosen to use the objectives in the plan as their own will help us to give us the continuity and momentum we need to implement the plan successfully. This unity has aligned the mission and purpose of several institutions and departments in our state.
The plan will be utilized throughout the year with the committee chairs for each goal reporting out at our bimonthly MACTE meetings. In addition, the MACTE board has agreed to coordinate and support a retreat in 2014 so we can reflect and revise the plan according to the current needs in our profession.
As an example of how we are moving forward to enact our goals, the NMU educator preparation program has developed a partnership with the journalism and communications programs on campus. One journalism student will be assigned to the NMU School of Education, Leadership, and Public Service to develop two stories per month about quality teaching and learning. These articles will feed into the public media campaign being developed by undergraduate communications students, who will work with traditional and social media outlets to help define excellence in educator preparation and in our PK-12 schools.
MACTE exists to “promote, within Michigan, the learning of all PK-20 students through the promotion of high-quality preparation and continuing education for all school personnel. MACTE has sought to pursue this mission by supporting and promoting policies that positively impact professional education of teachers; effective teacher preparation programs at member institutions; and professional development of its members.”
AACTE’s work to support our state chapter has helped us enact this mission and is being felt at the programmatic level across the state of Michigan.
Tags: school-university partnerships, state affiliate
