Panel: Proposed Federal Regulations Could Have Negative Impact on Teacher Diversity

By Zachary VanHouten

On Tuesday, January 27, the American Federation of Teachers and Howard University (DC) convened a panel at the National Press Club to discuss the potential impact of the proposed federal teacher preparation regulations on minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and their teacher pipelines. AACTE President/CEO Sharon P. Robinson was among the panelists who shared their concerns and urged the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw the regulations.

AACTE Welcomes Interns From George Mason University

By Linda McKee

AACTE is very pleased to welcome three new interns from George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. Amanda Bush, Christine DeGregory, and Donna Sacco will be working through May 2015 with Rod Lucero, our senior director for membership engagement and support, and me, AACTE’s senior director for performance measurement and assessment policy.

Over the next semester, the GMU interns will learn the dynamics of performance measurements, assessment policies, and clinical practice in the setting of a national association focused on continuous improvement and support. This is an exciting time for AACTE to guide the field while advocating for and building capacity for high-quality preparation programs. Cooperating with our member institutions to employ education interns has long been a goal for AACTE, and we are excited to see this aim realized.

NDACTE Meets With State Officials to Discuss Proposed Regulations

By Rod Jonas

With the February 2 deadline fast approaching to comment on the proposed federal regulations for teacher preparation programs, the North Dakota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NDACTE) has wasted no time in developing comments and reaching out to our state officials to express our concerns with the proposed regulations. As questions and concerns mount regarding the proposed regulations, the members of NDACTE felt it was necessary to discuss them with officials in our state.

National Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced

By Lucy Berrier

On January 14, the Council of Chief State School Officers announced four finalists for the 2015 national teacher of the year. The finalists are state teachers of the year from Alabama, Hawaii, Indiana, and Texas.

Free Webinar From CEEDAR: ‘Innovation Configurations in Action’

By Kristin McCabe

The Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform Center (CEEDAR Center) will sponsor a free webinar, “Innovation Configurations in Action,” this Wednesday, January 28, at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Developed last year, innovation configurations are program evaluation tools that help determine the extent to which evidence-based practices are taught, observed, and applied in teacher preparation and professional development programs.

Member Voices: Rallying Faculty to Comment on Teacher Preparation

By Debra A. Colley

It is time for us to again be advocates for our profession. In response to the notice of proposed federal regulations for teacher preparation programs, we need faculty, students, and the community of PK-12 partners to respond and let their voices be heard.

This is not easy given the February 2 deadline for comment—comments are due just as faculty and students are returning for the spring semester!

Third Way Report on TEACH Grants Comes Up Short

By Zachary VanHouten

A recent report by the think tank Third Way claims that the federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program is failing to meet its aims, instead burdening nearly 40% of recipients to date with converted unsubsidized loans after they failed to complete all program requirements.

The report calls for changes to the program, either through “short-term fixes” such as reducing reporting requirements and limiting grant use to “high-performing” programs (as proposed in the new federal regulations for teacher preparation programs) or, preferably, in a thorough overhaul that streamlines all federal assistance for teachers into a simple loan-forgiveness program.

Tips for Attending AACTE’s Annual Meeting

By Jerrica Thurman

Before we all head to Atlanta for AACTE’s 67th Annual Meeting, I asked a few past attendees to share tips for what to do at the event. Here’s some useful guidance from Jennifer Waddell, associate director of the Institute for Urban Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Safeguarding Student Data Is Everyone’s Business

By Sharon Robinson

This post also appears on the Public School Insights blog of the Learning First Alliance.

Last week, the White House announced a new push to protect students’ digital privacy, as ever-expanding data collection efforts heighten concerns from parents and advocacy groups about appropriate uses of the data. Institutions of higher education share the administration’s priority to protect elementary and secondary students and uphold diligent safety and privacy practices in preparing teachers for the classroom. Ultimately, safeguarding student data is everyone’s business.

Member Voices: Join AACTE Twitter Campaign on #EDregs

By Joen Larson

With an intention of generating 100,000 comments to the U.S. Department of Education on its proposed regulations for teacher preparation programs, the members of the AACTE Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy are leading the charge with a Twitter campaign to spread awareness of the proposed regulations.

Remember, the deadline to comment is February 2, and the teacher preparation profession’s voice must be heard! (See AACTE’s regulations web page for more information.)

Please join our Twitter campaign at #EDregs to help us reach out to colleagues, public officials, students, organizations, and the public to help generate more conversation on Twitter about the regulations—leading, we hope, to more comments submitted to the government.

’Twixt Scylla and Charybdis: Navigating the Paradoxes of Data Use, Accountability, and Program Improvement

By Cap Peck

Academic leaders in teacher education are currently faced with unprecedented policy pressures related to collecting, reporting, and acting on an intensifying array of program outcome measures. Moreover, many of the state and federal policies driving these pressures are saturated with paradox, attempting to address multiple and often contradictory goals. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is related to the essential tension between policy goals related to identifying and eliminating “low-performing programs,” and those related to “program improvement.” Coping with contradictory discourses and policies related to accountability, program improvement, and “data use” has become one of the facts of life experienced by virtually all contemporary teacher educators.

Member Voices: Rallying Responses to the Federal Regulations

By Jennie Whitcomb

We have an opportunity to make our voices heard. Though the proposed federal regulations for teacher preparation programs were released for comment most inconveniently during the hurly burly of exams and the holidays, I was determined to find a festive, collegial way to engage the faculty and students at my institution in contributing our knowledge and experience by February 2.

AACTE’s challenge to generate 100,000 comments inspired me. There’s no guarantee that the U.S. Department of Education will listen, of course, but an onslaught of letters will hopefully grab their attention. The question for me: How to spur people to actually read and respond to the proposal.

AACTE Submits Comments to OMB on Burden of Proposed Regulations

By Deborah Koolbeck and Zachary VanHouten

On Friday, January 2, AACTE submitted formal comments to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the burden and cost estimates that were provided in the proposed federal teacher preparation regulations. The extensive 38-page analysis echoes many of the concerns raised by AACTE members and colleague organizations.