68th Annual Meeting Overview

Tomorrow is your last chance to register at a discount and to book your hotel room at The Mirage Hotel for the AACTE 68th Annual Meeting! Complete your conference registration by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on January 27 and save up to $40.

Next month, AACTE will hold its 68th Annual Meeting February 23-25 at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Be there to experience the full lineup of conference activities around the conference theme, “Meeting the Demands of Professional Practice: Tough Questions, Tough Choices,” supported by four strands:

  • Professionalism: Values in Action
  • Engagement: Hard Choices in Connecting With All Stakeholders
  • Programs and Practices: Making Hard Choices Through Critical Reflection, Review, and Innovation
  • Assessment: Hard Choices in Program Improvement

Even before the conference officially begins, there’s a lot going on. A press conference will be held Monday, February 22, to highlight what AACTE member institutions in Nevada are doing to address the state’s persistent teacher shortages. In addition, a host of special preconference meetings will be offered to help jumpstart your learning and networking opportunities.

General Sessions
Convening the full assembly for inspiration, information, awards presentation, and more, this year’s general sessions will boast top leaders and researchers in education:

Tuesday, February 23 – Welcoming Session With Pedro Noguera

One of the nation’s most important voices on the state of education today, Noguera is a powerful, articulate, and far-reaching advocate for a strong and vibrant public education system. He is an expert on school reform, diversity, and the achievement gap and currently serves as distinguished professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles.

Thursday, February 25 – Speaker Spotlight Session: Addressing the Tough Questions in Educator Preparation

Carole G. Basile, Dean and Professor, College of Education, University of Missouri St. Louis


Anthony S. Bryk, President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching


Daniel A. Domenech, Executive Director, American Association of School Administrators


Cheryl A. Redfield, National Board Certified Teacher, Highland Junior High (AZ)


Moderator: Nancy A. Zimpher, Chancellor, State University of New York



Major Forums

As some of the most popular event offerings, the six 2016 major forums will provide provocative discussion on ways to “meet the demands of professional practice” in educator preparation:

Tuesday, February 23
1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

  • A Regional Lens to Addressing Teacher Shortage and Distribution by Subject and Location
  • The Problem Spaces We Inhabit: How We Make Tough Choices

Wednesday, February 24
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

  • Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation
  • Equity, Access, and the Digital Divide: Challenges for Teacher Education

Thursday, February 25
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

  • (How) Can the Profession Specify Standards of Practice for Entry to Teaching?
  • Innovative Strategies to Recruit and Retain a Diverse Teaching Workforce

Other highlights include the AACTE Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, February 24, and the Job and Information Fair as well as the all-new Deans Academy later that afternoon. Round out your schedule with your choice of hundreds of concurrent sessions, roundtables, receptions, and more. And get hands-on demonstrations of cutting-edge resources from top vendors, while connecting with peers from across the country, at the Conference Community Center.

Find full event details and plan your personal schedule by accessing the mobile-friendly Online Event Planner, your one-stop shop for up-to-date conference information. Check out our video tutorial on how to maximize your use of the Event Planner. And remember, you could win a prize for using the Event Planner to create a custom schedule for the 68th Annual Meeting. Learn more about the contest.

Won’t you join us for the premier conference for educator preparation? Tomorrow is the deadline to register in advance and to receive AACTE’s special hotel rate of $179 plus an AACTE all-access fee of $10, for a total of $189 per night.

Learn more about the 2016 Annual Meeting at aacte.org and follow us on Twitter at #AACTE16.


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Jerrica Thurman

Director of Marketing & Communications, AACTE