AACTE, Nevada EPPs to Host Press Conference on Teacher Shortage
To discuss Nevada’s persistent teacher shortages and what local educator preparation providers (EPPs) are doing about it, AACTE will partner with member institutions for a press conference in advance of the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting. The event will be held Monday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m. PST on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Severe staffing shortages in Clark County, Nevada’s largest school district, have been making national headlines and spurring emergency policy changes to boost numbers in the local teaching workforce. The press conference will address how the state’s EPPs, and those in similar contexts around the country, are addressing the crisis.
Officials from Clark County School District, nearby university-based colleges of education, and AACTE will discuss factors contributing to the local shortage as well as efforts to alleviate it. The following panelists have been confirmed to date:
- Staci Vesneske, Former Chief Human Resources Officer, Clark County School District, on special assignment to the superintendent’s office
- Kim Metcalf, Dean, College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Kenneth Coll, Dean, College of Education, University of Nevada, Reno
- Dennis Potthoff, Dean, School of Education, Nevada State College
- Thomas Reagan, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Great Basin College
- Mark LaCelle-Peterson, AACTE Senior Vice President for Policy and Programs
The panelists will describe their work to develop a more robust teacher pipeline that addresses the needs of schools across Clark County and the state. Attendees will gain an inside look into the collaborative work under way to strengthen the educator workforce in Nevada and how it fits within the national context of addressing teacher shortages.
A related session will be held the following day, during the Annual Meeting itself. The major forum “A Regional Lens to Addressing Teacher Shortage and Distribution by Subject and Location” will be held Tuesday, February 23, 1:45-3:00 p.m. in Mirage Events Center C1 at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Sponsored by AACTE’s Advisory Council of State Representatives, this forum will explore the contributing factors to teacher shortages and inequitable distribution of educators in various communities around the nation. Panelists from the western region, including a teacher candidate, a state senator, a teacher educator, and a Clark County School District representative, will share their observations and insights on these issues from their professional experiences. Learn more about the major forum in our Online Event Planner, and for more information about the AACTE 68th Annual Meeting, visit aacte.org.
If you would like to attend the press conference, please RSVP to Aaron Goldstein, AACTE manager of state policy and relations, at agoldstein@aacte.org by February 5. Space is limited!
Tags: Annual Meeting, media, school-university partnerships, shortage, workforce development
