Programs, Partners Plan Action to Improve Teacher Prep at National Summit
AACTE and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education to put together a dynamic Teach to Lead summit last week on improving teacher preparation.
This gathering of students, teachers, professors, and others concerned with teacher preparation convened at the Department’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The event began with an evening reception November 2 and continued November 3-4, offering a mixture of panel conversations, plenary presentations, and interactive discussions in table teams where participants tackled specific improvement ideas they’d proposed ahead of time. Each team, paired with critical friends and observers, developed action plans organized into “logic models” to support their work going forward.
Teach to Lead, a joint initiative of the Department with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and ASCD, hosts regional summits to support teacher leadership around the country. Last week’s event was the first summit focused on teacher preparation. AACTE and AASCU leaders were among the panelists at the event, which also included an appearance by Secretary John King, international presentations, and opportunities to share and reflect across teams.
In order to participate in the summit, teams had to submit their innovative ideas and compete for selection. Ultimately, 94 submissions were received, and 21 were chosen for participation, with focus areas such as recruiting and retaining teachers of color, creating mutually beneficial school-university partnerships, improving candidates’ pedagogical content knowledge, and much more. AACTE was well represented by the member institutions that were selected:
- Butler University (IN)
- Montclair State University (NJ)
- Northern Kentucky University
- San Francisco State University (CA)
- Sonoma State University (CA)
- State University of New York at New Paltz
- Touro College (NY)
- University of Central Oklahoma
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Louisville (KY)
- University of Nevada Las Vegas
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- University of South Dakota
- University of South Florida
- University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- University of Virginia
- Wheaton College (IL)
- Wichita State University (KS)
- William Paterson University (NJ)
AACTE congratulates these institutions on their winning innovations. We look forward to following their actions steps as they bring their plans to life!
Tags: AACTE partner organizations, events, membership
