06 Dec2016
By Deborah Snyder
AACTE is partnering with the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) to increase input from educator preparation providers in the organization’s annual teacher supply and demand survey.
If you haven’t already done so, could you please take 10-15 minutes to complete the 2016-17 AAEE Supply and Demand Survey? You do not need to be a member of AAEE to participate in the survey, and all respondents will receive an executive summary of the results. The survey is open through January 16.
06 Dec2016
By Shelly Furuness
A version of this article also appeared on the Butler University website.
When the federal Department of Education went looking for ideas on how to prepare teachers better, Butler University’s College of Education answered.
After the nationwide call for teacher preparation programs to submit innovative practice ideas with the potential for growth, Butler became the first Indiana school to be invited to present at a Teach to Lead Summit, the goal of which is to develop and amplify the work of teacher leaders. From nearly 100 submissions, 17 teams were invited to the Teacher Preparation Summit, held November 3-4 in Washington, DC. Participants spent 2 days in intensive strategic planning sessions aimed at identifying obstacles and solutions for spreading innovative best practices in teacher preparation across the country.
05 Dec2016
By Aaron Goldstein
Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on state policy and AACTE state chapter activity. For similar recap articles from earlier months, browse the “State Directions” section of the blog.
Overview of State Policy Activity
During November, many state legislatures continued preparing for the 2017 legislative sessions. Over the past month, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming prefiled bills for 2017 – providing a general preview of legislators’ priorities. Some of the prefiled bills relate to adopting a performance funding system for institutions of higher education, modifying the governance structure of a state’s professional standards commission, requiring the collection of additional information on teachers and paraprofessionals for accountability purposes, and modifying eligibility criteria for a teacher loan program geared to address the teacher shortage.
01 Dec2016
By AACTE
Sharon Robinson, President and CEO of AACTE, issued the following statement today regarding President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education:
“AACTE congratulates Betsy DeVos on her nomination. On behalf of the nation’s educator preparation programs, we stand ready to collaborate with her to improve education for every student in America.
01 Dec2016
By Joen Larson
On Election Day, AACTE launched its new Advocacy Center – a one-stop online resource to help guide your federal and state-level advocacy. To that end, you will find handy advocacy guides, state and federal pages with key resources and links, and the opportunity to sign up for a brand-new AACTE Action Alert system.
These alerts are timely, allowing anyone who signs up to participate in e-mail-based advocacy campaigns in support of the profession. We all were reminded of the power of the constituent voice in the recent elections, and we know we need to make our individual voices (and the collective voice of the profession) heard in our states and in Washington, DC, going forward.
01 Dec2016
By Aaron Goldstein
Congratulations to the future members of AACTE’s Board of Directors! In a recent online election, AACTE members and state chapter leaders chose the following colleagues to serve a 3-year term beginning at the conclusion of the March Board meeting:
29 Nov2016
By Rodrick Lucero and Tim Finklea
It’s been a busy fall of traveling for the AACTE Member Engagement and Support team as we’ve been visiting campuses to document exemplary clinical partnerships and practices for our online Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series, part of the AACTE Innovation Exchange.
This fall, we’ve been filming at St. John’s University (NY); the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and California State University, Long Beach. We are also busy scheduling visits with State University of New York at Oswego and Butler University (IN) for spring 2017. At each location, we’ve met with deans, professors, teacher candidates, school district principals, teachers, and PK-12 students to see firsthand how a variety of programs are developing and sustaining successful clinical partnerships. The video production company “Ideas That Breathe” has been a valuable partner for filming, editing, and producing a compelling series from each site we visit. Each series is then segmented into episodes for posting on the Innovation Exchange and highlighting in the Ed Prep Matters blog.
29 Nov2016
By Deborah Koolbeck
Did you miss this month’s AACTE Federal Update webinar? You can now view the webinar recording and slides through the federal page of the AACTE Advocacy Center. While you’re there, you can also explore the many resources that we have compiled or created for you to advocate on the federal and state levels.
In the November webinar, I covered the results of this month’s election, reviewed the composition of congressional leadership, and looked ahead to the activities expected during the next Congress with an impact on educator preparation. I also provided a very high-level review of the final rule for teacher preparation program regulations. Lastly, we discussed critical advocacy needs such as seeking cosponsors for a bill in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and engaging at the state level on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
29 Nov2016
By Amanda Lester
Next month, AACTE will host the second installment of a webinar series highlighting the experiences and findings of each of the 10 institutions in the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The webinar, “Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline at Florida Atlantic University and the University of St. Thomas: Lessons From AACTE’s NIC,” will be held Wednesday, December 14, 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST.
The goal of this NIC is to identify broadly applicable strategies to increase the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino men receiving initial teaching certification through educator preparation programs. This webinar will provide an inside look at the path of inquiry guiding the NIC’s overall work and how that process has shaped and changed recruitment and retention of Black, Hispanic, and Latino male teacher candidates at two participating institutions.
28 Nov2016
By Alcione Ostorga
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE. For more information on the AACTE Holmes Program, visit http://aacte.org/programs-and-services/holmes-program.
It is amazing how life is connected in cyclical threads, sometimes leading you down old paths, but showing you completely new views. This recently happened to me as I became a coordinator of a new Holmes Cadets program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. As a former Holmes Scholar, I remember the impact I felt when I was inducted into the program. That was an amazing experience, for it made me realize my potential in leading others to become teachers.
28 Nov2016
By JTE Insider
Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team? Check out the latest author interview below.
This interview features insights from Northwestern University’s Brady K. Jones, author of the JTE article, “Enduring in an ‘Impossible’ Occupation: Perfectionism and Commitment to Teaching.” You can find this article in the November/December of JTE through this link.
28 Nov2016
By Sandra M. Chafouleas
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
In the 90s, I worked as a school psychologist and then as an administrator in urban and rural settings. I used my graduate training in behavior management to help students overcome challenges and meet classroom expectations.
22 Nov2016
By Rodrick Lucero
Is your educator preparation program doing enough to equip students to manage their finances when they enter the workforce? Money concerns often influence students’ career choices as well as whether a new employee will stay in the profession. As the country grapples with ongoing teacher shortages and declining teacher preparation enrollments, an important part of the solution is helping prospective educators address the particular financial challenges they’ll face.
To assist programs in meeting this goal, AACTE is partnering with The Horace Mann Companies on a series of webinars for teacher educators. The first webinar, “New Educator Financial Wellness: Challenges and Solutions,” will be held Thursday, December 8, at 11:00 a.m. EST.
21 Nov2016
By Amanda Lester and Omar Davis
On October 28-30, we had the privilege of taking part in the National Convening on Success in Teacher Education at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), held at the University of Pennsylvania. Hosted by the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, the convening was focused around the release of the Center’s new report, A Rich Source for Teachers of Color and Learning: Minority Serving Institutions.
MSIs, which include Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, historically Black colleges and universities, and Asian American and Native American/Pacific Islander-serving institutions, educate 20% of college and university students, many of whom are low-income and first-generation college students as well as students of color. Because of their focus and scope, MSIs play a key role in teacher preparation and efforts to diversify the nation’s teaching workforce.
21 Nov2016
By Conra D. Gist
The AACTE Diversified Teaching Workforce (DTW) Topical Action Group (TAG) invites nominations by December 2 for the 2017 Teacher Diversity Research Award.
The award recognizes outstanding research and advocacy related to various policies, practices, programs, pedagogies, systems, and/or institutions for the purpose of advancing teacher diversity. The research leadership embodied by the recipient of this award reflects the DTW TAG mission and goals and advances our current understanding of how to diversify our teacher workforce to enhance educational opportunities for all students.
