28 Feb2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE has partnered with Education Talk Radio for more than a year to broadcast interviews about the success and innovation in educator preparation. Through monthly episodes, AACTE member institutions, partners, and staff have been featured on the online radio show, which reaches over 70,000 listeners each month, to highlight their work on a variety of topics, including combating teacher shortages, creating a diverse teaching workforce, and building strong university-school partnerships for clinical practice initiatives. (View the complete lineup of recordings of AACTE interviews on the radio show in recap blogs here.)
Larry Jacobs, president and show host of Education Talk Radio, is a graduate of an educator preparation program and a strong advocate for the profession. “I believe the work of teacher preparation is critical to producing high-quality teachers,” Jacob said. “With so many colleges of education facing a decline in enrollment, I would like to offer my show as a platform to promote the good work that happens at these institutions.”
28 Feb2018
By Gail Bozeman
Your association wants you! Are you ready to become a leader in the national educator preparation community, or do you know someone who is? Nominate yourself or a colleague by May 7 to serve in an AACTE governance role.
AACTE is currently seeking applications from volunteers to serve on the AACTE Board of Directors and the following standing committees:
26 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Congratulations to 2018 National Superintendent of the Year David Schuler of Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Illinois!
Schuler, who heads the state’s second-largest high school district, was Illinois’ finalist for the honor given by AASA, the School Superintendents Association. He is also an alumnus of an AACTE member institution, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.
26 Feb2018
By Renée A. Middleton
AACTE members are committed to high research standards and to producing scholarship that contributes to educational practice. Although the complexity of educator preparation presents a vast spectrum of subjects for scholarly inquiry, I’d like to highlight the importance and timeliness of studying those related to one particular domain: clinical practice. In fact, the new report of AACTE’s Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) unearths a fertile field of opportunities for research that is both rigorous and relevant.
Last month, the CPC hosted a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, where it offered a thorough conceptual framework and explanation of clinical practice, along with recommendations for implementation. The report released at the event, A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation, sets forth 10 proclamations for effective clinical preparation, thus signaling that AACTE is “intentionally committed to a bold voice” in teacher education.
23 Feb2018
By AACTE
(February 23, 2018, Washington, D.C.) – Lynn M. Gangone, President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), today issued the following statement regarding the school shooting that took place in Parkland, Florida, a week ago and the nation-wide conversations that have occurred since the incident:
“AACTE would like to express its deepest sympathy for the teachers, students, parents and community of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who mourn the loss of family and friends victimized by the school shooting on February 14, 2018. Schools are the nuclei of local communities and the preparatory grounds where future leaders are educated and shaped to inform and engage in our democracy. Preserving the safety and sanctity of the classroom is critical for teachers and students to effectively build trust, respect and care in order for all children to learn.
23 Feb2018
By JTE Insider
Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team? Check out the following interview with the authors of a recent article. This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles themselves in the full JTE archives online – just log in with your AACTE profile here.
In the January/February 2018 issue of JTE, Susan D. Martin and Sherry Dismuke of Boise State University (ID) published an article titled “Investigating Differences in Teacher Practices Through a Complexity Theory Lens: The Influence of Teacher Education.” The article is summarized in the following abstract:
22 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Participants in the 2017 JUSTEC annual conference in Hawaii
The 30th annual conference of the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) will be held September 14-17 at Bukkyo University in Kyoto, Japan. Conference organizers invite proposals for paper and poster presentations by March 15 under the theme “Next Steps in Teacher Education in the U.S. and Japan: Celebrating 30 Years of JUSTEC.”
To commemorate the milestone anniversary, participants in this year’s conference will reflect on past collaborations and accomplishments, assess the current changing landscape of teacher education, and look ahead to the new approaches, frameworks, technologies, and international relationships to support teacher learning and educational research.
22 Feb2018
By Rodrick Lucero
Congratulations to four AACTE members on winning an award from the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA)! Research supported by AACTE through its annual Deans Academy has led to this national award for its coauthors, William Henk, Shelley B. Wepner, Sharon Lovell, and Steven Melnick. Their paper “Education Deans’ Beliefs About Essential Ways of Thinking, Being, and Acting: A National Survey” has been named to receive the 2018 AAUA Neuner Award for Excellence in Professional Scholarly Publication.
The Neuner Award is given annually to the authors judged to have written the overall finest manuscript published during the preceding year in the Journal of Higher Education Management. Criteria for the award include overall quality; advancing higher education; sharing insights into leadership, policy analysis and development, and institutional management; and developing principles and standards for college and university administration.
21 Feb2018
By Zachary VanHouten
Congressional briefing panelists (L–R) Jane Bray, Jennifer Robinson, Mario Santos, Lisa Fischman, Danielle Riley, and Qualyn McIntyre. Photo courtesy of Megan Shearin, Old Dominion University.
A well-attended congressional briefing February 14 highlighted the positive impact of Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants in schools around the country, aiming to inspire lawmakers and staff to continue supporting the program as they reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) and determine appropriations for federal spending.
In a packed Senate hearing room, the Valentine’s Day briefing presented testimony about how TQP grants have catalyzed improvements to educator preparation programs as well as to the schools and communities they serve. Dean Jane Bray of Old Dominion University (VA) served as moderator for the panel discussion.
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
This year marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and we want to celebrate with you at the 2018 Annual Meeting! As we honor the past, present, and future of educator preparation in Baltimore, Maryland, several fun activities will be offered to engage attendees, including the AACTE History Trivia Contest. Come test your knowledge about the history of AACTE and have a chance to win one of three prizes!
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
In an online radio show February 12, Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs interviewed AACTE staff members about the upcoming AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Rodrick Lucero (vice president) and Matthew Wales (senior director of meetings, events, and special projects) joined Jacobs to discuss preparations for the event, which marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and what to expect on site at the Baltimore Convention Center and Hilton Baltimore.
Jacobs opened with an overarching question about AACTE’s purpose, in honor of the Association’s 70th anniversary. Lucero said it boils down to uniting the field in a national narrative, pooling everyone’s research and practice and solutions so that progress anywhere can benefit students everywhere. He emphasized that this narrative must be “put forward by the experts, and those are the people that are trained and able to speak about the work we do with kids, and with training teachers.”
16 Feb2018
By Deborah Koolbeck
On February 12, President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) budget request to fund the federal government. Similar to the previous request, this plan cuts 29 education programs while carving out space and funds for new programs focusing on choice opportunities.
In a press release from the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Betsy DeVos lauded the request for “expanding education freedom for America’s families while protecting vulnerable students.”
According to the Department’s fact sheet, the president’s education budget features six major themes:
- Providing better choices for more families to attend a high-quality school.
- Supporting high-quality special education services to children with disabilities.
- Creating new and alternative pathways to successful careers for students.
- Promoting innovation and reform around STEM education.
- Implementing school-based opioid abuse prevention strategies.
- Making the Department more efficient while limiting the Federal role in education.
16 Feb2018
By Deborah Koolbeck
Despite all the action in Washington, DC, this month, AACTE will not be offering a February Federal Update webinar – instead, please catch it live at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore.
In fact, I am thrilled that this year you have two opportunities to catch my Washington Update: Thursday, March 1, 3:45–4:45 p.m., and Saturday, March 3, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
16 Feb2018
By Jerraco Johnson
Congratulations to Ruby Ellis, Holmes Scholar of the Month for February!
Ellis is pursuing her doctorate at Auburn University (AL) and is committed to both equity and diversity in the classroom, which directly aligns with the mission of the Holmes Program. Her highest interest is serving individuals from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds in efforts to give them access to a higher quality of education. She believes that all students should have access to the best pedagogical practices in order to enhance learning.
16 Feb2018
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
The authors are organizers and moderators of the principal preparation webinar series for AACTE.
On February 21, AACTE will kick off the new interactive webinar series, “Leveraging Community Resources to Strengthen Clinical Practice for New Principals,” supported by The Wallace Foundation. These free webinars are designed to build on the Wallace Foundation’s 2016 report Improving University Principal Preparation Programs: Five Themes From the Field, which highlights the need for realistic clinical experiences in quality preparation programs.
