2019 AACTE Annual Meeting Registration Now Open
Registration is now available for the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, coming to Louisville, Kentucky, February 22-24, 2019. Sign up by October 24 to secure the Early Bird registration discount!
The 2019 Annual Meeting is themed “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
An educated citizenry is a fundamental tenet of a democratic society. Our nation’s capacity to build that educated citizenry begins in the PK-12 classrooms–and those PK-12 classrooms need high-quality, professionally prepared teachers. Yet teacher shortages are great and constitute a critical concern across the United States. The time has come for the educator preparation community to develop and advocate for better solutions to the teacher shortage. Productive pathways to addressing teacher recruitment and retention have largely failed to materialize or met considerable resistance from politicians and decision-makers who do not understand the historical context, knowledge, and hard work required for responding to the learning needs of all children. This is a time for us to take the lead in sustaining and advancing the profession, reaffirming the value of educators and of their collective work in a relevant and vibrant profession, and building the teaching core that is fundamental to sustaining an educated citizenry.
Education is the motor that drives creativity, ingenuity, and innovation in society and plays a fundamental role in creating a better country and a better world. In its mission to serve all learners, education must counteract systems that produce and perpetuate inequitable educational practices and policies. This role is complicated by the growing diversity and evolving needs of the nation’s students. Schools in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike have become more ethnically and linguistically diverse and show an increase in demand for services such as adult education, online education, special education, gifted education, English as a second language, and mental health services. Even without staffing shortfalls, educators, educational leaders, and their preparation programs are challenged with equipping teachers and schools to meet these increasingly complex needs.
Almost as varied as the student needs and school contexts is the range of models and pathways in which today’s teachers are prepared, which has created a strain on the profession as a whole. While some variation affords useful flexibility for local and individual needs, the field needs to unify around a collective vision for effectively preparing teachers who are competent in their content knowledge, multicultural and culturally responsive education, inclusion and differentiated instruction, and technology. In partnership with schools and communities, educator preparation should provide sound, research-based pedagogical practice, rooted in the belief that all children can learn, as well as reaffirm the commitment to seeing all students reach their potential regardless of their background, needs, or familial situation. The call to citizenry and leadership in our society must logically include the affirmation that all students deserve a high-quality educational experience, with a fully prepared teacher in every classroom.
Under this thematic organizer, a variety of interactive sessions will be grouped in four strands:
- Strand 1 – Strengthening Ownership of the Profession
- Strand 2 – Equity and Social Justice in Education
- Strand 3 – Diversity in Educator Preparation
- Strand 4 – Partnerships and Collaboration
Visit aacte.org for registration, hotel, and preliminary schedule information, and be sure to secure your Early Bird discount by October 24 for this signature professional event. We look forward to seeing you in Louisville!
Tags: Annual Meeting
