08 Mar2018
By Kristin McCabe
Opening Keynote speakers Lynn M. Gangone, Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, and Kimberly Tobey on stage at the Baltimore Convention Center
To all 1,900 of the AACTE members, partners, and supporters who joined us last week in Baltimore for the 2018 Annual Meeting: Thank you! Your presence was a valuable part of “Celebrating Our Professional Identity” for the Association’s 70th anniversary.
Over the coming weeks, Ed Prep Matters will bring you a variety of conference coverage. Meanwhile, you can view (and share!) conference photos on Facebook, browse the event’s Twitter feed, and enjoy the following recap videos:
08 Mar2018
By Zachary VanHouten
As we await a spring thaw, things are heating up in Washington as Congress continues tackling a crowded agenda. With a March 23 deadline to pass an omnibus funding the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018, advocacy abounds to fund educator preparation programs. In addition, the process for Fiscal Year 2019 kicked off with the president releasing his budget request to Congress on February 12, launching Congress into its appropriations process.
With Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization moving in the House and a bill rapidly approaching in the Senate, what might the final bill look like? Will it be bipartisan? Will the process continue or devolve as the election year unfolds? Aside from HEA, will you pay more for Internet access, or will the joint resolution to address the rules change move forward under the Congressional Review Act? Join AACTE’s Deborah Koolbeck to learn about these and other important topics by signing up for the March Federal Update webinar – an exclusive AACTE member benefit.
08 Mar2018
By Gail Bozeman
During its meeting February 28, AACTE’s Board of Directors chose officers for the coming year to serve with new Board Chair Wanda Blanchett (see press release).
Effective now through next February, the AACTE Executive Committee includes the following leaders:
06 Mar2018
By AACTE
(March 3, 2018, Baltimore, Md.) – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is proud to welcome the new chair of its Board of Directors: Dr. Wanda J. Blanchett, interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. During her one-year term, Blanchett will lead the Board through strategic planning in partnership with AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone.
“What I’d like to see AACTE do is to continue on the path that it’s been on for 70 years,” Blanchett said. “Continue to be that education, and specifically, teacher education policy advocate. Continue to be that professional standards advocate.” In addition, she said, she hopes the Association will take bold steps in supporting its members to increase the diversity of the profession at all levels from PK-12 teachers to the professoriate, ensuring that the curriculum in our teacher education programs better prepares all candidates to meet the needs of today’s diverse students and their families and reflects a commitment to diversity, equity, and social justice, and taking a stand with like-minded organizations to improve school safety for all students and educators, including advocating for and securing common-sense gun laws.
02 Mar2018
By Zachary VanHouten
To keep members informed, AACTE regularly monitors and reports on the activity of the National Council on Teacher Quality that could affect educator preparation programs. Visit our NCTQ resource page for additional information.
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has released an analysis and set of recommendations for states to track teacher shortages and surpluses.
01 Mar2018
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 71st Annual Meeting, to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, February 22-24, 2019. We also invite applications by May 22 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
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.
