02 Apr2019
By Katrina Norfleet
During the “Disrupting the Persistence of Oppression” Deeper Dive session, panelists explored the question: How does knowing content matter for disrupting the persistence of oppression? The panel discussion was moderated by Deborah Ball, director of TeachingWorks at the University of Michigan and included Maisha Winn, Chancellor’s Leadership Professor in the School of Education and co-director of the Transformative Justice in Education (TJE) Center at the University of California, Davis; Sylvia Celedon-Pattichis, senior associate dean for research and community engagement and professor of bilingual and mathematics education at the University of New Mexico; Abby Reisman, assistant professor of teacher education at the University of Pennsylvania; and Carol Lee, former Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education, School of Education, of Social Policy and African-American Studies at Northwestern University.
Winn began the panel discussion with a scholarly presentation focused on restorative justice and shared a narrative framework she developed for teachers to consider when seeking justice in the school setting. The framework is based on four pedagogical stances: history matters, race matters, justice matters, and language matters. She presented the framework and shared her desire to add a fifth stance: futures matter.
02 Apr2019
By Ward Cummings
The “AACTE Initiatives toward Increasing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Colleges of Teacher Education” Deeper Dive session was held during the 2019 Annual Meeting. The session highlighted the association’s current, ongoing, and future commitments in these areas in a discussion moderated by Jennifer Robinson of Montclair State University and included panelists Lillian Sharon Leathers of William Paterson University of New Jersey and AACTE’s Jacqueline King, Jacqueline Rodriguez, and Jane West.
King, author of AACTE’s recently published Education Students and Diversity: A Review of New Evidence report, described the findings, which showed that education is the least diverse in bachelor’s degree fields. King shared other important data such as 50% of African American education students and 40% of Hispanic education students are independent; 30% of African American students and 20% Hispanic students had children; and 20% African American students were single parents. She emphasized that child care, for example, is an issue that cannot be ignored when considering the matter of diversity. In addition, 4% of Hispanic students are first generation students and 22% do not have a parent that has graduated from high school. The study revealed that one in five African American students work full-time and that the median family income of white, dependent students is more than double of their African American and Hispanic peers.
02 Apr2019
By Jerrica Thurman
Annual Meeting Closing keynote speakers Mary Dilworth, editor of Millennial Teachers of Color, and Leslie Fenwick, dean emerita of Howard University, presented the topic, “Millennial Teachers of Color: Follow Their Lead, They Know Where We Need To Be,” on Sunday, February 24. During the session, the educators explored millennial teachers through a new lens by examining the intersection of race ethnicity and generation.
Dilworth has centered her career on teacher quality and preparation, with a keen focus on racial/ethnic and linguistic diversity and equity issues. Recently, she was a co-principal investigator for the National Science Foundation (NSF-DR12) project designed to recruit, prepare, license, and employ middle and high school science teachers from underrepresented groups. In addition, she served as a visiting professor and director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of the District of Columbia. Earlier in her career, she was a research fellow with Howard University’s Institute for the Study of Educational Policy (ISEP) and became widely recognized for heightening the national discourse on the disparate impact of licensing tests on underrepresented groups.
02 Apr2019
By Katrina Norfleet
The “Data Systems” Deeper Dive session, held during the AACTE 2019 Annual Meeting examined the possibilities and challenges for using information and evidence-based research to improve teacher education programs. The discussion was led by moderator Robert Floden, dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University, and included four panelists: Kevin Bastian, senior research associate, University of North Carolina (UNC) and director, Teacher Quality Research Initiative Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC); Charles Peck, a professor of teacher education and special education at the University of Washington; Suzanne Wilson, Neag School of Educatin Endowed Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn); and Gladis Kersaint, dean, Neag School of Education at UConn.
The robust discussion opened with Bastian sharing the details of a two-pronged study conducted by EPIC that pairs student teaching data with workforce outcomes. He stated, “The problem we’re interested in addressing is how can programs take a mountain of performance assessment data and identify what we might call actionable evidence within it.”
02 Apr2019
By Ward Cummings
The Deeper Dive session, “Too Expensive to Ignore,” held during the AACTE 2019 Annual Meeting explored the many creative ways educators are working to address the high costs associated with becoming a teacher. The panel discussion was moderated by Karen DeMoss, executive director of Prepared to Teach, Bank Street College of Education, and the presenters were Tara Kini, director of state policy at the Learning Policy Institute (LPI); Karen Riley, dean of the College of Education at the University of Denver; Karen Kindle, division chair, Teacher Residency and Education at the University of South Dakota (USD); Jeannie Aversa, coordinator of educator effectiveness at the Syracuse City School District; and Nichole Brown, director of field placement and project director, Teacher Opportunity Corp II at SUNY Oswego. The group of educators engaged in a lively conversation about how to create sustainable funding for teacher residencies.
DeMoss began the discussion with an overview of the reasons solutions to the funding problem are necessary. She shared that attracting diverse candidates to the teaching profession requires a focus on the money matters that teaching candidates care about. For example, 40% of undergraduates and 76% of graduate students work full time, and they incur debt that is often untenable in comparison to the salaries they can expect as teachers.
02 Apr2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is excited to announce registration is open for its 2019 Washington Week. This signature event is held annually in the nation’s capital, with participation from AACTE and the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) state chapter leaders, Holmes Scholars, and AACTE members and non-members alike interested in advocating for the profession. Under the theme “Your Voice Matters,” this year’s Washington Week will be held June 2-5 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, VA, and on Capitol Hill.
01 Apr2019
By Deondra Gladney and Stephanie Jones-Fosu
The AACTE Holmes Scholars Program recently welcomed two new members: University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) doctoral students Stephanie Jones-Fosu and Deondra Gladney. The two Scholars share their experience as first-time AACTE Annual Meeting and Holmes Preconference attendees.
Stephanie’s Reflection
The Holmes Scholar Program is designed to provide equitable opportunities to emerging scholars from underserved populations. By having the distinct opportunity to be one of first Holmes Scholars from UNCC, an entire level of educational greatness has been literally dropped in my lap. During the 2019 AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville KY, the Holmes Program created an exclusive preconference event where Holmes students at various levels of education came together to learn and grow from Scholars around the country.
