24 Mar2019
By Leah Wasburn-Moses
“It is a phenomenal program. It allows for all kinds of growth in both teacher candidates and high school students” – Michael Dantley, Dean, Miami University, and AACTE Board Member
“It gives students one-on-one intervention, ability to build relationships, and just increases their successes overall” – Talawanda School District Superintendent Kelly Spivey
Campus Mentors is a clinical practice model that enables teacher candidates to work with youth who are at risk. It creates classrooms on university campuses to support these young people through individualized instruction of any selected curriculum, pedagogy, technology, or assessment. The program is an evidence-based, fiscally sustainable framework that has received national recognition for its youth outcomes. Like other clinical preparation programs, Campus Mentors exposes aspiring educators to real-life challenges and rewards of the teaching profession. Schools and colleges of education, as well as partnering public schools have experienced a number of benefits from partnering with the program.
24 Mar2019
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 72nd Annual Meeting, to be held in Atlanta, GA, February 28 – March 1, 2020. We also invite applications by May 15 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
Over the last year, we have witnessed a rapidly changing society. These changes are driven by policy and policymakers with limited knowledge of best practices for working with dynamic and diverse school communities. In turn, this politically-motivated process has produced a grand narrative, while claiming to be colorblind and neutral, that tends to represent a small, privileged portion of the U.S. population.
24 Mar2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE joins its fellow members of the Learning First Alliance (LFA) in celebrating Public Schools Week, March 25-29. The initiative is supported by national education groups representing teachers, principals, superintendents, parents and school board members to honor the achievements our public schools are making and the significant contributions public school educators and education advocates bring every day to public schools and their communities.
LFA members are hosting the second annual Public Schools Week on Capitol Hill in Washington and in communities large and small across the U.S. During Public Schools Week, groups representing LFA are inviting community members, lawmakers, parents and others into schools to see firsthand the wide array of programs and policies available to students that will showcase excellence in teaching and learning.
21 Mar2019
By Ward Cummings
During the AACTE 2019 Annual Meeting, panelists for the Deeper Dive session, “Innovations to Address Today’s Workforce Needs” examined inclusive education preparation and strategies to address the national teacher shortage. The session highlighted AACTE’s partnership with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center at the University of Florida and its federal supporters.
AACTE Consultant Jane West, who leads the Association’s work with CEEDAR, moderated a discussion with panelists Mary Murphy and Mark Seals (Bowling Green State University) and Marvin Lynn (Portland State University) on best practices at Bowling Green’s undergraduate teaching program and Portland State’s master’s program.
21 Mar2019
By Ward Cummings
Teacher shortages vary across the country by subject area, but the shortage is worst in high-minority, low-income schools, in lower wage states, and in districts with poorer working conditions. This topic was explored during a “Deeper Dive” session at the AACTE 2019 Annual Meeting titled “Successful Strategies for the Teacher Shortage.”
Jessica Cardichon of the Learning Policy Institute led the panel discussion, which included Patricia Alvarez McHatton (University of Texas), Selma Powell, (University of Washington), and Mario Santos (Newark Public Schools). Each participant shared their strategies for addressing the teacher shortage in three critical areas: recruitment, completion, and retention.
19 Mar2019
By Michael Dantley
Greetings! It has been several months since the last update on AACTE’s strategic planning process, and there is plenty to report. First, if you have been following these blogs you will note that I am not writing with my friend and colleague, Kim Metcalf. Kim is now the chair of the AACTE Board of Directors, and he has asked me to assume the solo chairmanship of the Strategic Planning Task Force since he will have a lot on his plate. I know he will stay close to the work and will be a huge help as we work to complete he plan.
Along with Kim’s departure from the Task Force, there have been additional changes. We have bid a fond farewell to Dean Alberto Ruiz of Texas A & M University Kingsville, who has rotated off the AACTE Board of Directors, and have welcomed Chair-elect of the Board Ann Larson, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville and new board member Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, who is president of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a former college of education dean. These new Task Force members join Laurie Mullen, dean of the College of Education at Towson University, and members of the National Office staff (see the full Task Force roster).
19 Mar2019
By Kirsten O'Brien
Code.org is offering scholarships for thousands of eligible middle and high school teachers to attend professional learning workshops. The workshops prepare teachers from all backgrounds to teach computer science in their classroom—no prior computer science experience is necessary. The workshops begin with a 5-day, in-person summer workshop and continue with 4 single-day follow-up workshops throughout the year. Dates and locations are assigned by region.
The lack of a computer science teacher is the biggest barrier to offering the subject in most schools, even though computer science is among the fastest growing industries in the United States. Currently, just 35% of U.S. high schools teach it and only 10% of STEM graduates study it. What’s more, computing and computer science are plagued by tremendous underrepresentation of African American, Latinx, and female students, despite the fact that these groups represent 65% of the entire U.S. population.
18 Mar2019
By Jerrica Thurman
Front Row (left to right): Amber Haley, Azaria Cunningham; Middle Row (left to right): Ke-La Harris, Sacha Cartagena; Reena Patel-Viswanath, Lydia Carsenale, Valentina Contesse, Timara Davis; Back Row (left to right): Adegoke Adetunji, Marquess Vela; Absent: Carla Roberson
AACTE welcomes the 2019-2020 Holmes Scholars Council, elected during the preconference events at the Annual Meeting last month. The council will work closely with AACTE liaison, Brandon Frost, to plan activities and communicate with Holmes participants throughout the year.
08 Mar2019
By Ward Cummings
We all know educator preparation is held accountable at the state level. That is why the ability to advocate and engage with your state elected official and agencies is such a consequential part of developing and preparing educators. For those interested in engaging with their elected officials, the question then becomes, where do I start and how can I build the strong relationships that are such a vital part of effective advocacy?
On March 14, the members of the AACTE Government Relations and Advocacy Committee hosted a webinar to address these and other important questions. The organizing theme of the webinar was identifying and constructing the building blocks of effective and productive engagement with legislators, their staff, and key regulators at the state level.
08 Mar2019
By Tracy Spesia
AACTE is pleased to share excerpts from a testimonial by one of the 2019 Annual Meeting attendees, Tracy Spesia of the University of Saint Francis in Joliet, IL. In a letter to AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, Spesia shared how the AACTE Annual Meeting has consistently influenced and brought value to her work as the edTPA coordinator at her institution:
“It was a professional and personal pleasure to attend the 71st AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville. This annual conference’s tremendous impact on me, and the ripple impact it has had on my college and community, is clear. I actually have the documentation to prove it!
In 2010, I accepted the full-time position of Field Experience Coordinator (and Partnership Liaison) at the University of St. Francis. In 2012, my dean asked me to assume the edTPA coordinator position. The toolbox needed some new tools. By a stroke of luck, the AACTE annual conference was in nearby Chicago in spring 2013, and the dean suggested I attend to learn more about edTPA. I had never heard of AACTE. I had no idea what edTPA was about. I had never really attended a professional conference. This opportunity marks such a turning point in my career.
08 Mar2019
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
At its meeting prior to the 71st Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY, the AACTE Board of Directors elected the following board members to leadership positions on the AACTE Executive Committee:
Chair-Elect
Ann Larson
Dean and Professor, College of Education and Human Development
University of Louisville
07 Mar2019
By Barbara Baals
This article on AACTE Board of Director Monika Williams Shealey and accompanying photo originally appeared in Rowan Today and are reprinted with permission.
Monika Williams Shealey has been named senior vice president of the newly created Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rowan University.
Shealey, who joined Rowan as dean of the College of Education in 2013, will oversee a division that brings together departments and programs to develop initiatives designed to address issues of access, equity and inclusion across all of the University’s campuses.
“Under Dr. Shealey, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be tasked with making Rowan a model institution—a University where diversity is valued and equity and inclusion are routine,” Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand said in announcing Shealey’s appointment.
07 Mar2019
By Linda Minor
Are you a new dean or department chair – or are you simply looking to advance your career as an academic administrator? The AACTE Leadership Academy covers essential topics, from managing finite resources to creating effective development and public relations programs, while helping to cultivate a supportive network of peers.
Register now for AACTE’s Leadership Academy, June 23 – 27 in Pittsburgh, PA at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel.
At AACTE’s Leadership Academy, you will
- Learn to articulate critical components of leadership, including styles, motivations, and a commitment to diversity and inclusivity, as they pertain to your own practice as a leader.
- Build a comprehensive understanding of the multiple roles and functions of your appointed position, particularly in an individual institutional context.
- Strengthen key leadership skills, enabling you to more effectively serve as both a team leader and member, manage time, develop inclusive environments, foster and promote diversity, resolve conflicts, and facilitate change.
- Engage in discussions, via small-group settings and collective sessions, to forge networks with other professionals in similar leadership positions.
04 Mar2019
By Brandon R.T. Frost
AACTE is now accepting applications from member institutions to join a new networked improvement community (NIC) focused on special education teacher recruitment and retention.
The shortage of special education teachers and the lack of diversity among all teachers have been well documented. Half of all schools and 90% of high-poverty schools struggle to find qualified special education teachers.
The aim of this NIC is to positively impact the special education teacher shortage and the lack of diversity in the special education teacher workforce in public schools. Participating institutions will identify a range of best practices related to increasing enrollment, strengthening partnerships with P-12 schools, and retaining special education teachers.
Read more about this new initiative on our website and in the Reducing the Shortage of Special Education Teachers NIC Charter.
Applications are due on April 1, 2019. Member institutions will be selected through a structured review process and notified in late April of 2019. An introductory virtual meeting will be held in May of 2019, and the first in-person convening will be held in the fall of 2019.
01 Mar2019
By Meghan Grenda
Kathryn Hildebrand, AACTE member and dean of Idaho State University (ISU) College of Education, passed away on Monday, February 25 after a battle with cancer.
As a vital advocate for the educator preparation community, Kathy targeted her efforts toward creating strong partnerships with school districts in the region, which included promoting dual enrollment courses high school students could take to earn credits at the College of Education. Kathy pushed the agenda within the education community, with a focus on priorities that included course offerings through innovative technology, distance learning, and online models.
Kathy earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from Stanford University where she was a track athlete. She holds a doctorate in physical education and curriculum and instruction from Florida State University. She served as dean of the College of Education at ISU since March 2018, having previously served in the same capacity at Troy University. She also served as the AACTE chief representative for the ISU College of Education.
