17 Sep2019
By Linda Minor
Have you registered to attend the 2020 AACTE Annual Meeting?
The first 100 paid registrants will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Google Play gift card. The deadline to be entered in the drawing is Friday, September 27, so make sure to register early—plus you will also receive the Early Bird discounted registration rate! The winner will be notified by October 4.
As an attendee at the AACTE’s 72nd Annual Meeting, “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change” you will join your colleagues in this united effort to tackle injustice and challenge the status quo. This year’s conference will take place February 28 – March 1 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta.
You’ll learn how to become a driving force in crafting the narrative on educator preparation in sessions organized by these four strands:
- Strand 1 – Equity and Inclusivity in Preparation and Practice
- Strand 2 – Activism and Innovation for Transforming Democracy
- Strand 3 – Establishing a Sustainable and Diverse Profession
- Strand 4 – Clinical Practice and Community Engagement
If you have any questions about the drawing or the Annual Meeting, please email me at lminor@aacte.org.
16 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
A Congress is back in session, and bi-partisanship is increasingly looking to be something we see only in the rear-view mirror.
Senate Fails to Move Education Funding Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee, often considered one of the last bastions of bi-partisanship, fell apart this week— and along with it, hope for passage of a Senate Labor/HHS/Education bill any time soon. In a surprise last-minute move, the scheduled Tuesday subcommittee markup for the Labor/HHS/Education spending bill was canceled. Republicans claimed that Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) intention to offer an amendment blocking President Trump’s limitation of services offered under Title X (most notably abortion services offered by Planned Parenthood) violates the bipartisan budget agreement. That agreement prohibits “poison pill” riders on appropriations bills. Democrats argued that including funding for the President’s border wall in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill is likewise a poison pill. Thus, the Tuesday Subcommittee markup was canceled.
13 Sep2019
By Madeline Will and Corey Mitchell
The excerpt below is taken from an article originally published in Ed Week and is reprinted with permission.
It’s a constant struggle for school districts across the country to find qualified special education teachers. An extra challenge: finding special educators of color to help meet the needs of a student population that can be disproportionately nonwhite.
Just over 82 percent of special education teachers in public schools are white, according to 2011-12 federal data, the most recent available. Meanwhile, only about half of students receiving special education services are white, according to 2017-18 data.
Yet teacher diversity matters: Decades of research has shown that students often perform better academically when they are taught by teachers of the same race.
“The special education field is really prime to recruit faculty of color,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez,
12 Sep2019
By Katrina Norfleet
The annual Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity honors members for their outstanding work infusing diversity throughout all components of a school, college, or department of education (SCDE) as critical to quality teacher preparation and professional development. This award, sponsored by the Committee on Global Diversity, represents one of the nine categories of the annual AACTE Award Program that recognizes excellence in educator preparation.
This video features the 2018 Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity recipient, University of Colorado (UC) Denver School of Education and Human Development (SEHD). The Committee selected this program for it outstanding efforts in preparing teacher candidates from diverse, multicultural backgrounds to gain the foundational knowledge and experiences necessary to advocate for the educational equity for all children.
12 Sep2019
By Jane S. Bray
This article originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and is reprinted with permission.
SOME SAY mountains cannot be moved, but the commonwealth has done just that.
Achieving solidarity among educators, politicians, policymakers, higher education institutions and leaders from across Virginia, the effort to combat the teacher shortage in our classrooms has been nothing short of truly astonishing.
On June 20, the Virginia Board of Education gave the final seal of approval for 53 four-year undergraduate degree programs in teacher education at 15 institutions of higher education across the state.
12 Sep2019
By Mike Yough and Lynley Anderman
As editors, we are seeking proposals for chapters in an upcoming volume, Teaching to Prepare Advocates, part of the Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching series.
In an age where the quality of teacher education programs has never been more important, educators need a fundamental understanding of the principles of human learning, motivation, and development. Each volume in the series will draw upon the latest research to help college instructors select and model essential principles of learning, motivation, and development prepare professionals to work with children and adolescents in diverse learning contexts using asset-based
12 Sep2019
By Middle Tennessee State University and SCORE
This article and photo originally appeared on the Middle Tennessee State University website and are reprinted with permission.
Middle Tennessee State University announced Wednesday (Aug. 28) a first-of-its-kind partnership focused on bringing research-supported innovations to how the university prepares students to become K-12 teachers.
11 Sep2019
By Katrina Norfleet
The just released 2019 Data Quality Campaign (DQC) National Poll reports that those closest to students—parents and teachers—are eager for leaders to take actions that reflect a bold vision of data use to improve student outcomes in K–12 and beyond. The findings, released on September 10, show that 90% of parents say they need data to understand their child’s progress and help them do their best. Of the teachers who were polled, 86% believe using data is an important part of being an effective teacher.
In the brief, Parents are Ready for the Next Generation of Education Data, data show that parents believe student journeys don’t end with K–12. Parents see
09 Sep2019
By Cyndy Crist
In recent years, the Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE) has been working to engage our members throughout the legislative process so that our ideas, issues, and knowledge can help inform the development and enactment of policies in the state. Whenever possible, we tap their expertise in shaping legislative priorities; responding to legislative, agency, and executive branch requests; attending and, when possible, testifying at legislative hearings; collaborating with other educational organizations on issues of mutual interest and concern; and interacting directly with legislators and their staff.
09 Sep2019
By Linda Minor
The 2020 AACTE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA is an opportunity to learn and engage with fellow attendees and join in this unified effort to disrupt inequities while educating for inclusion and change. When the meeting is not in session, you will want to explore the southern charm Atlanta has to offer — from fine dining, shopping and rich history to inspiration-inducing attractions.
All AACTE events (Opening and Closing Sessions, Learning Labs, Deeper Dives) will take place in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel. The downtown hotel is only steps away from many attractions:
09 Sep2019
By Joanne Van Boxtel and Heather Taylor Wizikowski
This article and photo originally were originally published in SmartBrief Education and are reprinted with permission.
We all know the numbers are sobering. A 2018 brief from the Council for Exceptional Children showed critical shortages of special education teachers in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Fifty-one percent of all school districts and 90% of high-poverty school districts report difficulty recruiting highly qualified special education teachers. The exit rate for special education teachers is nearly twice that of general education teachers and enrollment in teacher training programs has declined by 35% over the previous five years.
It seems a dismal picture, but there is light at the end of the tunnel — one that prepares teachers to enter this dynamic field and equips them with tools to help them skillfully and confidently persist in the profession.
09 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Money, Money Money … Follow the Money … to a Shutdown?
Congress does not officially reconvene until Monday, September 9. They return to the challenge of funding the government before the end of the Fiscal year, September 30. This means that in 13 legislative days the Senate would have to pass 12 separate funding bills, conference each one with the House and then secure President Trump’s signature on each one. What are the odds of that happening? Well, I’m not really a betting person, but I’d say “zero.”
The House left town in August having passed its funding bills, including a very generous one for
06 Sep2019
By Ward Cummings
As states work to allocate funding for school districts, they must take into account the various needs and populations of the students they serve. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has developed a resource, “50-State Comparison: K-12 Funding” that helps clarify and compare each state’s school funding mechanisms, organized by method and category.
Visit the ECS webpage to review data describing the funding mechanisms of the states as well as the specific funding allocations for a list of funding priorities, including special education, English language learning and at-risk and low-income students.
As elementary and secondary teachers head back into their classrooms, conversations on teacher shortages, teacher salaries, and teacher strikes continue. Having an understanding of how your state funds its K-12 schools can help you support the schools in which your graduates will teach and engage in democracy on this critical issue.
05 Sep2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
As AACTE members and their colleagues return to the classroom, Congress returns to Washington, D.C., after the August recess. It is a crowded agenda for the fall as discussions heat up around the 2020 Census and the election. The U.S. House of Representatives (House) has passed nearly all 12 of its appropriations bills, and the U.S. Senate (Senate) is poised to start the week of September 9, 2019.
This leaves us with several questions:
- With 15 legislative days before the September 30 deadline, will any of the Senate bills be completed?
- With a Continuing Resolution expected, will it go through November or December?
- While the caps were raised for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, will the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill receive a sufficient increase to not only raise the NIH budget by $2b, but also maintain the increases the House appropriated to key programs that support the profession?
- Beyond funding, what is the status of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act?
These questions and more will be covered in the AACTE September 2019 Federal Update webinars. To accommodate teaching schedules and time zones, this member exclusive update is offered on two different days and at two different times. In addition, the webinar is recorded and will be posted on AACTE’s Advocacy Center’s federal page. Use the links below to register today for the time that works best for you!
Tuesday, September 24, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, September 25, 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon EDT
05 Sep2019
By Lynn M. Gangone
Earlier this week, I published an article about the recent PDK Poll results, which depict teachers’ opinions and the realities of what is happening in our public schools. In the face of challenging times, AACTE members remain committed to educating students to become teachers, as well as change agents, wherever they serve. Our work includes developing teacher leaders to be role models and mentors so they can affect the change we need in our schools and communities.
Please take a few minutes to watch the video below (or read the transcript) and discover more about AACTE’s work to promote teacher leaders. We would like to hear from you! I invite you to share how your educator preparation program is working to produce teacher leaders. Email us at communications@aacte.org.
