Thank You Teachers—You Too, Are First Responders!

AACTE Reponds to COVID-19

By Gaёtane Jean-Marie

During these unprecedent times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 schools across the country are closed and many switched to virtual learning. Remote schooling in many communities has added teacher as a new title for parents and caregivers. For those who already had to transition to work remotely and making necessary adjustments, they suddenly became the teacher for their children. This cumbersome role of parent as educator has challenged some to learn new concepts and navigate technology (e.g., google classroom or zoom). These challenges are no small feats, moving to online learning as the new normal while simultaneously attending to their professional work. 

However, when the abrupt end to the physical school year occurred, teachers quickly adapted to virtual classrooms and modified lessons to support learning at home, ensuring every student had the tools they needed to maintain a semblance of school. Others created new learning materials and innovative approaches, and developed virtual support groups to share materials not only with each other but with parents, their new “teacher colleague.” For disadvantaged students, they too are affected by school closings in myriad ways including no access to technology, parents’ working outside of the home, or limited financial resources or parental support, further creating educational inequity inherent in U.S. schools.

The Value of Being an AACTE Volunteer

By Jerrica Thurman

Here is your opportunity to engage with AACTE! The Association is currently accepting 2021 Annual Meeting session proposals and reviewer applications, nominations to serve on AACTE Committees, 2021 award nominations, and voting on revisions to the Association’s bylaws and articles of incorporation. With so many opportunities available, will you answer the call to serve the profession?

Each call to action has its own deadline, so be sure to mark your calendar and click on the links below for more information:

Revolutionizing Education

AACTE DEI Video: Promoting Equal Access to Quality Teachers

By Jerrica Thurman

Ed Prep Matters features the “Revolutionizing Education” column to spotlight the many ways AACTE, member institutions, and partners are pioneering leading-edge research, models, strategies and programs that focus on the three core values outlined in the current AACTE strategic plan: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Quality and Impact; and Inquiry and Innovation.

In celebration of National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8, AACTE spotlights “Promoting Equal Access to Quality Teachers,” as the next segment in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion video series, In this video, AACTE leaders discuss the important role effective teachers have in student learning and achievement, and advocate for poor communities to be given equal access to high quality educators. With the recent disruption in education caused by the coronavirus, several inequities regarding equal access to quality instruction has come to light as well as the important role teachers have in student learning. AACTE members are committed to producing high quality educators for the 21^st century learner and strongly believe all students should have access to excellent teachers.

Will Voucher Initiatives Prevail?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Senate to Reconvene May 4 as House Stays Home—Mostly

Congress has been on recess for a month leaving a scant few Members in town to hold down the fort. This week both the House and Senate announced they would return full force on May 4, but only a day later, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) retracted the announcement for the House saying the Capitol physician advised against it. Members are still regrouping from the whiplash announcement and retraction—assessing the political fallout—but relieved about the health risks had they returned. 

Sen. McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader, has not backed down despite push back from several Senators, and the full Senate is scheduled to be in town May 4. They will likely be in town until May 22, recessing for Memorial Day. Many unanswered questions remain.  Will staff be required to report to work? Will social distancing be enforced? What are the cleaning procedures for office spaces and the Capitol? Will masks and gloves be worn? We shall see.

Beware the Solution That Is Not About the Problem: Reflections on Education and the COVID-19 Shock

By Jane E. West

A horizontal image of an empty primary school classroom. The setting is typically British.

In the last few weeks U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has put forward three initiatives intended to privatize the provision of public education. Given her long known and widely declared conviction that vouchers and related schemes to deliver public dollars into private hands are the panacea for all that ails education, this is not surprising. Watching her leap into the breach caused by the COVID-19 emergency is troubling, though not unexpected.

In her book, Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007), Naomi Kline describes the phenomenon of a crisis precipitating the redistribution of public dollars into the waiting hands of private players who offer a seemingly undeniable remedy. Years earlier, economist Milton Friedman popularized the notion that only a crisis produces real change, enabling reforms that were not previously thought possible. “When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable,” wrote Friedman in Capitalism and Freedom (1962, ix). Kline’s research led her to coin the term “disaster capitalism,” which she describes as “orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities.” (6)

AACTE Wants You! Nominations Open for Standing Committees

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

Don’t let the current crisis distract you from connecting with colleagues and advancing your professional interests through service on an AACTE committee. Nominations are open through May 29 for positions on the following AACTE committees:

• Global Diversity
• Government Relations and Advocacy
• Innovation and Technology
• Meetings and Professional Development
• Membership Development and Capacity Building
• Professional Preparation and Accountability
• Research and Dissemination

An Inside Look at How Educators Are Adapting to the Coronavirus Crisis

By Edele Williams

This article originally appeared on the Touro College Graduate School of Education News site and is reprinted with permission.

My experience during this pandemic has been surreal. As the director of early childhood education for District 31 at The Richmond Pre-K Center, part of NYC’s Department of Education, I never imagined I’d be leading and making vital decisions related to COVID-19. 

My staff and I had to immediately shift our way of thinking in order to perform our responsibilities in a new way. As educators, practicing social distancing during a pandemic while implementing digital learning with our 3-K and pre-K students is overwhelming. Grappling with this reality, we quickly implemented the word “flexibility” into our vocabulary and adapted to our new normal, accepting that things around us are changing by the minute. Being flexible gives us the opportunity to leverage the power of our emotional intelligence in order to stay grounded and focus our minds on building the future.

I applaud my district leaders and staff for leveraging their innovative skills to go above and beyond the call of duty and utilizing technology, including Microsoft Teams and Google Classrooms, to get our very important job done efficiently and effectively. We keep our students engaged by enabling them to interact directly with their teachers and fellow classmates via these virtual platforms in discussions on various topics. During our virtual meetings, our teachers create visual simulations of their classroom environment in order to deliver critical instruction, host live read aloud sessions, post videos of various activities, and lead singing and movement sessions for students to follow along with. Our teachers also model how to complete a variety of tasks related to science, literacy, writing, art, and math projects during these meetings.

Together as one, albeit separated by distance, we’re strategically maximizing the impact of education for our children during this unprecedented time.

AACTE Celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE joins the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in celebrating excellent teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8, and National Teacher Day, May 5.

The NEA and National PTA invite you to get involved by thanking a teacher in the following ways:

Thank A Teacher on Social Media

• Simply make a video or take a photo of yourself thanking a teacher who has made a difference in you or your child’s life, or just thank all teachers or supporting our nation’s students each and every day. (You can download this ThankATeacher template to use in your photo.)
• Share your message of appreciation on your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #ThankATeacher

 Wear #REDforED on Wednesday, May 6

Registration Now Open for Washington Week and Leadership Academy

By Linda Minor

AACTE takes the health and safety of our attendees and participants at our events seriously, so we have postponed our regularly scheduled summer events to later in the year. Washington Week will now take place September 8-11 and Leadership Academy is now scheduled for October 3-7.  We will take every precaution to create a safe environment while onsite. As this is an evolving situation, we will continue to monitor new developments concerning COVID-19 and will update the meeting status as needed.

Please note that due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the coronavirus, AACTE will not charge a cancellation fee if you decide to not attend an in-person event based on concerns around your health or travel.  Please continue to visit aacte.org for the latest information.

WASHINGTON WEEK:  September 8-11

California Takes Steps to Remove Hurdles Faced by Prospective Teachers Whose Training Is Stymied by Coronavirus

By Diana Lambert

This article originally appeared on EdSource and is reprinted with permission.

The coronavirus pandemic won’t prevent most teacher candidates from moving into California classrooms next school year, even if they have yet to complete all the normally required student teaching hours or certification tests.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing voted Thursday to give university teacher preparation programs wide latitude to decide when teacher candidates are prepared to move onto the classroom. The commission made its decision during a virtual meeting attended by more than 550 viewers. It affects students who are on track to complete their coursework between March 19 and Sept. 1.

 California expects 26,000 teachers, principals and other administrators, speech-language pathologists and school psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses and librarians to graduate this school year, according to the commission. The majority are studying to get their teaching credential.

#AACTE20 Closing Keynote Speaker Rodney Robinson Underscores Cultural Equity

By Katrina Norfleet

The AACTE 72nd Annual Meeting culminated with a Closing Session keynote address by 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, a Richmond, Virginia, 18-year veteran educator who has developed programs to prevent students from entering the school-to-prison pipeline. Robinson shared how he uses culturally responsive curriculum and the whole child approach to learning in educating vulnerable students.

In talking about inequity, Robinson spoke about two different types: resource inequity and cultural inequity. During a tour of schools in Southwest Virginia, he noted the differences in resources. “It’s mind boggling. We went to some schools with 21^st century buildings, state-of-the-art high-speed internet. Kids were using STEM boxes to plant agriculture, kids were using drones to to study space. And then we would go 30 miles down the road and buildings don’t even have AC, no high-speed internet; one school district didn’t even have text books.” He was challenged to advocate for these types of inequities between rural and urban schools.

Lunch and Learn with AACTE and CEEDAR: Ed Prep Programs and Local Education Agency Partnerships

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

AACTE members across the country are seeking novel ways to approach clinical practice, observation hours, and practicum expectations for their teacher candidates in order to address the nation’s need for an excellent teaching workforce in our PK-12 schools during COVID-19. AACTE and CEEDAR will co-host a second Lunch and Learn focused on strategies for leveraging partnerships in innovative ways to facilitate new opportunities to learn May 1, 2020, 1:00-1:30 p.m. ET.

Education leaders from Ohio, including our AACTE Board Member and associate dean of Bowling Green State University (BGSU), Mary Murray, will provide examples of educator preparation faculty and district partnerships that are adapting instructional modalities for students with the help of teacher candidates. From early childhood to secondary content areas, including special education, candidates are supporting their district partners through the development of lessons, online tutoring, supporting parents in their navigation of distance learning, and direct instruction online.

Join us to learn how you might apply these practices in your own context. Register now for Just-in-Time Strategies for Leveraging EPP-LEA Partnerships.

Call for Peer Reviewers: 2021 Annual Meeting Proposals

By Matthew Wales

The AACTE Annual Meeting is the premier educator preparation conference in the nation. Each year, the conference provides a forum for educators to engage in meaningful discussions, share research and practices, and become better equipped to drive change in the educator preparation field. And with the 2021 Annual Meeting theme of “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” the profession will continues its 2020 mission to join together in a united effort to disrupt inequities while educating for inclusion and change.

Peer Reviewers serve an important role in ensuring that exemplary learning opportunities are selected from the proposals submitted.  Since the Annual Meeting offers attendees a wide breadth and depth of content and learning experiences, peer reviewers from a background of areas from within the educator preparation field are essential.  AACTE encourages you to shape the focus of the 2021 Annual Meeting by volunteering to serve as a peer reviewer.

 Timeline for a Reviewer Application

• Applications are due by Wednesday, May 13 at 11:59 p.m. PT
• Approved applicants will be notified on or before Friday, June 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT

Congress Passed Fourth Pandemic Relief Bill. Will There be a Fifth?

By Jane E. West

This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

This Week in COVID-19 Relief Funding

Today the President will sign the fourth COVID-19 relief bill. Passed by a voice vote in the Senate and a live vote in the House of 388-5, the bill adds $484 billion bill to COVID relief funding. Funds are to be distributed as follows:

• $321 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (small business fund which ran out of money last week
• $60 billion in economic disaster loans for small businesses
• $75 billion for emergency relief for hospitals
• $25 billion for more coronavirus testing

Transitioning Your Education Preparation Program Online: Decision Making Opportunities for Education Leaders

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Jacqueline Rodriguez and Alyssa Vitale

AACTE and ISTE invite you to customize your learning during a 45-minute webinar on navigating the shift to online teaching on May 6, at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Successfully transitioning to a fully online summer or fall semester will require expedient decision-making, thoughtful approaches, and awareness of the challenges that lay ahead. In this webinar, university leaders who have already transitioned to online learning will share what they learned learnings and answer your questions about making a similar shift for your program.

The intention of this webinar is to provide educator preparation program leaders with an opportunity to “customize” the learning experience by selecting one of three breakout rooms. The three breakouts will focus on different levels of familiarity with online learning. An AACTE leader proficient in transitioning to online learning and an ISTE leader, a veteran innovator who has been using technology to transform learning, will lead each breakout.

Register today for Transitioning Your Education Preparation Program Online: Decision Making Opportunities for Education Leaders.