Join Me for AACTE’s 2021 Washington Week

By Robert Floden

DQC’s 2021 Poll Surfaces Challenges State Leaders Must Address Now

By Blair Mann

Leaders are grappling with the unprecedented challenge of working to understand and address the impact of the pandemic on students and communities. To support recovery, decisionmakers at all levels, from state policymakers to parents, must have access to data and use it to effectively address the challenges schools and districts face. But DQC’s 2021 public opinion polling of parents and principals uncovered considerable disconnects that could threaten efforts to use data to address the current moment and beyond.

As leaders turn their attention to the upcoming school year, data continues to be a critical tool for informing recovery efforts. State and local leaders are working together and using data to tackle the most pressing issues, which include:

Washington Week Viewpoint: State Leaders Institute

By Christine C. Gorowara

In a recent Q&A with AACTE, Christine Carrino Gorowara, past president of the Delaware Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, shares her perspective as a frequent attendee of the Washington Week State Leaders Institute. 

Why do you believe it is important for AACTE members to actively advocate for education? Why do you recommend AACTE members attend the State Leaders Institute?

AACTE members have specialized knowledge about education issues and provide an invaluable perspective to lawmakers. Additionally, part of our role in preparing educators is doing what we can to create an environment where educators can thrive, including ensuring funding, promoting culturally responsive policies, and expanding opportunity. The State Leaders Institute helps us hone our knowledge of issues relevant to educator preparation and how those issues are connected to pending legislation and develop the skills needed to advocate effectively.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s State Leaders Institute?

As informative as the speakers always are, I most look forward to the opportunity to learn from other state chapters. I love learning about what kinds of events they hold, what resources and services they provide their members, how they work with partner organizations, and their innovative ideas for moving the profession forward.

Get Ready for Back-to-School Shopping with AACTE

By Meghan Grenda

Whether you are shopping for yourself or a student in college, a great set of school supplies can help anyone feel prepared and eager to learn. Buying school supplies can prove costly, and savvy consumers are often on the hunt for good deals. As a member of AACTE, you have access to discounted Office Depot pricing. Your discount never expires and can be used for personal, school, or business purchases such as ink, toner, paper, and cleaning and classroom supplies.

AACTE Welcomes New Holmes Scholars

By Weade James

The AACTE Holmes Program continues to expand to support new scholars in their academic pursuit. We are pleased to welcome Ava Jackson, Holmes Post-doctoral Fellow at Boston University, and Elizabeth León Zaragoza, Holmes doctoral student at University of Nevada Las Vegas, to the Holmes community. Congratulations to these scholars and their institutions for their commitment to promoting excellence and success of diverse scholars.

Last Call for Dissertation Award Entries

By Linda Minor

Time is running out. Have you, or someone you know, received their doctorate since January 1, 2020 and are eligible to apply for the AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award?  The deadline to submit an application is Friday, August 20. 

This award recognizes excellence in research (or its equivalent) that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation.

The Outstanding Dissertation Award, overseen by AACTE’s Committee on Research and Dissemination, includes a $1,000 cash prize, as well as special recognition at AACTE’s 74^th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022.

The primary selection criterion is quality of scholarship. The narrative summary file should answer the following questions about the dissertation:

You’re invited to AACTE 2021 State Leaders Institute

By Ward Cummings

Join AACTE at this year’s virtual State Leaders Institute, September 30 – October 1, as we address current trends impacting the profession. Hear from AACTE leaders and experts on effective ways to advocate for policies and funding within your state. Interactive sessions will cover topics such as:

• Working with Coalitions to Do Advocacy Work 
• ARPA State Funding Initiatives
• Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments
• State Affiliates Access to AACTE’s Connect360

Pandemic Prompts Changes in How Future Teachers are Trained

By Kantele Franko - Associated Press

Before last year, a one-credit technology course for students pursuing master’s degrees in education at the University of Washington wasn’t seen as the program’s most relevant. Then COVID-19 hit, schools plunged into remote learning, and suddenly material from that course was being infused into others.

“It’s become so relevant, and it’s staying that way,” said Anne Beitlers, who directs Washington’s master’s program for secondary education. “And nobody’s going to question that now.”

Changes to standards and curricula happen slowly, but the pandemic is already leaving its fingerprints on the education of future teachers. Many U.S. educator preparation programs are incorporating more about digital tools, online instruction and mental and emotional wellness in their courses to reflect takeaways from the pandemic.

UCF Professor Retires After 52 Years in Education

By Carol Stinnett

This article originally appeared on the UCF Today and is reprinted with permission.

Martha Lue Stewart, the first Black woman promoted to the rank of professor at UCF, retired on August 7. (Photo by Amy Floyd)

If one word could encapsulate the journey that Martha Lue Stewart has had at UCF, it’s grateful. As the professor submitted grades for her final course last week and packed up the books, photos and other mementos in her office, she reminisced on countless stories.

As the first Black woman promoted to the rank of professor at UCF, Stewart has been instrumental in helping build a diverse and inclusive campus. Early on, she served as chair of the Diversity Programming Committee that organizes events like Diversity Week. Stewart was also actively involved in the Black Faculty and Staff Association, where she served as president from 1998–99. Her first service project with the association involved launching the university’s first Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration.

“I enjoyed having a place where I could meet other colleagues of color,” she says. “It felt like a family and that’s amazing.”

The College Program Attracting—and Retaining—Black Male Teachers

By Rebecca Koenig

Graduates of Call Me MISTER: Photo by Patrick Wright, Clemson University, Photographic Services-University Relations.

This article originally appeared in EdSurge and is reprinted with permission.

When Alphonso Richard Jr. walked into his first teacher education course at Clemson University, he experienced a shock.

“Being in a class where you’re the only male, I didn’t know where to sit,” he says. “Girls were looking like, ‘Oh my goodness, is that a guy in here?’”

Compounding the confusion: Most women in the room were white, and Richard is Black. The dissonance was enough to send a shiver of doubt through the aspiring educator’s mind.

“It was a scared, hesitant feeling at first,” Richard says. “Am I meant to be here? Is this for me?”

It takes courage to enter a space where you’re not sure you belong. That’s the kind of threshold that Black men training to become educators have to cross many times. They make up only 2 percent of U.S. public school teachers (men overall compose 24 percent). They’re also underrepresented in college teacher-preparation programs, as education is “one of the least diverse major fields in higher education,” according to a 2019 report from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

AACTE Announces Member Database Upgrade: New Password Required

By Meghan Grenda

I am excited to announce that AACTE is enhancing your member experience with easier access to information and greater customization capabilities. Our new membership database upgrade is now complete and fully communicates with AACTE’s website, tools, and online communities. This new technology provides seamless access to all tools and resources in a user-friendly format.

You must reset your password to access all AACTE resources, including the Profile Manager, Event Registration, Membership Directory, Resource Library, and Connect360.  AACTE members can use this start guide to walk you step-by-step through navigating the new system. Topics to explore include:

Why I Keep Coming Back to Day on the Hill

By Larry G Daniel

Day on the Hill is AACTE’s signature event for involving its members in direct advocacy for the profession. I have attended Day on the Hill for 20 years. Why do I enjoy it and keep coming back? The answer has to do with involvement, camaraderie, and results.

Involvement

Day on the Hill allows us as teacher education leaders to be involved with a national effort much bigger than ourselves and our own institutions. Our unified presence in congressional offices for one day every year makes us part of something special that has the potential to make a difference for our teacher candidates, our programs, and our communities. It is also a great way to involve our education candidates in the work. Each year, I select several undergraduate or graduate students to join my colleagues and me at Day on the Hill. Helping them learn about advocacy and being exposed to others in the profession opens them to a whole new side of the profession they are entering.

Exploring Opportunities: Leadership Academy Attendees Discuss Post-Pandemic Return to Campus

By Gaelle Gilbert

AACTE’s 2021 virtual Leadership Academy Series launched this month with its first of three sessions, When We all Get Together Again: Returning to Campus with New Opportunities. This session was facilitated by John Kuykendall dean of the School of Education at the University of Indianapolis and John Henning dean of the School of Education at Monmouth University.

Kuykendall opened the conversation seeking thoughts and concerns about returning to campuses from attendees. “There are varying policies across the institutions and communities and states; no one is really clear about what should happen on your campus site and how to handle what could potentially happen,” said Kuykendall before requesting feedback from attendees.

How to Try Out PlanWise™ to Deliver Formative Assessment Practices

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

A Scholar’s Reflection: Everybody is an Advocate

By Latifa Sebti

Washington Week 2020 sessions helped me, a Holmes Scholar and second-year doctoral student in special education, gain an understanding of how to advocate for equitable educational opportunities for marginalized students including students with disabilities by participating in interactive policy discussions and briefings with prominent speakers and participants. I mainly learned that everybody could advocate for promoting educational improvement and success in different ways. This advocacy work becomes a crucial duty especially in this unprecedented time where COVID-19 has exacerbated educational inequities and hit students of color disproportionally.

The amazing Jane West presented and discussed the 4 Ps of Policy Advocacy (People, Policy, Process, and Politics) and their use in planning an advocacy strategy. As an international doctoral student who is not familiar with the American legal system, I found that the session equipped me with the knowledge about the legislative and executive policy cycle with all its players as well as the process and skills needed for effective policy change advocacy.