09 Sep2021
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
In case you missed it, there is another opportunity to learn about how to use ESSER funding to recruit into Educator Preparation Programs (EPP).
As you know, in the past year, Congress has set aside billions for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. To help educator preparation programs effectively allocate those funds, AACTE created an Advocacy Toolkit with examples from EPPs across the nation who are expanding their recruitment using federal dollars. In this workshop, GoReact and AACTE put together a panel of national, state, and university teacher preparation professionals. We explored one state—Tennessee—which used ESSER funds to support a statewide Grow Your Own Program to address teacher shortages and diversify the profession.
09 Sep2021
By Meghan Grenda
As the Fall 2021 semester kicks off, AACTE would like to remind you to renew your membership for 2022. With our member’s support we have been able to provide you the tools and resources necessary to successfully navigate the past 18-months. Below are just a few of the essential tools and initiatives AACTE has developed in the past year.
- Connect360 – Join this new, members-only, virtual platform that brings together AACTE’s community of over 15,000 individuals in a collaborative way. Share best practices, connect with colleagues, and engage in ongoing conversations.
- Research, Reports and Briefs – Receive the latest information from the field, including the update to our popular Colleges of Education: A National Portrait, coming this fall.
- Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) – Discover how AACTE, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is evaluating cut scores and how they can be refined to attract, rather than exclude, potential candidates.
- ARP Funding Toolkit – Learn how members can collaborate with their local district partners to allocate ESSER funds toward strengthening the educator workforce.
- Webinars – Explore the latest in the AACTE Webinar library: Leading in and Leading Through Crises: AACTE’s Education Deans in Discussion, Growing and Sustaining White Racial Justice Allyship in Education, and Combating Racism in Educator Prep: Justice and Joy for BIPOC Individuals.
09 Sep2021
By Jim Wolfinger
In a couple of weeks, I’ll participate in my first Day on the Hill as a member of the AACTE Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy. I am really excited by the opportunity and want to invite you to participate. Like many AACTE members, I have worked with city and state elected officials, policymakers, and representatives from state agencies. But speaking with members of Congress and their staffs offers an opportunity for even greater engagement.
As leaders in education, AACTE members all know that we must be outward facing, managing our colleges while we tell our story to many stakeholders. That story is what enticed most of us to get in this line of work in the first place. We all advocate for our needs and interests all the time, and although our interests may not be identical, they are often closely related regardless of our institutions. Some of us push for greater equity in teacher preparation programs. We want to diversify the teacher pipeline and the resultant teacher workforce, knowing how vital representation along the lines of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexual identity is to students across the country.
02 Sep2021
By Linda Minor
The 2022 AACTE Awards Program is open for submissions. Do you know someone who or an institution that has made significant contributions to the field of educator preparation? To submit your nomination, visit AACTE’s online submission site. Winning entries will be decided by AACTE’s Programmatic Advisory Committees and recognized on stage at the 2022 Annual Meeting, March 4-6, in New Orleans, LA.
Entries for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due September 15. The due date for all other award submissions is October 8.
AACTE’s awards program has been recognizing member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to education preparation for 25 years. For an overview of the 2021 award winners, see this press release.
For 2022, we invite nominations or applications for the following awards:
02 Sep2021
By Meghan Grenda
AACTE’s Member Spotlight features an individual from a member institution, highlighting how their work makes a difference in classrooms across the country. Nominate yourself or another member by providing a response to the following questions and sending to mgrenda@aacte.org.
Get to know Shandra Claiborne-Payton …
Position/Institution: Assistant Professor, Virginia State University
(Also serving at Executive Director for VSU CENTERS STEM Initiatives)
Number of years in your position: 5 years
Alma Mater(s): Ed.D Curriculum and Instructional Leadership, Northcentral University
Hometown: Chesterfield, VA
- How long have you been a member of AACTE?
I have been a member of AACTE for 6 years.
- Why did you join AACTE?
AACTE was the first professional organization I was introduced to as a young faculty. I was also intrigued by their mission to be the leading voice for educator preparation. AACTE provides a variety of opportunities for its members to grow, connect with like-minded individuals, and to learn how to be an advocate for teacher education. Joining AACTE has been a great fit for me to spread my wings and get active.
02 Sep2021
By AACTE
02 Sep2021
By Joshua P. Starr
The 53rd annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools reveals that despite the challenges of the pandemic, Americans have high opinions of their local schools and teachers in particular. Similarly, respondents have an overall positive opinion on their local school’s ability to handle potential challenges in the new school year.
The poll found that about two-thirds of adults overall, and as many K-12 public school parents, give their community’s public school teachers an A or B grade for their pandemic response. More generally, 63% of the public give their community’s public schools overall an A or B grade. As is customarily the case, public schools nationally fare less well with about 4 in 10 adults giving the overall national public school pandemic response and A or B grade.
02 Sep2021
By Jerrica Thurman
Are you following highlights of the AACTE 2021 Washington Week on Facebook and Twitter at #AACTEWW21? In addition to blog posts and testimonial videos, AACTE recently released a Washington Week infographic on social media. Check it out below!
02 Sep2021
By Meghan Grenda
Mark R. Shibles Jr., former member of the AACTE Board of Directors and former dean and professor emeritus for the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, passed away on Tuesday, August 24 at the age of 83.
With an unwavering commitment to education, Dr. Shibles’ career began as a high school history teacher, followed by 30 years of service as a faculty member and former dean of the Neag School of Education. During his tenure, he taught graduate level courses in educational leadership and served as advisor for over 130 Ph.D. students.
In addition to being a longstanding AACTE member, Dr. Shibles served on the AACTE Board of Directors, was president of the National Association of Colleges and Schools of Education in State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and Affiliated Private Universities, and was the founder and director of the University of Connecticut Center for Education Policy Analysis.
02 Sep2021
By AACTE
Join AACTE for the second session in its virtual
Leadership Academy Series, “
When Thinking Wrong is Right: Purposeful Disruption of the Status Quo,” on Wednesday, October 20, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET. This session, facilitated by Patty Alvarez McHatton, senior vice president at Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity, and Kandi Hill-Clarke, dean of the College of Education at Memphis University, will cover:
- How do you find time to reflect, explore and innovate when work has become more intense and overwhelming?
- How do you challenge the status quo by applying lessons learned from this past year of working, teaching, and learning remotely?
- How do you disrupt the ordinary to consider when thinking wrong is the right thing to do?
Get ready to flex your “thinking wrong” muscles in this engaging, reflective, and fun session. Attendees will participate in open discussion, followed by small group interactive exercises, to put into practice thinking wrong to do right.
Register today at
aacte.org. AACTE members can attend this session, the third session in January 2022, and even access the recording of the first session, at one low registration rate of $99. Space is limited so secure your spot now!
02 Sep2021
By Brian P. Yusko
Brian P. Yusko, president of the Ohio Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, provides insight into the impact the State Leaders Institute has on state leaders and affiliate members in the Q&A article.
Why do you believe it is important for AACTE members to actively advocate for education?
In our current political climate, educational policy is highly contested, with strong advocates for multiple competing goals of schooling. Many lawmakers feel comfortable proposing changes in P-12 educational policy without necessarily understanding all the implications for teacher preparation. If teacher educators are not at the table, policymakers are liable to make decisions that run counter to what we know about quality teacher education.
01 Sep2021
By Kristien Zenkov
The Teacher Educators’ Journal, is the journal of the newly formed Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (from the merging of ATE-Virginia and the Virginia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education). The journal is published once per year, in electronic form. Please review the call for proposals as we continue to expand the reach—research shared and readership—of the journal beyond Virginia.
The Call
The Teacher Educators’ Journal (TTEJ) is published by the Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (VACTE), a state unit of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). The journal aims to stimulate discussion and reflection about issues related to teacher education. Manuscripts submitted for consideration may be research/empirical reports and analyses, position papers, book reviews, or conceptual essays.
01 Sep2021
By Ward Cummings
AACTE recently joined the Learning Policy Institute to announce the formation of the Teacher Licensure Collaborative (TLC), a partnership of interested states building on the work of the Whole Child Policy Table, to advance revisions of state licensure and certification standards to incorporate whole child practices and ensure alignment with the science of learning and development.
Led by the Learning Policy Institute, with support of AACTE, the TLC will help advance revisions of state licensure and certification standards, incorporate whole child practices—including social and emotional learning (SEL)—and ensure alignment with the science of learning and development.
01 Sep2021
By Ward Cummings
The Ohio Department of Education recently announced the Diversifying the Education Profession Grant Awardees, 20 school districts that will work over two and a half years to implement strategies to address the diversity needs within their faculty and staff.
According to the Ohio Department of Education, the state has significantly more minority students than minority teachers in its public schools. Ample research shows that teachers of color help students of color perform better academically, socially, and emotionally, and the benefits translate into higher test scores, increased likeliness of staying in school, and lower likeliness of chronic absences and discipline incidents.
