Don’t Miss Out on Members-Only Resources

By Meghan Grenda

Did you know that AACTE membership is institutional — meaning when your school is a member all students, faculty, staff, and administrators have access to AACTE resources. 

You and your colleagues may access all members-only tools and resources by visiting aacte.org and logging in with your email address and password.  If you need your password reset, please select the blue “Password Reset” button.  

Below are just a few additional resources available to you via your AACTE membership:

Reducing Educator Debt

By Michael Rose

AACTE is sponsoring its second Public Policy in Action webinar on May 19 at 1:00 p.m. (EST) to help federal student loan borrowers new to the teaching profession manage their federal student loans and, eventually, to have them forgiven.  

Among the most significant reasons educators to leave the field is low pay and the significant debt they must take on to earn their degree. This is particularly acute for those just starting out, whether it be as a teacher in a K-12 classroom or as a faculty member at a school of education. 

The information in this webinar is critical to help keep profession-ready, highly motivated educators in our nation’s classrooms. AACTE encourages you to share the registration link with those who are on the verge or entering the profession via residency programs or new educators that may be interested. 

In response to COVID-19, Congress passed legislation in 2020 that authorized a “pause” on all Federal loan repayment plans, interest accumulation and suspended garnishment efforts.  This pause is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2022. 

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) is an underutilized program that forgives the federal student loan debts for borrowers that make 120 qualified payments while working in the public sector, including teaching and other education positions. While the program has been mismanaged over the past several years, the Biden Administration is working to make significant improvements to the PSLF, so that more beneficiaries will see their loans eliminated. This webinar will provide background on the program, explain the planned upgrades, and discuss how federal borrowers could benefit from the program. 

Panelists will include the following:

• Michael Rose, Senior Director of Government Relations, AACTE
• Rachel Gentry, Director of Government Relations at National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)
• Michael Yudin, Principal, The Raben Group

Register today
How Educators Can Better Manage their Federal Student Loans
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (EDT)

AACTE Leadership Academy Focus on Content: Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Practice

By Matthew Wales

In today’s world, diversity, equity, and inclusion can sometimes feel like simply buzzwords. They are trendy to say, and deemed important to acknowledge strategically, but are the actions taken by academic leaders truly enhancing diversity amongst our faculty and candidates? Is there a collective, shared sense of what equitable practices look like?  And most importantly, are the decisions of leaders today creating and cultivating spaces that are inclusive to all?

As a part of its strategic plan, AACTE and its members are committed to increasing the diversity of their faculty and the students they prepare, so that educators more accurately reflect the diversity within PK-12 schools. As such, AACTE firmly believes in the need to continually assist deans, program chairs, and other academic leaders in navigating and managing the ever-changing landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion within educator preparation. To that end, AACTE is proud to provide session content in both the dean and chair strands of the Leadership Academy that will address the following key questions:

• Why is it important to foster and promote diversity, and develop inclusive environments?
• What cultural implications do I need to attend to in the areas of teaching, research, and service?
• What specific actions are necessary to address the cultural implications in the areas of teaching, research, and service?

Working within job-alike cohorts, attendees will engage in several activities designed to “disrupt” the normal thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Participants will define their own characteristics of what makes an equitable environment, and then with outside collaboration from peers, dig deeper to see just what gaps may need to be filled to create more inclusive practices and spaces. In the end, attendees will leave the session with an action list of practices to implement, which can be customized for their institution.

Don’t miss your chance to participate in this engaging and interactive look at diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic leadership.  Join us June 26-30, 2022, at the Renaissance International Plaza Hotel in Tampa, FL, where you can choose from one of three track options

• New Chairs and Academic Leaders – June 26-28
• New and Seasoned Deans – June 28-30
• Full Conference (All Sessions) – June 26-30

Be sure to check out the schedule of content to be offered this year and reserve your spot today for AACTE’s new and improved Leadership Academy experience. 

AACTE Celebrates National Teacher Appreciation Week

By Michael Rose

National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 1 through May 7, 2022. AACTE celebrates the work of teachers across the country and recognizes the significant contributions our nation’s teachers make in preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s world.

AACTE joins with the American Federation of Teachers and more than 200 other partnering organizations, to thank teachers for “helping every child in America lay the groundwork to build a better life, which starts right in their very own school.” In addition, the campaign recognizes that, “Despite political interference, disrespect for [their] professionalism, and a seemingly endless struggle for resources, [teachers] rise to the occasion to help prepare every child for whatever comes next, and [they] do it with incredible humanity and grace.” 

Last Call for Nominations to AACTE Board and Advisory Committees

By Janae Blanscet

Have you considered volunteering for a leadership position in AACTE? Whether you volunteer to lend your talent and expertise to one of AACTE’s programmatic advisory committees or seek a position on the Board of Directors, this is your final chance to nominate yourself or a colleague to serve during AACTE’s upcoming 75^th anniversary year. Nominations are due by May 15.

Educator preparation is an essential element in revolutionizing education and combatting the divisive issues threatening our nation’s education systems. AACTE is at the center of efforts to ensure that all students receive the expert instruction and support they need and deserve.

Washington Week Attendee Says ‘Learning and Connections are Invaluable’

By Brooke Evans

For the first time in three years, AACTE will be hosting its 2022 Washington Week in-person in Washington DC, June 6 – 8. This annual educational policy and advocacy event draws together AACTE’s State Chapter Leadership, Holmes’ Scholars, deans, and faculty for an opportunity to learn and advocate for education and for high quality educational preparation programs throughout the country.

This year, AACTE is combining the best programming from three separate events — State Leaders Institute, Holmes Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill — into one reimagined mini-conference for enhanced collaboration and networking. The 2022 Washington Week program includes shared keynotes and strand-based sessions on today’s most critical issues in education and teacher preparation: censorship, educator shortage, and educator diversity. Attendees can choose to align with a particular strand throughout the event or select sessions from among the three strands.

Several AACTE members shared their top reasons for attending Washington Week, including Stacy Duffield, director of the Office of Teaching and Learning at North Dakota State University. According to Duffield, members should attend the event because “the learning and connections are invaluable.” Read more about Duffield’s thoughts on why members should make the investment and register for 2022 Washington Week.

A Holmes Scholar’s Reflection on AANHPI Heritage Month

By Eleanor Su-Keene

I’m not your model minority. In fact, I spent much of my life contemplating whether I’m actually a minority at all. In the United States, racial socialization runs along a Black/White spectrum, where until recently, Asian American, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) communities existed outside of mainstream racial dialogue. If I may elaborate. As a society, people move through in different ways, and it is only when you come across barriers or lack the privilege afforded to others based on race, that you experience oppression and injustice firsthand. Asian Americans occupy a contentious, invisible space in which race is operationalized as simultaneously a privilege and a form of discrimination. As Cathy Park Hong wrote in Minor Feelings, “Asians lack presence. Asians take up apologetic space. We don’t even have enough presence to be considered real minorities. We’re not racial enough to be token. We’re so post-racial we’re silicon.”