Archive for June, 2022

 AACTE Commends Congress for Passing Gun Control Legislation

On behalf of AACTE , President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement after Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law, the first gun control measures in approximately 30 years in response to the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed, and due to other gun violence in our communities:

“The actions of Congress since the Uvalde school shooting on May 24 are long overdue. According to the Washington Post, at least 185 children, educators and others have been killed by gun violence at U.S. schools since the Columbine massacre in 1999, in which two teenagers killed a dozen students and one teacher.

Register for JUSTEC 2022 by August 15

Educators in the United States and Japan are invited to register for the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium’s 32nd conference, JUSTEC 2022, which will take place September 23 – 25. This year’s three-day conference is supported by AACTE; the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo; and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan. It will draw its focus on the theme, “Collaborative Teacher Education in the United States and Japan in the Era of Uncertainties.” Register by August 15 to reserve your spot.

FAU Receives $1 Million Grant for Equity in Instructional Performance

Florida Atlantic University’s College of Education School Leaders Program has been awarded a three-year, $1,039,041 grant from Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) to support two graduate degree programs as part of the Teacher School Leader Equity for Instructional Performance (EQUIP) grant project initiative. BCPS is the sixth largest public school system in the United States and the second largest in Florida.

SFA Partners with Galena Park Independent School District for Paid Internships

Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education has partnered with the Galena Park Independent School District to staff up to five paid internships during the 2022-23 academic year.

The program, which launches this fall, will let students use clinical teaching assignments to gain valuable classroom experience before entering the education workforce. While all teaching areas are available, GPISD particularly needs interns in early childhood through sixth grade, special education, bilingual education, math and English language arts.

Department of Education Updates Title IX Rule

On June 23, the 50th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Biden Administration released a new rule (read the fact sheet) for how colleges should respond to cases of sexual harassment.

Title IX is the law that protects students, faculty, and staff from sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal aid.  Since its inception, it has opened scores of opportunities in classrooms, athletic fields, and elsewhere on campus for traditionally underrepresented students. However, the rule has been silent until now on how to protect students that identify as LGBTQ+ as well as pregnant students and employees.

Appropriations Subcommittee Approves Proposed FY2023 Labor-Education-HHS Funding

This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

All eyes were on Washington Friday morning as news broke that the Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe. V. Wade. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued a statement:

Join AACTE in Advocating for the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact

The Council of State Governments (CSG) is partnering with the Department of Defense and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification to develop the Interstate Teaching Mobility Compact (ITMC) — a new interstate compact — to help offset the steep shortage of teachers across the nation.

The ITMC is a legal contract between two compact member states that will allow teachers greater mobility and more employment opportunities inside the classroom by eliminating additional licensing and testing barriers that would be typically required.

MIT Seeks District Partners for Free Equity Professional Development

Among the many challenges K-12 educators are gearing up for this upcoming academic year, building more equitable, inclusive schools is of utmost priority. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is proposing a new project for the U.S. Department of Education’s Innovation and Research program to implement and test a whole-school program called “Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practice.”

MIT invites all district school administrators, teachers, and staff to participate in this 12-16 hour online course — and share with any partnering district.

Representation Matters: The Necessity of LGBTQ+ Content in Schools

GLSEN’s 2019 National School Climate Survey (N=16,636)the most recent for which results are available—provides an alarming overview of the state of LGBTQ+ inclusive education. According to GLSEN, only 16.2% of participants reported engaging with positive representations of LGBTQ+ content, and fewer than 20% stated that LGBTQ+ topics appeared in their textbooks and curricular resources.

Attend the National Conference on Co-Teaching on Us

AACTE Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group (TAG) are pleased to announce a new Engagement Award for dynamic co-teachers interested in attending the National Conference on Co-Teaching held in person and virtually October 13-14, 2022. Selected co-teachers/administrators commit to facilitating a Co-Teaching TAG Coffee Conversation in the fall and to attend the fall conference in person or virtually.

Awardees will be granted registration and a stipend for the hotel. Flights are the responsibility of the awardee. Virtual TAG conversations are intended to connect members across the country while advancing co-teaching practices along the education continuum.

Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 being signed into law. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. Specifically, it states: 

No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 

Dept. of Education Sends Aid to Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District

This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

This week, the House Appropriations Committee has been busy marking up the first 6 of 12 government funding bills for FY2023. The process is expected to be almost, if not completely, partisan. In the upper chamber, the Senate Appropriations has not reached an agreement on how much to spend on defending and non-defense discretionary funding, ultimately delaying forward movement. 

$1.4M Grant for New JMU Upward Bound Program Aims to Help Underrepresented Students Prepare for College

JMU College of Education program will empower first-generation college and at-risk local students to unlock potential

James Madison University’s College of Education will receive $1.4 million over the next five years to help eligible high school students in the Shenandoah Valley overcome social, emotional, and academic barriers to achieve success in education beyond high school.

JMU will receive a total of $1,437,685 to create a JMU Upward Bound Program. The funds will support two programs, one at Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg City Public Schools and one at Spotswood High School in Rockingham County Public Schools, supporting a total of approximately 30-35 high school students at each school. 

LGBTQ+ Research in Teacher Education

Pride flags and gag orders, a Queer as Folk reboot and white supremacists at Pride celebrations, My Two Moms and Me and “Don’t Say Gay”: this whiplash of dissonance is the backdrop against which we as LGBTQ+ teacher educators navigate as scholars in 2022. I was asked to write a post on LGBTQ+ research in teacher education — an exceptionally tall order. One post can hardly encapsulate the complexities, tensions, and exceptionality of current work in the field. Research specific to LGBTQ+ topics in teacher education might be broadly organized into a few categories: the lived experiences of Queer1 persons in teacher education, LGBTQ+ issues in curriculum and instruction within teacher preparation, and policies and practices directly impacting LGBTQ+ persons and issues within the realm of P-12 schools. 

Reflecting on an “Inspirational” Washington Week

AACTE’s 2022 Washington Week was by far the most productive, inspirational, and collaborative Washington Week than those I previously attended. The culmination of Holmes Scholars, State Leaders Institute (SLI), and Day on the Hill allowed scholars, deans, faculty, and state affiliate leaders to discuss and gather new perspectives on the three strands:

  • Censorship
  • Educator shortage
  • Educator diversity

A sense of unity and gaiety could be felt as state teams worked together to plan their discussion about legislation priorities and strand topics during congressional visits with senators and congressmen/women.