GACTE Works to Elevate the Teaching Profession throughout Georgia
The Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE) has been looking at the teacher pipeline in our state and receiving input on ways to increase teacher recruitment and retention. Several state reports confirm the shortage in Georgia and GACTE’s goal was to get everyone on board to look for ways to help reduce shortages. GACTE convened an initial meeting where three main action items were identified including (1) Elevate Teacher Voice in the school and in policy and legislation; (2) Re-imagine induction and mentoring to increase the dignity and honor of the profession; and (3) Raise the profile of teachers in Georgia. A second meeting at Kennesaw State University, brought the collaborative together to turn general strategies from the first meeting into action items.
The next step was to get direct input from teachers. AACTE provided a State Affiliate Support Award to bring together groups of teachers. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators and the Georgia Association of Educators unions each matched the AACTE grant in order to support their members in attending one of two available sessions. The teachers confirmed what was shared by the various groups earlier and also provided new insight and suggestions. A final meeting was held with teacher candidates at the GACTE fall conference.
All of the input is being summarized into a document that will be shared with the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE), a group of top business and education leaders in the state. GACTE will work with GPEE representatives to develop a ten-year plan to present to the legislature. The goal of the plan is to address the teacher pipeline in a comprehensive and strategic manner and also avoid changing course with every new election. The 10-year plan will be signed by all collaborative group members representing well over 100,000 voters.
Invitees for the first two meetings included leaders of the following organizations:
- Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
- Professional Association of Georgia Educators
- Georgia Association of Educators
- Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
- University System of Georgia Educator Preparation and Policy
- Georgia Department of Education Teacher and Leader Support and Development
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- Georgia Association of Teacher Educators
- Governor’s Office of Student Achievement
- Georgia Association of Independent Colleges of Teacher Education
- Professional Standards Commission Educator Preparation Division (Georgia Accreditation Organization)
- Georgia Association of Educational Leaders
- Georgia Educational Leadership Faculty Association
- Georgia Power Community and Economic Development
- Georgia Field Directors Association
- Georgia Assessment Directors Association
- Georgia School Counselors Association
- Student Support Team Association of Georgia
- Georgia Association of School Personnel Administrators
- Georgia Association of Curriculum and Instruction Supervisors
- Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals
- Georgia Association of Middle School Principals
- Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals
- Georgia School Superintendent Association
- Georgia House Education Committee Members and/or Chair
- Georgia Senate Education and Youth Committee Members and/or Chair
References
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. (2022). Colleges of education: A national portrait (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author. https://aacte.org/resources/research-reports-and-briefs/colleges-of-education-a-national-portraitv2/
Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. (2021). Top ten issues to watch in 2022. Atlanta, GA: Author. https://1hlp161d4zqn27aufu3ikxut-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GPEE-Top-Ten-2022-Full-Report_Final.pdf
Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC). (2019). Meeting Georgia’s need for teachers. Atlanta, GA: Author. https://www.gapsc.com/EducatorPreparation/DataResources/
Documents/GEPP-Recruitment_and_Retention_handout_III.pdf
Tags: shortage, state affiliate, workforce development
