Thank You for Raising Your Voice to Support Education in 75 Ways
Local-, state-, and federal-level advocacy is more important than ever as the teacher preparation landscape is changing. Fueled by critical current issues, AACTE recently asked members to raise their voice and support a forward momentum of change as part of the 75 Days | 75 Ways to Advocate for Education.
Thank you to all participants who mobilized and provided a tip on how to support education, educators, and students and their families. Your voice and your name will continue to advocate for inclusive education policies in two new formats that were released at the 2023 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis:
Common Themes
As you review the 75 ways to advocate for education, you will notice common themes that translate to actionable steps to effect a positive change:
- Be a part of collective change: Membership with education organizations, like AACTE, supports peer-to-peer engagement and contributes to collective action.
- Engage in local- and state-level support: Meet with policymakers to help advance legislation and find out what is happening in your school district— and attend board meetings or run for position on the school board.
- Leverage the media: Create relationships with the media and become a trusted source by continuing to elevate your message — whether on social media or authoring an opinion piece.
- Support recruitment and retention of teachers: Become an advocate for recruiting and retaining the workforce by conducting personal outreach to students, educating society about the importance of teachers, and exposing middle-school and high-school students early on to the teaching profession through “Grow Your Own” teacher programs.
- Collaborate and build community ties: Address root causes to fight for systemic justice by collaborating with others to find solutions. This includes identifying partners and listening to what is important, increasing partnerships with school districts and university programs, and working with local partner districts to allocate funds for support.
- Increase teacher quality: Empathy and compassion must be the driving force to prepare teachers well, and in turn, support inclusive learning for all. Volunteer, serve, and spend time inside the local schools to make a difference. Get to know your students, ask for their feedback, and never underestimate the power of connecting directly to a teacher (such as writing a personal thank you note).
- Embrace equity as a core value: Equitable and inclusive education will directly impact students and lead to their success. Create an environment where every student has the opportunity to excel and every individual must work on their implicit biases to provide an equitable and inclusive learning environment.
- Prioritize social and emotional health: It is important for educators to understand themselves before teaching students how to be their authentic selves. This also includes advocating for health and wellness for effective and quality teaching.
3 Ways to Use the #AACTE75Days75Ways Resources
Your words matter.
Browse the campaign toolkit and share these resources with your peers, students, and the public on social media with #AACTE75Days75Ways. Use your voice to educate the public on pressing issues and support educators and students and their families.
Get inspired.
Watch this video to explore, reflect, and learn about some of the challenges that educator preparation advocates face in the current climate and the different ways they use to overcome them.
Take action.
Read the submitted tips. Which tip inspires you the most? Use your voice by reposting it on any social media and write about how you plan to take action with #AACTE75Days75Ways.
Tags: advocacy, Annual Meeting
