19 Mar2024
By Weade James
The AACTE Topical Action Group (TAG) on Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation has rebranded and is seeking new members. The new TAG on Educator Preparation in Partnership with Families and Communities is intended to be more inclusive of family-school partnerships and seeks to build and sustain a collaborative network of educators who are committed to redefining systems of educator preparation wherein the principles of reflection, connection, collaboration, and co-leadership alongside families and communities are elevated as essential to a field which seeks an equitable experience for all learners. The TAG will create a space for the sharing of innovative and best practices and will foster opportunities for members to collaborate on research, curate resources, and work toward the promotion of policies and strategies to improve programs of educator preparation within the universal contexts of love and justice.
18 Mar2024
By Amy Kline
On Thursday, March 21, the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NJACTE) will be holding our Annual Day of Assessment Conference with the theme, “The Expanding Landscape of Assessment: Important Conversations.” The conference is free to attend and accessible entirely online by our conference host, Rutgers University – Newark. As always, this special learning opportunity is open to all AACTE affiliate members and their professional networks. Register online now.
A Pre-Conference Session “Introducing Praxis Preparation: Redefined” by our generous sponsor 240 Tutoring will begin at 1:00 p.m.
18 Mar2024
An #AACTE24 Session Recap and Reflection
By Amelia Q. Rivera
The session “Election 2024: Implications of Federal and State Races for Educator Preparation” at the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting provided a comprehensive analysis of the potential impacts of the upcoming elections on educator preparation programs (EPPs). The panel comprised political strategists, policy experts, and representatives from membership organizations, offering diverse perspectives on the subject.
12 Mar2024
By Michele Cahill and Jeanie Lee
XQ’s featured session included clips from “The First Class,” a new documentary about a high school in Memphis. The film includes powerful examples of project-based learning.
It was wonderful seeing so many of you at the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession into the Future,” there were inspiring conversations about how to support and empower educators at a time of tremendous change.
We heard how states are looking at their teacher pipelines post-pandemic — and the need to prepare educators for the continued challenges of absenteeism and learning loss. Speakers addressed the importance of representation and diversity in the profession and the desire to bolster educators to succeed with a whole-child instructional approach.
11 Mar2024
By Marc Siegel
Seventy-four Oregon high schools — serving more than 36,000 students — have secured career readiness grants totaling $7.629 million, Oregon Department of Education Director Charlene Williams and Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson announced today.
The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Revitalization Grant funds from the State of Oregon will serve diverse communities around the state, with programs focused on advanced manufacturing, agricultural science, business, computer science, construction, cosmetology, engineering, firefighting, health sciences, hospitality, media, and natural resources.
11 Mar2024
By Savannah Peat
If you ever needed a perfect example of how the University of New Mexico directly feeds into the community, you don’t need to look further than the College of Education and Human Sciences (COEHS).
The new Restorative Practice Partnership between COEHS, the District Teacher Residency Program (DTRP), and Garfield Middle School is creating a fundamental pipeline of restorative practices from children, to future teachers, and to the classroom.
“Our partnership with Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is underscored by experiences like this for our Teacher Residents,” DTRP Director and COEHS Professor Marjori Krebs said. “By providing opportunities for our future teachers and future principals to learn the power of Restorative Practices from the Garfield Middle School students and teachers provides them with an excellent foundation for leading their own classrooms and schools.”
11 Mar2024
By Brooke Evans
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, from 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. ET, members are invited to attend the AACTE Lunch & Learn: Designing a Syllabus Using Generative AI.
In this session led by AACTE Innovation and Technology member, Laurie Bobley, Ed.D., of Touro University, attendees will explore how to develop an effective, standards-based syllabus using generative AI and the potential limitations surrounding this emerging technology.
11 Mar2024
By Brooke Evans
AACTE Lunch & Learns return on Wednesday, March 20 from 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. ET with guests from the University of Northern Colorado’s (UNC) Award-Winning Center for Urban Education.
UNC is the inaugural recipient of the AACTE 2024 Increasing Educator Diversity: Promising Practice Award. Overseen by AACTE’s Programmatic Advisory Committee on Educator Diversity, this award, recognizes a promising practice from a school, college, or department of education demonstrating outcomes and advocacy related to various activities, practices, programs, pedagogies, systems, and/or policies that lead to or is likely to lead to, an increase in educator diversity.
11 Mar2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) released a “Toolkit for the Promotion of Voter Participation for Students” to provide resources for educational institutions to help them identify and implement actions to assist eligible students with voter registration and voting. Recognizing that our nation’s schools, colleges, and universities have a critical role in promoting civic engagement, the toolkit will provide them with strategies to support their students.
“Voting is fundamental to our democracy, and our schools and colleges play an important role in helping our students become active participants in our democratic society,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “From providing civic education during a student’s elementary and secondary school years to facilitating the voting process for all students during their postsecondary educational experience, our education system helps students engage in the electoral process. I’m proud that the resources we are releasing today will help reduce the barriers and obstacles many students—especially our underserved students—face in participating fully in our democracy.”
11 Mar2024
An #AACTE24 Session Recap and Reflection
By Esmeralda Cartagena Collazo
The AACTE panel session on “Promoting Integrity and Social Responsibility in Teacher Education” sponsored by The Kern Family Foundation was an enlightening experience, bringing together a diverse panel of educators to discuss innovative strategies and projects aimed at integrating character education and social responsibility into teacher preparation programs.
In this session, speakers from various universities shared their projects and insights on developing character, leadership, and social responsibility among educators and students. Panelists emphasized the importance of integrating character education into teaching practices, not as an additional task but as a foundational aspect (Berkowitz & Bier, 2005). The discussions highlighted successful strategies, such as collaborative partnerships with schools, embedding character into the curriculum, and fostering a learner-focused environment. The session also addressed the challenges educators face today, including the need for support in navigating complex issues and creating inclusive, respectful learning environments.
11 Mar2024
By Hadlee Rinn
A group of teacher educators from the College of Education and Human Services and College of Science and Engineering at Central Michigan University (CMU) received a grant from the National Science Foundation to help college students become familiar with the core teaching practices, which are ideas or actions teachers follow to support learning. Additionally, the core teaching practices are demonstrated to have the greatest impact on student learning and were adopted by the Michigan Department of Education several years ago.
“We chose to focus on [the core practices of] building respectful relationships with students and modeling and explaining content. […] I would argue these are two of the more important teaching practices [because] if you’re going to teach students and have them learn effectively, you need to have a good relationship with them,” Kevin Cunningham, Ph.D, the lead principal investigator on the project said. “The ability to take what is challenging content and make that clear and intelligible to students [is important].”
06 Mar2024
By AACTE
The time has come to converge in the nation’s capital for an unparalleled opportunity to advocate for the future of teacher education. Get ready to amplify your voice and make a difference at AACTE’s Washington Week, June 3 to June 5 in Washington, DC.
As members of AACTE, you have the unique chance to engage directly with legislators, policymakers, and thought leaders, shaping the discourse on vital issues impacting colleges of education nationwide. Whether it’s funding, policy reforms, or educational equity, your voice matters, and Washington Week provides the training and resources to ensure it is heard.
04 Mar2024
An #AACTE24 Session Recap and Reflection
By Cassaundra Guzman
Within the field of education, internationalization has been a point of discussion for the better part of the past decade. However, it has risen in popularity following the global pandemic. The pandemic made it apparent to educators and students alike the gaping holes in the preparedness of K-12 educators.
Along with the ways our students struggled with online learning here in the United States, similar struggles were experienced by children across the globe. Internationalization aims to make us more aware of the challenges faced at schools outside of our country to uphold our commitment to social justice. The time is ripe for us as a field to learn more about internationalization and what it may look like to prioritize it at our respective institutions in the U.S. This conversation was opened up at the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting by moderator, Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D. and the speakers Sarah K. Anderson, Ph.D., Margery McMahon, Pinky Jain, Ph.D., and Susan Ledger, Ph.D.
04 Mar2024
By Virginia Department of Education
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) awarded its second round of Grow Your Own Grants totaling $1.52 million to 24 school divisions to assist in creating registered teacher apprenticeship programs to help recruit and train well-prepared future teachers within their communities. A focused approach to helping school divisions deal with teacher recruitment challenges, Grow Your Own programs help future teachers work towards their bachelor’s degrees and fulfill all licensure requirements so that upon completion of the program participants will be ready to accept a full-time teaching position in their communities.
The VDOE has partnered with the National Center for Grow Your Own to become a national leader in helping develop effective registered apprenticeship programs to assist school divisions in recruiting teacher candidates from their local communities. Under this model, aspiring Virginia teacher candidates can include paraprofessionals and other staff already working in the schools, dual-enrolled graduating high school seniors, or career switchers with an interest in classroom teaching. Twenty-eight Virginia school divisions have launched Grow Your Own registered teacher apprenticeship programs during the 2023-2024 school year.
04 Mar2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) opened applications for the School-Based Mental Health and Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grant competitions to help bolster the pipeline of mental health professionals serving in schools and expand student access to school-based mental health services and supports.
President Biden named tackling the mental health crisis, particularly among youth, a key pillar in his Unity Agenda for the nation. And, in line with the Administration’s goals, these programs play a key role in doubling the supply of qualified mental health professionals in our nation’s schools. These newly opened applications build on the progress made through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to integrate mental health services into our schools as part of the President’s National Mental Health Strategy.
