29 Jan2024
Lunch & Learn with Guy Trainin
By Brooke Evans
AACTE is pleased to offer Lunch & Learns: professional development opportunities for members. These 30-minute sessions are designed to provide you with an immediate tool or strategy to apply to your work. Can’t make it virtually? All Lunch & Learns will be available on-demand for AACTE members. Watch them during your lunch break or whenever it is convenient for you.
By AACTE member request, Guy Trainin will be back for the next part of his series on Thursday, February 8 from 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET to present Part II, More Lesson Planning: Discussing Generative AI Tools for Teacher Educators.
29 Jan2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP): A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design and Use Divides. First released in fulfillment of the 2000 Educate America Act, NETP has been updated multiple times since its original release, most recently in 2016.
“From the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and more, the Biden-Harris Administration has made bold investments aimed at closing the digital divide and ensuring all students can equitably access the latest digital tools and technology,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “As we work to Raise the Bar in education, it’s essential we focus on empowering teachers to become designers of active learning, using technology in effective ways to engage and inspire students. The 2024 National Educational Technology Plan is a forward-thinking approach to reframing and realizing the potential of educational technology to enhance the instructional core, reduce achievement gaps, and improve student learning in our schools.
29 Jan2024
By AACTE
As the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting quickly approaches, Ed Prep Matters will highlight presenters of Featured Sessions and Learning Labs. These accomplished experts represent a diverse spectrum of thought leadership in the field of teacher education, bringing a wealth of knowledge, experience, and groundbreaking insights to the forefront. Get ready to be inspired by members in the field, each poised to elevate and shape the future of educator preparation.
Learning Lab: Leveraging Innovation and Partnerships to Increase Educator Diversity
Investments in educator diversity initiatives continue to show measurable success. The plight to diversify the educator workforce requires federally funded programs that support innovative and sustainable solutions. This session will highlight the most recent federal effort, the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence Program inaugural grantees, and the innovative projects and partnerships that are underway at minority-serving institutions to develop educators to meet the current and future needs of a diverse K-12 student population.
In this member spotlight, Amy Ginsberg, Ph.D., dean of the College of Education at William Paterson University discusses her presentation in this Learning Lab and what attendees can look forward to in this engaging conversation.
29 Jan2024
By Kansas State Department of Education
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) will oversee an $8.4 million federal grant awarded to the state to create the Kansas Youth Transition Network, a statewide initiative that will help students with disabilities make the transition from education to employment.
“This grant will help youth with disabilities statewide connect to the supports that meet their individual needs as they transition from high school to college, other postsecondary opportunities, or directly into competitive integrated employment,” said Dean Zajic, assistant director for KSDE’s Special Education and Title Services (SETS) team and project director for the grant.
23 Jan2024
By AACTE
Susana Córdova, Colorado Commissioner of Education, will present the keynote address at the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting Opening Session on Friday, February 16 at 9:00 a.m.
Córdova was named Colorado’s 18th education commissioner and the first Latina to hold the state’s top education position in June 2023. Prior to being named commissioner, Córdova spent more than 30 years in education. She served as an assistant principal, principal, director, chief academic officer, chief schools officer, and deputy superintendent before becoming the superintendent of Denver Public Schools (DPS). She also served as deputy superintendent in Dallas ISD, the second-largest district in Texas.
Córdova, who grew up in Denver, was a student in the district she later went on to lead. Among her priorities as superintendent was to “break the historical patterns of inequity that have resulted in far too few black, brown, and low-income children succeeding at high levels.”
23 Jan2024
By AACTE
Join AACTE on Saturday, February 17 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. for the Featured Keynote panel during the 2024 Annual Meeting where education experts will discuss how democracy intersects with education.
The Future of American Democracy, Public Schools, and National Security: What This Means for the Future of Education and the Professions, is informed by research published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which indicates that “liberal democracy is in crisis where it was long thought most securely established.” Additionally, a recent Social Science and Medicine study affirmed this finding indicating that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was one of 130 countries that experienced threats and violations of espoused and constitutionally codified democratic norms. In a fireside chat format, this lively session examines the knotty intersections between sustaining and protecting American democracy, maintaining public schools as the American institution devoted to producing citizens for our democracy, and teaching social comprehension and history in a manner that enables young people to become skilled researchers able to accurately discern information (and its sources), cultivate knowledge, communicate thoughtfully, and serve humanity.
This Featured Keynote panel will be moderated by education journalist Valerie Strauss, who will be joined by Sigal Ben-Porath, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Pennsylvania; Leslie T. Fenwick, Ph.D., dean emerita of Howard University’s School of Education and dean in residence of AACTE; and Christina Sneed, Curriculum Developer, The Pulitzer Center.
23 Jan2024
By Alexandra Saccone
This article originally appeared on University at Buffalo’s website and is reprinted with permission.
Before arriving at UB to pursue her Ph.D., Dawnavyn James taught elementary students in Missouri for seven years, where she learned that young students are a lot smarter — and a lot more ready to learn about Black history — than we give them credit for.
“It all started in the classroom,” James said of her new book, “Beyond February: Teaching Black History Any Day, Every Day, and All Year Long.” The book began to take shape after she wrote a blog post referencing her experience teaching Black history. Through this post, she met her editor, who encouraged her to turn her ideas into a book. James’ guide to teaching Black history was published this fall, just a year after she began her doctoral studies.
Drawn to UB by the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, where she is a fellow, James studies how elementary teachers use picture books to teach Black history. “I’m really looking at how teachers analyze picture books and teach Black history based on what they know about Black history,” she explains.
22 Jan2024
By AACTE
Join AACTE on Tuesday, January 30 at 1:00 p.m. EST for Lunch with Lynn where she will highlight AACTE’s work to engage members in internationalization — one of the areas of focus at the 2024 Annual Meeting. During the Lunch with Lynn session, AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone will host Margery McMahon and Sarah Anderson from the University of Glasgow, an AACTE member institution, to explore, strategize, and impact policy and practice to improve educator preparation internationally.
This virtual event provides attendees with an exclusive opportunity to join the conversation and ask questions about global work in educator preparation.
Register today for the January Lunch with Lynn.
22 Jan2024
By Laura Hoxworth
This article originally appeared on the University of Virginia website and is reprinted with permission.
The University of Virginia’s (UVA) School of Education and Human Development will offer a new Education Specialist in School Psychology degree beginning this fall, a move Virginia education experts say could help expand access to mental health services by easing a shortage of school psychologists.
Graduates will receive an Education Specialist in School Psychology degree after completing the three-year program. Training includes two years of coursework at UVA and culminates with a full-time, yearlong internship in a school setting during the final year of training. Successful program completion will enable graduates to apply for state and national certification as school psychologists in PK-12 schools.
The program is now accepting students for its first class, which will begin in August. The application deadline for the first cohort of students is Feb. 1.
22 Jan2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of $4.9 billion in additional student loan debt relief for 73,600 borrowers. These discharges are the result of fixes made by the Administration to income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Today’s announcement brings the total loan forgiveness approved by the Biden-Harris Administration to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million Americans.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has worked relentlessly to fix our country’s broken student loan system and address the needless hurdles and administrative inaccuracies that, in the past, kept borrowers from getting the student debt forgiveness they deserved,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The nearly $5 billion in additional debt relief announced today will go to teachers, social workers, and other public servants whose service to our communities have earned them Public Service Loan Forgiveness, as well as borrowers qualifying for income-driven repayment forgiveness because their payments are for the first time being accurately accounted for. Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we’re approving this loan forgiveness while moving full speed ahead in our efforts to deliver even greater debt relief, and help more borrowers get on a faster track to loan forgiveness under our new, affordable SAVE repayment plan.”
22 Jan2024
By Iowa Department of Education
The Iowa Department of Education today announced that $1.7 million in competitive grants are available to Iowa school districts to align secondary career and technical education programs with industry-recognized credentials. The new Credentials to Careers grant will support high schoolers earning credentials with labor market value.
“By expanding opportunities to attain an industry-recognized credential in high school, the Credentials to Careers grant helps connect the classroom to the workforce,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “Students earning portable, stackable credentials will be ready to succeed in high-wage and public-good careers, changing lives and strengthening communities.”
Industry-recognized credentials are certifications, credentials, or licenses that are vetted by employers and endorsed by a nationally recognized trade association or organization in a particular industry. Credentials are available across many career pathways, including those in health sciences, information technology, construction, manufacturing, child development, culinary, and business.
22 Jan2024
Lunch & Learn with Claire E. Hughes
By Brooke Evans
AACTE is pleased to offer Lunch & Learns: professional development opportunities for members. These 30-minute sessions are designed to provide you with an immediate tool or strategy to apply to your work. All Lunch & Learns will be available on-demand for AACTE members. Watch them during your lunch break or whenever it is convenient for you.
AACTE will continue its Lunch & Learn series with Trellis, Blooms, and Bees: Creating a Twice-Exceptional Teacher Education Program at Cleveland State University on Thursday, February 1, from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. ET.
16 Jan2024
By AACTE
AACTE has joined the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services (NCPSSERS) to continue advancing toward solutions for the nationwide PK-12 special educator shortage.
NCPSSERS is a national coalition composed of more than 30 participating member organizations. Since 2006, NCPSSERS has been dedicated to addressing the issue of shortages in special education and related services personnel in schools.
16 Jan2024
By North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) recently released a guidebook for the use of generative artificial intelligence in public schools.
NCDPI is the fourth state education department in the nation to issue guidance to its schools on the use of this cutting-edge technology.
“Generative artificial intelligence is playing a growing and significant role in our society. At NCDPI, we’re committed to preparing our students both to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing technology and become innovators in the field of computer science,” said State Superintendent Catherine Truitt. “We also believe that, when implemented thoughtfully and responsibly, generative AI has the power to revolutionize student learning and better prepare North Carolina’s students for the jobs of tomorrow.”
16 Jan2024
By Jenn Dorsey
Join your fellow #AACTE24 registered attendees in the 2024 Annual Meeting community on Connect360. If you are registered for the meeting, you are already in the community, so all you need to do is log in with your e-mail and AACTE password and start posting. Stay up to date with the latest information, ask questions, or start your own conversation. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Annual Meeting and what you can expect.
