15 Nov2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is a national partner for the University of Florida’s Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center, which helps states and institutions of higher education to develop the ability of every teacher to prepare students with disabilities for college and careers. As a federally funded multi-million dollar project, CEEDAR works with AACTE and others to promote the preparation of all educators to have the mindset and skillset for effectively instructing students with disabilities along with all other students in the mainstream classroom.
“This initiative is about ensuring that all educators have the skills to work effectively with students with disabilities,” said AACTE Consultant Jane West, who leads the Association’s work with CEEDAR. “Special education has too often been considered a place and not a service. We are highlighting and promoting preparation for both general and special educators so they can provide effective instruction to students with disabilities in inclusive ways with an eye toward raising expectations and undermining the stigmatizing of students with disabilities.”
13 Nov2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The election for the 2018 AACTE Board of Directors is now under way through November 30. Seven seats will be decided via online voting: one representing the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), one representing the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities, one representing the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and one representing the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), and three at-large seats.
The slate is as follows:
08 Nov2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is pleased to announce a second participant in the 71st Annual Meeting Opening Keynote. Marvin Lynn of the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University (PSU) will join Marilyn Cochran-Smith of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College for the general session, Friday, February 22, 2019. Lynn brings his extensive experience in teacher education to this thought-provoking discussion on accreditation, assessment, and other facets of teacher education accountability.
Lynn is the dean of the Graduate School of Education at PSU. He is an internationally recognized expert on race and education and the lead editor of the Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education. He serves as an editorial board member of several journals, and has published more than two dozen research articles and book chapters. At PSU, Lynn works closely with an outstanding and diverse faculty and staff to advance the national profile of high quality academic programs while further building and strengthening relationships with local schools.
02 Nov2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The 2019 AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville is an opportunity for you to not only invest in your own professional development but also come away feeling both energized and refreshed. Chief executive officer of Louisville Tourism, Karen Williams, took time to share what Louisville has to offer Annual Meeting attendees in a short Q&A session. Here is what she had to say:
How has Louisville grown beyond being known solely for its bourbon to The Spirited City?
26 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The Colorado Department of Higher Education announced this month that it has awarded nearly $2 million to 17 collaborative projects designed to recruit and retain more educators as part of the Plan Into Action grant established in partnership with the Colorado Center for Rural Education. Of the recipients, nine are AACTE member institutions, which have developed initiatives to combat teacher shortages. The other grantees include school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, and traditional and alternative educator training programs from across the state. The projects will establish teacher residency programs, leverage technology for improved professional support, and encourage more teacher candidates to specialize in high-need content areas.
“Teachers are the backbone of our education system and critical to our state’s long-term success,” CDHE executive director Dan Baer said. “These funds will strengthen the relationships among our institutions, alternative programs and the schools in their backyard, helping communities cultivate their own teacher corps and better support those already in the classroom.”
24 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
As AACTE plans a lineup of dynamic presenters and content for its 2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville, local school officials from Jefferson County took time to share insights about what’s happening in education in the city and throughout Kentucky on topics related to AACTE’s Deeper Dive sessions. In response to questions regarding social justice issues and shaping the future of education in Louisville, Jimmy Adams, Chief of Human Resources for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), provided the following comments:
What does Louisville have to offer education leaders from across the country in their work to shape the future of education in America?
17 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is pleased to announce that social justice champion Marilyn Cochran-Smith will speak at the Opening Session of the 71st AACTE Annual Meeting. The session will take place at the Kentucky International Convention Center on February 22, 2019.
A teacher education scholar and practitioner for more than 40 years, Cochran-Smith is the Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College (MA). She is widely known around the world for her scholarship on teacher education research, practice and policy and for her sustained commitment to inquiry-based teaching and diversity and equity in teacher education.
15 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
Nearly 40 members of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) and the Special Education Task Force met in Washington, DC on September 24-26 to discuss their separate and shared initiatives that serve as next steps for advancing the new CPC report. Released in January 2018, A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation by the CPC offers a framework, guidance, and common lexicon to expand the operationalization of clinical educator preparation. Its 10 proclamations and tenets identify highly effective and evidence-based practices for embedding teacher preparation in the PK-12 environment.
During the planning session, the CPC developed a working plan to advance its emissary work and to create a site-based peer-coaching model. The Taskforce focused on finalizing a series of tenets that will be added to the existing CPC proclamations to provide more specific practice recommendations for special and inclusive educator preparation.
“The CPC met on the first day to discuss the next round of their work, which is to share findings of the report more broadly through focused emissary work and the development of peer coaching strategies,” said Amanda Lester, AACTE director of programs and professional learning. “This emissary work includes a defined plan that will help AACTE members learn more about how to implement the report’s research for developing or expanding their clinical practice model.”
03 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
Did you know AACTE selects the Annual Meeting destination four to five years in advance? To ensure the conference offers the best bang for your buck, AACTE works behind the scenes to secure event space and accommodations at budget-conscious pricing. Many factors are taken into consideration when determining future locations for the Annual Meeting, such as geographic location and rotation among U.S. regions, cultural diversity, attendee cost, available meeting space and accessibility, and social justice considerations. A complete list of the AACTE site selection procedures is available at aacte.org.
03 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
In celebration of National Principals Month this October, AACTE joins the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), and American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) in recognizing the important work of principals in making schools great. National and state resolutions, formal awards and recognitions, and acknowledgments from U.S. senators and representatives and other top government officials mark this broad celebration of the principalship. It is an opportunity to say “thank you” to principals across the nation, and to reflect on the roles of school leaders and the importance of preparing them well.
02 Oct2018
By Jerrica Thurman
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in Manchester launched its new clinical master’s degree program during the 2018-19 academic year. The program offers dual certification in elementary and special education or early childhood and early childhood special education. It is designed to prepare teacher candidates for certification and to ensure that new educators have the required skills, competencies, knowledge, and dispositions specifically needed to support the development and learning of students in elementary grades (K-8) and general special education (K-12).
“It’s an accelerated 15-month clinical program that enables teacher candidates to work clinically with students during 11 of those months,” said Mary Ford, Interim Dean in the School of Education at SNHU. “They are [working] in supervised clinical experiences learning the craft and skill of teaching as well as monitoring the learning progress of their K-12 students.”
19 Sep2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE has partnered with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) on the new Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative. The Initiative is a network of nine states that will connect with each other and experts in the field to receive individualized support as they address challenges to increase the racial diversity of the teacher workforce in their states. Participating states are Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, and New York. Through this work, these states hope to revise, enact or remove state policies that will address specific challenges for both diversifying the educator workforce and ensuring all educators are culturally responsive in practice by 2020.
“CCSSO is proud to launch the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative as we strive to better prepare all teachers to meet the needs of every learner in their classroom,” said Carissa Moffat Miller, executive director of CCSSO. “This work is firmly rooted in CCSSO’s commitment to providing an equitable education to all students.”
19 Sep2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The new 2018 Data Quality Campaign (DQC) National Poll report shows teachers value education data and they see it as critical to effective pedagogical strategies that enhance student learning. The findings indicate 95% of teachers say they use a combination of academic and nonacademic information to understand their students’ performance. This information can range from test scores and graduation rates to attendance and classroom behavior. The poll report released on September 12 found teachers and parents trust and rely on education data as a tool to support students.
Partnerships between teachers and parents are also strengthened when student data are available. Eighty-six percent of the teacher respondents say the information helps facilitate communication with parents about their children’s performance because it gives an objective place to start conversations. Ninety-three percent of parents want data so they can help their children do their best.
07 Sep2018
By Jerrica Thurman
Check out the September/October 2018 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE). It is now available online and hitting desks around the country. See what Volume 69 Number 4 has to offer!
07 Sep2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The deadline to apply for a 2019 AACTE Best Practice or Professional Achievement Award is quickly approaching. Submit your application by Wednesday, October 10, to recognize your program or colleagues and contribute to “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession” at the 2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky!
Do you have a global and linguistically diverse program like Rutgers University (NJ)? An innovative approach for using robotics technology to facilitate teacher candidates’ critical thinking and problem solving like recent winner Northeastern State University (OK)? Or perhaps a sustainable pathway to advocate for educational equity like recent winner University of Colorado Denver? Any AACTE member institution may apply for a Best Practice Award (unless you’ve won it in the past 3 years) in one of the following three categories:
