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AAQEP Formally Recognized as National Accreditor of Educator Preparation Programs

AAQEP Formally Recognized as National Accreditor of Educator Preparation Programs

The Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), an accrediting organization for educator preparation programs nationwide, received formal recognition this month from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

CHEA is the only national organization focused exclusively on higher education accreditation and quality assurance. The recognition, carrying a term of seven years, signifies that AAQEP meets CHEA’s recently revised standards for attending to academic quality and improvement with respect for institutional mission.

Gangone to Participate in Education Deans for Justice and Equity Meeting

Members of the Education Deans for Justice and Equity Steering Committee

This week, AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone will meet with deans from across the country at the Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) meeting hosted by AACTE member institution University of Colorado Boulder, August 8-9.

EDJE is a nationwide alliance of education deans that advances equity and justice in education by speaking and acting collectively and in solidarity with communities regarding policies, reform proposals, and public debates. Participants come from public and independent colleges of education around the country, most of which are AACTE member institutions.

New Holmes Postdoc Launches at Boston University

AACTE and member institution Boston University (MA) are delighted to announce a pilot expansion of the AACTE Holmes Program in a new postdoctoral fellowship. The Holmes Postdoctoral Program in Education and Human Development welcomes its first two associates to the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development this fall for a 2-year residency.

Jeana E. Morrison, who earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership development and learning technologies from Drexel University (PA), studies the postsecondary experiences of underrepresented students and the policies that affect their success.

AACTE Renews Editorial Contract for Highly Ranked JTE

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Tonya Bartell
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Dorinda Carter Andrews
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Robert Floden
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Gail Richmond

After successfully completing its original 3-year term as editorial host of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE), Michigan State University (MSU) this month began work under a renewed contract for editing the highly ranked journal through 2021.

As of July 1, the coeditors are Tonya Bartell, Dorinda Carter Andrews, Robert Floden, and Gail Richmond, all from MSU. Associate editors include Jeff Bale, University of Toronto, Canada; Christine Cho, Nipissing University, Canada; Corey Drake, MSU; Nathan Jones, Boston University (MA); Emery Petchauer, MSU; and Cinthia Salinas, University of Texas, Austin. The team is further supported by MSU Assistant Editor Maribel Santiago and Graduate Assistants Eliana Castro and Mary Neville.

When Partnerships Become a Community: Mutual Commitment Benefits All


Four final videos are now available in the AACTE Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focused on the district and community partnerships of the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach. (View these and others in the series on AACTE’s Video Wall.)

The videos capture interviews with faculty, administrators, teacher candidates, and other partners in the Long Beach College Promise and the UTEACH residency program.

East Carolina to Host State Induction Program

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East Carolina University (ECU) has been named the new institutional home of the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP), which provides university-based professional development and on-site instructional coaching for new teachers throughout the state.

The NC NTSP aims to boost the effectiveness and reduce attrition among early-career teachers in order to raise student achievement, especially in historically disadvantaged and underserved school districts.

Originally launched with federal Race to the Top grant funds in 2012, the program now operates with funding from the state legislature, which allows districts to enroll teachers in the program at a subsidized rate. Nine universities in the UNC System provide the instructional support in partnership with 53 school districts around the state.

AACTE Award Winner Discusses Empathy in Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team at Michigan State University? This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles themselves in the full JTE archives online–just log in with your AACTE profile here.

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Chezare Warren, assistant professor at Michigan State University, received AACTE’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2014 for his study Empathic Interaction: White Female Teachers and Their Black Male Students, which was completed in 2012 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Reminder: AACTE is seeking submissions for the 2019 Outstanding Dissertation Award now through August 20.)

Study Points to Strategies for Shifting Principal Supervisor Roles

A new study of The Wallace Foundation’s Principal Supervisor Initiative (PSI) identifies successful ways for principal supervisors’ jobs to be refocused to more effectively support principals’ instructional leadership.

Typically, principal supervisors in large, urban districts are assigned to oversee too many principals, in addition to numerous district tasks, to be able to have an impact on principals’ effectiveness as educational leaders. The PSI aimed to improve this situation by addressing five core components: (a) revising supervisors’ job description to focus on instructional leadership, (b) reducing the number of principals in each supervisor’s case load, (c) developing supervisors’ capacity so support principals, (d) developing systems to identify and train new supervisors, and (e) strengthening central office structures to support and sustain these changes.

Committed Partnership Key to Overcoming Inevitable Hurdles


In this week’s featured videos in the Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series, participants in the education partnerships of California State University, Long Beach, discuss the hurdles they’ve faced, supports they’ve implemented, and advice to others interested in starting a similar program.

Strong communications and trust lie at the heart of both the Long Beach College Promise and the UTEACH residency program, stemming from the well-developed relationships as well as enabling new collaborations to solve evolving problems.

Radio Show Highlights Work of Special Education Task Force

In a recent show on Education Talk Radio, host Larry Jacobs interviewed the leaders of AACTE’s Special Education Task Force about their work to improve the clinical preparation of special education professionals. The discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion included the following guests:

  • Deborah Reed, University of North Florida
  • Rene Roselle, University of Connecticut
  • Amanda Lester, AACTE Director, Programs & Professional Learning
  • Jane West, AACTE Consultant

External Connections Key to Advancing Chapter Work

Members of the Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education participate in a recent annual conference; at right, current chapter President Victoria Groves-Scott of the University of Central Arkansas addresses members.

The 47 state chapters of AACTE employ a wide variety of membership models, activity calendars, and strategic partnerships to meet the priorities of their members. While all chapters are based on the fundamental value of interinstitutional collaboration, these coalitions are not just about members talking to themselves or circling the wagons. They also provide an effective launching point for their individual and collective members to connect with external groups that lend important new perspectives and advantages.

The Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (ArACTE) offers an example of how connections forged outside its membership boost its capacity to focus on advocacy priorities as a group–and on common programmatic concerns at the campus level.

Yearlong Residency Prepares Strong TESOL Candidates

Four new videos are available this week in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the urban residencies of the State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego School of Education. In these final videos of the series, educators discuss the significance of getting to know students well and how the yearlong clinical experience helps TESOL candidates prepare for edTPA–and beyond.


Participants in the clinical partnerships of the SUNY Oswego School of Education say one of the significant benefits of a yearlong residency is that teachers get to know their students well and engage deeply in their community.