27 Mar2017
By Tim Finklea
It’s not just AACTE that needs your expertise as a volunteer (and we do – see our current call for volunteers!). The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is also looking for volunteers for various roles in the agency’s work. The CAEP applications are open now through April 1.
Please note that the CAEP call for service seeks a diverse population of educators, not only faculty from accredited programs; read more about the varied perspectives sought here. You can help represent the voice of educator preparation by applying for one of the following roles (links will open a PDF position description):
16 Mar2017
By Dana Dunwoody and Tim Finklea
This month, more than 80 participants in the AACTE Holmes Program convened with coordinators and alumni for our annual preconference event at the AACTE Annual Meeting. The 2-day program (see the agenda) led by members of the 2016-2017 Holmes Scholars Council, the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA), and AACTE provided a rich variety of integrative and thought-provoking sessions and interactions.
29 Nov2016
By Rodrick Lucero and Tim Finklea
It’s been a busy fall of traveling for the AACTE Member Engagement and Support team as we’ve been visiting campuses to document exemplary clinical partnerships and practices for our online Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series, part of the AACTE Innovation Exchange.
This fall, we’ve been filming at St. John’s University (NY); the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and California State University, Long Beach. We are also busy scheduling visits with State University of New York at Oswego and Butler University (IN) for spring 2017. At each location, we’ve met with deans, professors, teacher candidates, school district principals, teachers, and PK-12 students to see firsthand how a variety of programs are developing and sustaining successful clinical partnerships. The video production company “Ideas That Breathe” has been a valuable partner for filming, editing, and producing a compelling series from each site we visit. Each series is then segmented into episodes for posting on the Innovation Exchange and highlighting in the Ed Prep Matters blog.
04 Oct2016
By Tim Finklea
More than 1,400 education professionals turned out for the 2016 Fall CAEP Conference (CAEPCon) in partnership with AACTE, held September 29–October 1 in Washington, DC.
The conference opened the afternoon of September 29 with words of welcome from AACTE President/CEO Sharon P. Robinson and CAEP President Christopher Koch. Robinson said that AACTE “stands shoulder to shoulder with CAEP to make accreditation a reality,” and that “we believe in accreditation because accreditation adds value.”
06 Sep2016
By Tim Finklea
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) seeks presentation proposals for sessions to be held at the 2017 spring and/or fall CAEPCon. Proposals must be submitted online by October 10.
01 Aug2016
By Tim Finklea
Please join the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in partnership with AACTE for this fall’s CAEP Conference, September 29–October 1 in Washington, DC. Online registration is open now through September 9.
The CAEP Conference, known as “CAEPCon,” is an opportunity to share evidence of innovations, continuous improvement, and transformational practice as well as to be informed on the CAEP accreditation process. Held twice a year, the event convenes educator preparation providers, state and local education agencies, and various education organizations and associations to share strategies and best practices along with innovative ideas about accreditation’s role in ensuring candidate readiness.
28 Jun2016
By Tim Finklea
At its biannual meeting this month, the Board of Directors of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) adopted language to clarify and refine the academic achievement component required in Standard 3: Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity. Other board action included approving revisions to the CAEP Standards for Advanced Programs, bylaw updates, budgetary work, and other business.
For Standard 3, Component 2—which addresses candidates’ academic achievement—the following actions were approved, according to a statement from the CAEP board:
26 Jan2016
By Tim Finklea
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) seeks reviewers and other volunteers for various roles in the agency’s work. Applications are open through March 18.
It is important for teacher educators to be represented in the CAEP Volunteer Corps, and this can be achieved if you volunteer! Please note that the call for service seeks a diverse population of educators, not only faculty from programs holding CAEP accreditation.
Volunteers are needed for the following roles (note that governance committee volunteers will not be solicited until next year):
29 Sep2015
By Hannah Maes and Tim Finklea
The 2015 Fall CAEP Conference in partnership with AACTE was held September 17-19 in Washington, DC, drawing a crowd of more than 1,300 education professionals to talk process, progress, and partnerships in quality educator preparation and accreditation. And it’s already time to submit session proposals for both of next year’s CAEPCons—they are due this Sunday, October 4, by midnight EDT.
07 Jul2015
By Tim Finklea
More than 200 participants from a variety of education settings just completed the first Online Professional Seminar (OPS) in the series being offered by AACTE’s new Quality Support Initiative. With another 250-plus registrants signed up for the second free seminar starting next week, the series is off to a strong start—and there is still space in upcoming cohorts!
The focus of each OPS is a topic relating to quality assessment and/or accreditation. Seminars are 3-week, interactive online courses for current and aspiring professional educators, PK-16. Courses are open to all educators, whether AACTE members or nonmembers, and the first two seminars in the series—Building Quality Assessments and Using Data for Improvement—are offered free of charge. These two introductory OPSs can be taken in any order.
02 Jun2015
By Tim Finklea
On May 26, the College of Education at William Paterson University (NJ) brought together university, school, and community members for a very special event organized by Candace Burns, dean of the college, and Sharon Leathers, director of educational innovations and grant initiatives. I was privileged to participate along with my colleague Rodrick Lucero, AACTE’s vice president for member engagement and support.
The event centered on the award-winning documentary American Promise, which follows two African American boys through 13 years of schooling in a unique coming-of-age film. Around the country, internationally, and through the PBS network, this amazing film has provoked new conversations and raised difficult questions about what the promise of education means in America, particularly for children of color.
15 May2015
By Tim Finklea
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) seeks presentation proposals for its fall “CAEPCon” conference in partnership with AACTE, to be held September 17-19 at the Washington (DC) Hilton Hotel. Proposals must be submitted online by Sunday, May 24.
12 May2015
By Tim Finklea
A new series of videos presents successful school leaders in action, demonstrating five key practices found to be effective in improving teaching and learning. The videos are free resources that may be a helpful tool for principal preparation programs.
17 Feb2015
By Tim Finklea
Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 National Teacher of the Year
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has announced that 2010 National Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling will be a keynote speaker for the 2015 Spring CAEP Conference in Denver, Colorado. The theme of the conference, which takes place April 9-10, is Preparing Effective, Classroom-Ready Teachers: An Evidence-Based Approach.
In 2010, Wessling took a short break from her post teaching English at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa, to come to the White House to be named National Teacher of the Year. Wessling, a National Board Certified Teacher, has since leveraged this title to give her students and peers a voice.
28 Oct2014
By Tim Finklea and Kristin McCabe
A recent evaluation of the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) found that program graduates are making a significant impact in Boston Public Schools, providing more racially/ethnically diverse teachers and staying in the classroom at higher rates. A webinar hosted by REL Central earlier this month highlighted the findings and challenges of the evaluation, which was conducted by John Papay and colleagues at Brown University (RI).
The study compared BTR graduates to other novice teachers in the urban school system, asking the following questions:
- Does the BTR program prepare more teachers than other pathways in hard-to-staff subjects such as math and science?
- Are BTR recruits more racially and ethnically diverse than teachers from other pathways?
- Do BTR recruits remain in the district longer than other new hires?
- Are BTR teachers more effective in raising student test scores in math and English language arts than teachers with the same level of experience from other pathways?
