15 Mar2022
By Weade James
The AACTE Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition, sponsored by the Council for Academic Deans for Research Education Institutions (CADREI), Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU), Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA), and AACTE was held during the recent Holmes Preconference at the 74th AACTE Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The Holmes Program provides mentorship, professional development, and a supportive peer network to racially and ethnically diverse students who are pursuing graduate degrees in education. The purpose of the dissertation competition is to support Holmes Program participants’ dissertation research expenses, which are essential to the completion of their doctoral studies. These expenses vary and may include travel for ethnographic field work, specialized software, research assistance, transcription costs, and other research-related expenditures.
24 Feb2022
By Weade James
The AACTE Holmes Program continues to grow with diverse scholars who are engaged in innovative and impactful research in the education field. AACTE is excited to welcome three new scholars from the University of North Texas and Lehigh University. Congratulations to these new scholars on being selected to join the Holmes Program: Zutella Holmes, Mohammad Bahadori Fallah, and Devon Carter.
10 Jan2022
By Weade James
AACTE, in partnership with Texas Christian University (TCU), is pleased to announce a new Holmes post-doctoral fellowship opportunity. TCU is seeking a DEI Scholar Fellow in the Educational Leadership Higher Education Leadership program designed to support teaching and research efforts. The DEI Scholar Fellow will receive culturally relevant supports from the Holmes Program at AACT. Launched in 1991, the Holmes Program provides mentorship, peer support and professional development to master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral scholars who self-identify as racially and ethnically diverse and are pursuing a program of study in education. The selected fellow will engage in shared learning experiences alongside 200 active Holmes Scholars from across the country and will benefit from an alumni network of 700+ faculty, deans and leaders in education.
22 Sep2021
By Weade James
The Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) is seeking your help to recruit teacher candidates, teachers, and faculty for its upcoming focus groups. The Consortium, which is comprised of educator preparation programs (EPPs) and state and local education agency representatives across 14 states, is examining the processes and considerations that states use to determine cut scores for entrance (i.e., Praxis Core) and teacher licensure examinations.
Through data collection of key stakeholders, analysis of trends and policies, and shared learning, the Consortium will produce recommendations and guidelines to establish equitable criteria for setting qualifying scores and model state policies that promote equity and diversity in the profession.
23 Aug2021
By Weade James
AACTE is excited to announce Congressman Mondaire Jones will participate in its 2021 Washington Week virtual conference Holmes Program. Representative Jones serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor. He is a champion of public education and understands that a quality education leads to intergenerational mobility.
About Rep. Mondaire Jones
Congressman Jones is serving his first term as the Congressman from New York’s 17th District, encompassing all of Rockland County and parts of central and northern Westchester County.
A product of East Ramapo public schools, Rep. Jones was raised in Section 8 housing and on food stamps in the Village of Spring Valley by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family.
18 Aug2021
By Weade James
The AACTE Holmes Program continues to expand to support new scholars in their academic pursuit. We are pleased to welcome Ava Jackson, Holmes Post-doctoral Fellow at Boston University, and Elizabeth León Zaragoza, Holmes doctoral student at University of Nevada Las Vegas, to the Holmes community. Congratulations to these scholars and their institutions for their commitment to promoting excellence and success of diverse scholars.
03 Aug2021
By Weade James
This year’s Washington Week virtual conference is quickly approaching, and we have exciting events planned for AACTE members – including participants of the Holmes Program. Holmes Scholars are encouraged to participate in the Holmes Policy Institute (September 8 – 9) and Holmes Advanced Policy Short Course (September 14-15) during Washington Week. These events will focus on policy solutions to address systemic barriers that impede on the academic achievement of diverse students.
Some confirmed speakers include Jessica Cardichon, assistant deputy secretary, office of planning, evaluation, and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education; Erica McCray, co-Ddrector of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center; Michael Brady, professor and chair at Florida Atlantic University; Amanda Lewis, director for research on race and public policy at the University of Illinois – Chicago; Amy Wells, professor at Columbia Teacher’s College, and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
22 Jul2021
By Weade James
Addressing the needs of new teachers affected by the twin crises.
Over the past year, COVID-19 created an uncertain landscape that deeply impacted our nation’s educational systems. Compounding the effects of the pandemic, another crisis emerged—racial injustice. These twin crises together have generated new obstacles and exacerbated those that have long been a concern of the educator community. As we reopen schools and return to in-class instruction, teachers face unprecedented challenges toward “getting back to normal,” including safety concerns, the need to address learning loss, and the social and emotional well-being of their students—a daunting undertaking for even the most experienced teacher.
21 Jun2021
By Margaret Caspe and Weade James
“Teacher education programs need more guidance on how to include family engagement.” Department Chair, Early Childhood/Elementary Education, Public University
“We have recently hired faculty for whom family engagement is a focus. We will be incorporating more family engagement activities and opportunities for learning more about how to engage families.” Department Chair, General Education, Public University
“Graduates feel moderately prepared [for family engagement]. They remark that more focus in this area would be useful. Employer surveys confirm this.” Department Chair, Early Childhood and Special Education, Private University
These are just some of the many ideas and insights that higher education faculty and department chairs shared with the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) via its National Survey of Colleges and Universities Preparing Educators for Family Engagement. Our thanks to everyone who completed the survey, which was designed to understand how educator preparation programs are preparing education candidates to engage and work with families and communities. The survey was conducted in partnership with AACTE, CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation), MAEC (Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium), NEA (National Education Association), and faculty and state leaders who are part of NAFSCE’s Pre-service Family Engagement Consortium.
05 May2021
By Weade James
To support the academic, professional and personal growth of Holmes Program participants, AACTE will offer a learning series this summer to Holmes doctoral and master’s students at participating institutions. The sessions offered in the upcoming series will be led by diverse and accomplished leaders in the field. All sessions will build on prior professional development that have been offered to the Holmes Program participants and will address their unique needs as graduate students of color who are pursuing degrees in education.
The session details, descriptions, and links to register are below.
05 May2021
By Weade James
AACTE is pleased to announce the selected states for the Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA), a new initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Consortium, comprised of 14 state teams that include educator preparation programs (EPPs) and their state and local education agencies, will evaluate cut scores for entrance into EPPs, and develop recommendations and model state policies to support state efforts to advance equity and recruit more diverse teacher candidates into the profession.
The 14 selected states and institutions include the following:
23 Mar2021
By Weade James
AACTE is pleased to welcome new Holmes Scholars from the University of Louisville and the University of North Florida. These institutions’ expansion of their Holmes Program signals their continued commitment to investing in initiatives that seek to advance equity in the education profession.
Easter Brown is in her second year in the pursuit of her Ed.D. Brown served as a classroom teacher for six years and three years as resident clinical faculty for a professional development school in partnership with the University of North Florida (UNF) before becoming an elementary school administrator. In continued efforts to bridge the gap between higher education and K-12 education, Brown serves as a member of the Business and Industry Leadership Team for Education and Human Services at Florida State College at Jacksonvilleand UNF’s Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Advisory Board. Brown is passionate in culturally responsive pedagogy in elementary school curriculum and the leadership journeys of Black female educators in predominantly white institutions, specifically K-12 education.
08 Mar2021
By Weade James
AACTE is pleased to introduce the 2021-22 Holmes Council, an elected body comprised of current Holmes Program doctoral and master’s students. The Council serves as a student voice to AACTE on the programmatic needs of the Holmes Program. All newly elected officers will serve a one-year term, with exception of the president and vice president who will each serve for two consecutive years.
02 Mar2021
By Weade James
During AACTE’s 73rd Annual Meeting last week, Pricella Morris, Phllandra Smith, and Moe Green were announced as recipients of the 2021 Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition (DFC).
Over the last four years, AACTE has held an annual Holmes Program DFC to support Holmes scholars’ dissertation research related expenses. This annual event is sponsored by AACTE and its partners, including the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI), Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU), the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education (AILACTE), and the National the National Association of Holmes Scholars Association (NAHSA).
22 Feb2021
By Weade James
AACTE recognizes the challenges that many of our members are facing because of the recent winter storms. We believe that your safety and well-being are most important. As such, we are extending the application deadline for the Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA). The new deadline to apply is March 5 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
We appreciate the overwhelming interest that have been expressed to join the Consortium and hope that this extension will provide much needed respite to those impacted by widespread power and utility outages, and other challenges to their everyday needs. Given the new deadline, all applicants will be notified of their application decision on March 22, 2021.
Please direct any questions about the Call for Applications to me at wjames@aacte.org.
