12 Mar2018
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Wednesday, March 21, AACTE will host a free webinar on principal leadership, supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of the Association’s ongoing partnership to disseminate the latest research and practice innovations in principal preparation. Please join us from 3:00-3:45 p.m. EDT for Leveraging Community Resources to Strengthen Clinical Practice for New Principals: Partnering with Legal and Social Services.
Difficult and changing situations with students and their families require principals to broaden their support network beyond school resources. The panelists on this webinar will discuss scenarios and possible resources available within the community. They will also share ideas for making intentional connections with community partners.
08 Mar2018
By Kristin McCabe
Opening Keynote speakers Lynn M. Gangone, Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, and Kimberly Tobey on stage at the Baltimore Convention Center
To all 1,900 of the AACTE members, partners, and supporters who joined us last week in Baltimore for the 2018 Annual Meeting: Thank you! Your presence was a valuable part of “Celebrating Our Professional Identity” for the Association’s 70th anniversary.
Over the coming weeks, Ed Prep Matters will bring you a variety of conference coverage. Meanwhile, you can view (and share!) conference photos on Facebook, browse the event’s Twitter feed, and enjoy the following recap videos:
01 Mar2018
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 71st Annual Meeting, to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, February 22-24, 2019. We also invite applications by May 22 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
22 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Participants in the 2017 JUSTEC annual conference in Hawaii
The 30th annual conference of the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) will be held September 14-17 at Bukkyo University in Kyoto, Japan. Conference organizers invite proposals for paper and poster presentations by March 15 under the theme “Next Steps in Teacher Education in the U.S. and Japan: Celebrating 30 Years of JUSTEC.”
To commemorate the milestone anniversary, participants in this year’s conference will reflect on past collaborations and accomplishments, assess the current changing landscape of teacher education, and look ahead to the new approaches, frameworks, technologies, and international relationships to support teacher learning and educational research.
21 Feb2018
By Zachary VanHouten
Congressional briefing panelists (L–R) Jane Bray, Jennifer Robinson, Mario Santos, Lisa Fischman, Danielle Riley, and Qualyn McIntyre. Photo courtesy of Megan Shearin, Old Dominion University.
A well-attended congressional briefing February 14 highlighted the positive impact of Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants in schools around the country, aiming to inspire lawmakers and staff to continue supporting the program as they reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) and determine appropriations for federal spending.
In a packed Senate hearing room, the Valentine’s Day briefing presented testimony about how TQP grants have catalyzed improvements to educator preparation programs as well as to the schools and communities they serve. Dean Jane Bray of Old Dominion University (VA) served as moderator for the panel discussion.
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
This year marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and we want to celebrate with you at the 2018 Annual Meeting! As we honor the past, present, and future of educator preparation in Baltimore, Maryland, several fun activities will be offered to engage attendees, including the AACTE History Trivia Contest. Come test your knowledge about the history of AACTE and have a chance to win one of three prizes!
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
In an online radio show February 12, Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs interviewed AACTE staff members about the upcoming AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Rodrick Lucero (vice president) and Matthew Wales (senior director of meetings, events, and special projects) joined Jacobs to discuss preparations for the event, which marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and what to expect on site at the Baltimore Convention Center and Hilton Baltimore.
Jacobs opened with an overarching question about AACTE’s purpose, in honor of the Association’s 70th anniversary. Lucero said it boils down to uniting the field in a national narrative, pooling everyone’s research and practice and solutions so that progress anywhere can benefit students everywhere. He emphasized that this narrative must be “put forward by the experts, and those are the people that are trained and able to speak about the work we do with kids, and with training teachers.”
16 Feb2018
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
The authors are organizers and moderators of the principal preparation webinar series for AACTE.
On February 21, AACTE will kick off the new interactive webinar series, “Leveraging Community Resources to Strengthen Clinical Practice for New Principals,” supported by The Wallace Foundation. These free webinars are designed to build on the Wallace Foundation’s 2016 report Improving University Principal Preparation Programs: Five Themes From the Field, which highlights the need for realistic clinical experiences in quality preparation programs.
09 Feb2018
By Shardae Proctor
Did you catch AACTE’s recent Facebook Live sessions hosted by our Director of Member Engagement Tim Finklea? As we prepare for our big conference next month, we want to let you in on some of the excitement through our new live web series titled “What to Expect at AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting.” Join us on Facebook Live for a behind-the-scenes view of AACTE staff and their preparations for Baltimore!
Considering that the Annual Meeting is just weeks away, our whole staff is in high gear, and we will bring you one live episode each week featuring different guests. If you can’t join the live shows, don’t worry – they are captured for later viewing as well. To watch our first two installments of “What to Expect at AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting,” just click on the thumbnails above.
07 Feb2018
By Matthew Wales
The AACTE Annual Meeting is just 3 weeks away, and in order to maximize your time in Baltimore, you will want to do some advance preparation. With over 250 sessions covering a wide variety of topics of interest, you are guaranteed to find sessions and content that fits your needs. Be sure to check out the AACTE Event Planner, where you can search the Annual Meeting offerings by keywords, topics, conference strands, and other criteria to locate sessions and create your personalized conference itinerary.
One place you most certainly don’t want to miss is the Conference Community Center. Located on the second floor of the Hilton Baltimore, the center is the place for you to connect with colleagues in a dynamic, engaging environment. Conveniently situated in the Key Ballroom Foyer, adjacent to many of AACTE’s Learning Labs, the center offers you a place to take a break and network, while also engaging with our Annual Meeting sponsors in the following booths:
06 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
As AACTE heads into the final weeks of planning for the 70th Annual Meeting, we can’t wait to welcome you to Baltimore! Be sure to visit the Online Event Planner to create a personal schedule that makes the most of your time. In addition to adding the opening and closing keynote sessions, you’ll want to select the Learning Labs and “Deeper Dive” sessions that are of greatest interest to you.
The Deeper Dives take the place of AACTE’s former “Major Forums,” providing a large-format, expert-facilitated exploration of a key topic during one dedicated time slot each day. Refreshed for 2018 with new expectations for audience interaction and other adult-learning principles, five such sessions will be offered this year:
05 Feb2018
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
This spring, AACTE will present a new webinar series, “Leveraging Community Resources to Strengthen Clinical Practice for New Principals,” supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of the Association’s ongoing partnership to disseminate the latest research and practice innovations in principal preparation.
As the roles and responsibilities of a principal continuously evolve, this free webinar series will explore how these changes impact principals’ day-to-day work and how to support new principals in navigating challenges successfully. The four webinars in the series build on the Wallace Foundation’s 2016 report Improving University Principal Preparation Programs: Five Themes From the Field, which highlights the need for realistic clinical experiences in quality preparation programs.
30 Jan2018
By Sara Hiller
How do you know your graduates are any good?
What should an institutional assessment system include – and what should it not?
How do you establish faculty buy-in for quality assurance?
These aren’t rhetorical questions, or even cruel riddles! They are real questions to be answered at a half-day preconference workshop on quality assurance, to be held Wednesday, February 28, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., in conjunction with the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
26 Jan2018
By Amanda Lester
Interested in learning more about what’s been happening at AACTE this year? Looking for information about innovative initiatives being led by AACTE members and partners? For all of this and more, be sure to add the AACTE Gallery time blocks to your personalized 2018 Annual Meeting Online Event Planner schedule. Returning to the Annual Meeting for a second year, the Gallery will offer opportunities to network while learning about promising innovations in educator preparation.
In addition to offering interactive presentations, this year’s Gallery will feature a dedicated coffee and conversation space where Annual Meeting participants can chat with representatives from AACTE member and partner initiatives, as well as AACTE staff, to learn more about programs and opportunities of interest. The AACTE membership booth will also be located nearby, and staff will be on hand to share information and answer questions.
22 Jan2018
By Amanda Lester
If you are looking for an opportunity to engage in a dynamic day of discussion and information sharing about the preparation of school leaders, look no further. With the generous support of The Wallace Foundation, AACTE is excited to again be able to host a free, day-long preconference event before AACTE’s Annual Meeting to share ideas and issues focused on strengthening the principal pipeline.
Strengthening the Pipeline to Transform the Principalship will be held Wednesday, February 28, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor. Participants will draw upon emergent Wallace Knowledge in School Leadership as well as presentations on emergent policy issues, initiatives to improve practice, and exemplars of practice in educational leadership to explore approaches and address persistent problems in principal preparation.
