22 Jul2024
By Tennessee Department of Education
The Tennessee Department of Education announced over $2.6 million in Perkins Reserve Grant (PRG) grant funds have been awarded to 55 school districts for the 2024-25 school year to support Career and Technical Education (CTE) across the state.
The PRG grant awards support the implementation of programs of study aligned with emerging technology in regionally identified high-skill, high-wage, and/or in-demand occupations or industries, implement STEM in all CTE classrooms, and increase support for special education students. Additionally, the PRG grant opportunity is designed to support districts in rural areas and maintain high CTE student participation rates.
22 Jul2024
By Margaret Caspe
Over the past four years, the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) has partnered with AACTE to understand the landscape of educator preparation for family and community engagement and to develop a framework to bring together educator preparation programs, families, schools, and policymakers to create systemic change in this space. This partnership prepares educators to develop the competencies to reflect on their work with families and to connect, collaborate, and lead alongside them is one of the most important ways to impact students in classroom settings positively.
Continuing this work, Reyna Hernandez and I are honored to provide the commentary for the upcoming special issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) focused on family, school, and community partnerships and edited by Valerie Hill-Jackson, Ed.D. In our commentary, we share the cumulative findings of nine collaboratives working to enhance how educators are prepared to engage families. These collaboratives linked educator preparation programs nationwide with families, communities, and school partners. The collaboratives then carried out and collected data on short-term projects that enhanced family engagement in educator preparation through changes to coursework, clinical experience, and other programmatic areas.
22 Jul2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) released proposed regulations that would increase college access for high school students, provide better public data on student outcomes, including increased oversight over distance education programs, and ensure the student aid programs work in the best interests of students. The regulations propose changes to three distinct areas, including the federal TRIO programs, Distance Education, and Return to Title IV (R2T4). The proposed regulations build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to increase college access and affordability and improve the quality and value of postsecondary education.
“Under President Biden’s leadership, we continue our relentless push to make higher education more affordable and accessible to all Americans. The regulations proposed today, if enacted, would help expand both access and affordability to our most disadvantaged students: those from low-income backgrounds, students without immigration status, and students with disabilities,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “By broadening eligibility for federal programs and placing guardrails that help protect against situations that leave students with debt but no degree, we can open more doors to the life-changing potential of higher education.”
15 Jul2024
By Arizona Department of Education
State schools chief Tom Horne says the newly passed state budget includes a change that he has long sought: the elimination of the Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) program, which many educators consider an unnecessary bureaucratic requirement and a waste of classroom time.
“Over time, the KEA had ballooned into an endless morass of paperwork that meant teachers had to spend too much time on bureaucratic requirements versus time with students,” Horne said. “Now the legislature has taken the welcome step of entirely removing the legal requirement for the KEA, which frees up more time for teachers to spend on classroom instruction.”
15 Jul2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released three new resources with information for students, parents and families, and schools addressing the civil rights of students with sickle cell disease, epilepsy, and cancer. OCR issued these resources during a month that marks World Sickle Cell Day and National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week.
The resources inform students with disabilities, and their families and schools, about relevant legal rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities by institutions that accept federal financial assistance, which includes almost all public schools and public and private institutions of higher education. These new resources, which are applicable to all levels of education, explain when these medical conditions trigger protections under Section 504, what kind of modifications an educational institution may need to take to avoid unlawful discrimination, and what an institution may need to do to remedy past discrimination.
15 Jul2024
By Gayle E. Hutchinson
At its June meeting, the AACTE Board of Directors voted to suspend adding new members to the board in 2025. This decision is based on recommendations by the Board Composition Task Force, which I chair. The board created the task force in June 2023 to review and reexamine the current board structure that has been in place for at least 50 years.
The task force, which is composed of current and former AACTE board leaders, reviewed the literature on best practices in association governance and examined the structures in place at sister organizations. As a result of this study, our preliminary recommendations are to shift from the current representative structure for the Board of Directors — which is a 20th century model — to a competency-based board for which all AACTE members would be eligible. We also recommended reducing the size of the board from 20+ to no more than 12 to facilitate and promote board engagement in all aspects of association governance.
15 Jul2024
By AACTE
AACTE’s Holmes Program continues to grow, onboarding new programs and Scholars throughout the summer. Join AACTE in welcoming Holmes Scholars from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Old Dominion University to this vibrant community.
15 Jul2024
Study will focus on creating and implementing a curriculum grounded in historically responsive literacy and Black historical consciousness.
By Jane Fusco
This article was originally published on the University of Rhode Island’s website and is reprinted with permission.
Tashal Brown, assistant professor of urban education and secondary social studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI), has been awarded a $70,000 Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship grant from the National Academy of Education (NAEd), to research the influence of anti-Blackness in U.S. education and promote comprehensive representations of Black experiences in middle and high school curriculum.
Brown’s project, entitled, “Disrupting Anti-Black Logics in Education: Cultivating Critical Perspectives and Expansive Representations of Black Histories and Cultures in School Curriculum,” explores curricula that neglect Black histories and cultures, often portraying Blackness through a lens of trauma that harms Black students by denying their humanity, promoting deficit narratives, and distorting or prohibiting teaching Black history.
“Drawing from critical race theory and employing intersectional methodologies, the research aims to disrupt prevailing narratives and elevate the voices and experiences of Black students and other youth of color,” Brown said. “These frameworks are designed to authentically engage with students’ backgrounds, identities, and literacy practices, fostering a more inclusive understanding of Blackness.”
09 Jul2024
By Kyle Mittan
Photo courtesy of AILDI
A new center at the University of Arizona is one of only four designated by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to lead a collective effort to empower tribal communities across the country to revitalize and maintain their languages.
A five-year grant of $1.7 million from the Department began funding the new West Region Native American Language Resource Center in the fall.
The new center, administratively housed in the university’s American Indian Language Development Institute, is one of four inaugural centers doing similar work at other institutions. The others are a national center at the University of Hawaii and three regional centers at the University of Oregon and Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska. The U of A center will primarily serve Indigenous communities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
08 Jul2024
By AACTE
The AACTE Awards Program recognizes excellence in both member institutions and individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of educator preparation. In identifying notable programs, practices, and activities, the AACTE 2025 Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards are now accepting entries through September 15.
08 Jul2024
By Mark Locklear
This article was originally published on the University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s website and is reprinted with permission.
Moore County Schools Superintendent Tim Locklair, left, Sandhills Community College President Sandy Stewart and UNCP Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is partnering with Sandhills Community College (SCC) and Moore County Schools (MCS) to combat the teacher shortage while supporting local students pursuing careers in the classroom.
Representatives from the three institutions introduced the Grow Moore Teachers Pathway Scholarship during a ceremony at SCC on Wednesday. The scholarship is available to students graduating from the Moore County school system.
08 Jul2024
By AACTE
Special education teachers and advocates are invited to utilize resources developed by CEEDAR to improve student outcomes, implement new strategies, and gain valuable leadership skills. AACTE collaborates with CEEDAR to offer insights from comprehensive educator preparation programs and educational partners who have excelled in recruiting and preparing candidates to become fully licensed special educators.
08 Jul2024
By New York State Education Department
The New York State Education Department and TEACH are partnering to launch TeachNY.org, a new digitally powered recruitment platform developed in collaboration with a wide coalition of New York schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and education organizations, Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced. The mission of TEACH New York (TeachNY) is to identify and cultivate the next generation of teachers throughout the state.
“We must continually design, develop, and implement innovative approaches that nurture a highly skilled, diverse teaching workforce,” Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said. “TeachNY is precisely the kind of initiative that will inspire and ignite the future generation of New York State teachers.”
08 Jul2024
By U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced more than $44.5 million for 22 grants under the Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) program to improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students through the development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region.
“Rural communities face unique challenges in educating, training, and developing high-skill workers—yet they are also home to students with unique skills and potential,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “These dedicated funds will ensure that students in rural areas have access to postsecondary credentials and other resources that lead to high-quality career pathways and economic success.”
27 Jun2024
Promoting Equity and Excellence: Jackson’s Journey in Science Education
By Amelia Q. Rivera
The AACTE Holmes Scholars Program is proud to feature Jennifer Jackson, Ph.D., as the June 2024 Holmes Scholar of the Month. Jackson recently defended her dissertation last month and will be graduating in August in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on science education at Pennsylvania State University, where she has distinguished herself through her research, teaching, service, and leadership.
Jackson’s research focuses on how secondary science teachers communicate within professional learning spaces while attending to equitable, culturally responsive pedagogy. Her work explores how providing professional learning opportunities for teachers to engage in identity work can inform their teaching practices and ability to create inclusive science classrooms. Jackson has presented her research at prestigious conferences like the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and has traveled abroad to present her work in Germany at the 2023 European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) summer school as a summer institute fellow. Additionally, she has several publications in research journals such as the Journal of Science Teacher Education.
