Support the Next Generation of Teachers to Meet the Needs of 21st Century Learners

At AACTE, we believe in the power of community to transform the future of teacher education. On GivingTuesday, AACTE launched its inaugural end-of year-giving campaign inviting stakeholders to join in advancing the work of and support for teacher education. On behalf of AACTE, thank you to those who participated in the campaign’s kickoff.

As a supporter, you champion the work of an association that remains the leader in advancing a highly qualified and diverse educator workforce to meet the needs of PreK-12 and higher education communities.

With the goal of raising $10,000 before the end of the year, AACTE is still accepting gifts, no matter the size.

Donate today and designate how you want your tax-deductible charitable gift to be used.

Northeastern State University Opens Center for Comprehensive Teacher Education

RCTE ribbon cutting Tahlequah: NSU officials gather to cut the ribbon on the new RiverHawk Center for Teacher Excellence in Tahlequah on November 13.

Northeastern State University celebrated the opening of the RiverHawk Center for Teacher Excellence with ribbon cuttings on the Tahlequah and Broken Arrow campuses on November 13. 

NSU was awarded a four-year grant totaling more than $1 million through the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program to open the centers with the goal of increasing the number of comprehensively prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds. 

Through this grant, NSU can help potential education majors, teacher candidates and current teachers be successful in their career journey to become certified, impactful and employed teachers by providing a comprehensive, positive and supportive environment for them to learn and grow.

AACTE in the News: Discussing Factors in EPP Enrollment Trends in EdSurge Podcast

AACTE’s Senior Advisor Jacqueline King, Ph.D., was recently featured in The EdSurge Podcast where she discussed enrollment trends in teacher education programs across the United States with host Jeffrey R. Young.

The episode, entitled “The Growing Push to Recruit New Teachers,” goes in-depth on recruitment efforts from schools of education and how some of those efforts focus on further diversifying the profession.

The episode is available to listen to on Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotify, and other major streaming platforms.

In North Carolina: New Round of Grants for Digital Teaching and Learning Available

Digital Teaching and Learning in North Carolina’s public schools will benefit from a new round of competitive grants that were approved on December 7, 2023, by the State Board of Education.

Up to $1.25 million in grants funded by the General Assembly through the state’s Digital Learning Initiative will be available to school districts, charter schools, lab schools, and regional schools during the 2024-2025 school year. Over the past seven years, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Digital Teaching and Learning Division has committed more than $10 million in similar grants to help schools and districts develop and strengthen digital-age learning initiatives.

“This agency has had a long history of prioritizing and securing funding for Digital Teaching and Learning grants, and I’m excited to see us continue these efforts today,” State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said. “As our world continues to become more interconnected, technology embedded within North Carolina classrooms will better help our students prepare for the wide range of opportunities upon graduation. I look forward to the creative proposals that will be put forth by schools across the state and seeing how they will enhance teaching and learning for all students.”

Attend the Diversified Teacher Workforce Preconference at #AACTE24

As part of AACTE’s 2024 Annual Meeting, the Diversified Teacher Workforce (DTW) topical action group welcomes PK-20 practitioners, researchers, and community stakeholders to a day-long pre-conference institute on Thursday, February 15, as a part of the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting. This year’s institute will include interactive sessions with scholar-activists from across the country.

Participants will have opportunities to network with others with similar commitments as well as to share and plan in cross-institutional, multi-level working groups throughout the day. We’ve provided information for several of the planned sessions below. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to network with Holmes Scholars, the next frontier of diverse educator preparation professionals innovating in the field, at both a networking lunch and evening reception. Don’t miss your opportunity to secure your spot before advanced registration ends.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $93 Million in Grants

The Grants Will Support Research and Development at HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs, and Postsecondary Completion for Underserved Students

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today $93 million in grant awards to 20 colleges and universities to support research and development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and to improve completion rates for underserved students.

The grants are being provided under the Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) program and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program. The RDI program provides funds to HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to transform their research infrastructure, including strengthening research productivity, faculty expertise, physical infrastructure, and partnerships leading to increases in external funding. The PSSG program aims to equitably improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer, credit accumulation, and completion, by leveraging data and implementing, scaling, and rigorously evaluating evidence-based approaches.

In New Jersey: Higher Education Student Assistance Authority Highlights Two Initiatives to Address Educator Shortage

The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) highlighted two key initiatives to help attract and retain teachers as part of the Murphy Administration’s broader efforts to address the K-12 educator shortage in New Jersey. In addition to raising awareness of the recent launch of the application period for the New Jersey Teacher Loan Redemption Program, HESAA Executive Director David Socolow met with key stakeholders at Stockton University to discuss the vital support for New Jersey’s education workforce from both the loan redemption program and the new Student-Teacher Stipend Pilot Program.

“With one of the top education systems in our nation, New Jersey is looking to grow and strengthen our educational workforce,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “Teachers are the lifeblood of our school systems, helping to prepare the future leaders of our state, country, and the world. It is of critical importance that we create competitive initiatives that attract and retain top educator talent by ensuring financial barriers don’t keep great teachers out of the classroom.”

EDSAFE AI Alliance Fellowship Nominations Open Now

EDSAFE AI Alliance, which AACTE is a part of, is opening nominations for the Women in AI Fellowship and AI Catalyst Fellowship, which are two, year-long programs that support exceptional and impact-minded individuals by providing an outstanding platform to learn and work on questions of AI in education. Fellows have the opportunity to work with world-renowned experts in AI safety, ethics, and policy. They also participate in a rigorous seminar series, where they learn about the latest advances in AI research and discuss the potential impacts of AI on society.

Indigenous Students Put Language and Culture First in Early Childhood Education Program

Courtesy of the University of Washington

Jasmyne Diaz’s young daughters came home one day from the Tulalip Early Learning Academy (TELA), their birth-to-kindergarten child care center, singing a stanza from “huy syaʔyaʔ”— the Lushootseed goodbye song. Over and over they sang the lines they remembered, not knowing what followed. As a member of the Tulalip Tribes, Diaz recognized the Lushootseed words but didn’t know the language well enough to help with the rest of the song. She thought of her great-grandmother — a Lushootseed educator — and her grandmother, who’d earned a doctorate in education. She thought of her three girls and the future she wanted for them. She said, “I decided if they knew Lushootseed, I also had to learn and help them.”

Diaz is now a teaching assistant with the Tulalip Tribes’ Lushootseed Language Department, teaching not only her own children but many of the community’s young students. Diaz appreciates the important work TELA is doing to educate the tribe’s littlest learners, infusing their early education with the language, culture, and teachings of their elders.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Updated Resource to Support the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs

The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) today announced the release of an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs.

The HHS-ED Policy Statement on the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs builds upon a statement originally released in 2015 and includes a renewed commitment and urgency, as children with disabilities continue to face barriers to accessing and fully participating in inclusive early childhood programs. The statement was updated consistent with a directive to both agencies in President Biden’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers.

Lunch & Learn: Improve Candidate Classroom Observation with ATLAS Tool

We asked AACTE faculty members how ATLAS (Accomplished Teaching, Learning, and Schools,®) a tool developed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), has helped their pre-service teachers.

“If you are interested in directing your students to see better the actions teachers take to structure learning environments, then I encourage you to give ALTAS a try,” said Cam McComb, Ph.D., associate professor of visual art education at Eastern Michigan University and co-leader of the art teacher certification program.

AACTE Introduces New Holmes Scholars

With 65 active member institutions, the Holmes Program continues to grow to include new members and diverse master, doctoral, and post-doctoral scholars who are advancing research and practice in various specialty areas. AACTE is proud to welcome new Holmes Scholars from Ohio University, the University of Connecticut, Cal State University – San Bernardino, Texas Christian University, Fordham University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

On #GivingTuesday: Support the Future of Teacher Education

AACTE is excited that the launch of its first-ever individual giving program begins today, November 28, with #GivingTuesday — offering you and others an opportunity to have a direct impact on building the next generation of the educator workforce. Members and educator preparation advocates are invited to be a part of this inaugural giving campaign, “The Future of Teacher Education Starts Now.”   

Your tax-deductible gift to the campaign will greatly assist AACTE in its work to elevate educator preparation and grow the educator workforce. Become an AACTE champion and directly impact the programs, products, and services that create a more robust, diverse, and high-quality educator workforce.

In Illinois: Report Shows Educator Workforce Growing but Challenges in the Pipeline Persist

Illinois’ much-publicized teacher shortage crisis actually showed signs of stability and even improvement during the exceptionally challenging COVID-19 pandemic period, a new report from education policy expert Advance Illinois has found. Still, despite encouraging progress, there is much work ahead to ensure there are high-quality, diverse educators in Illinois classrooms and some concerning trends to overcome, the report finds.

At a launch event in October featuring key policy leaders in education, Advance Illinois released its latest in-depth report on one of the most significant challenges facing Illinois public schools: finding more qualified, well-prepared, and diverse teachers and leaders to guide students in every school.

The new report, The State of Our Educator Pipeline 2023: Strengths, Opportunities, and the Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, is the follow-up to the group’s 2022 report The State We’re In, an early examination of the impact of the pandemic on Illinois’ education system.