What Kids Need in the Classroom

By Jill McGranahan

This article originally appeared on MSU Denver RED.

With the psychological and economic pressures of Covid-19, increased gun violence, systemic racism, political polarization and, most recently, the financial stresses of inflation, many adults are struggling with their mental and emotional health. It’s no wonder that children, too, are experiencing more trauma than ever.

Last fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association jointly declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health due to “soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness and suicidality” caused by Covid-19 and other factors. Trauma such as physical abuse, bullying and witnessing violence will often contribute to higher anxiety and negatively impact attention, memory, cognition, problem solving, reading ability and academic performance, according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Bellarmine will Prepare STEM teachers with $1.45 million NSF Grant

By Carla Carlton

Bellarmine University will recruit and prepare highly qualified science and mathematics teachers for high-need Kentucky middle and high schools with the support of a five-year $1.45 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce program.

Paraprofessionals Awarded Full-Tuition Scholarships to Become Certified Teachers

By Idaho State University

More than 35 paraprofessionals working in the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 are set to receive full-tuition scholarships awarded by the Idaho State University College of Education to earn a college degree and teacher certification through the Paraprofessional to Certified Teacher (PaCT) program.

VCU School of Education Develops Statewide DEI Training

By Owen Wachter

Research has shown that addressing unconscious bias will contribute to creating a more equitable society. A team at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education is leading statewide diversity, equity and inclusion training for those who work with people with disabilities — a training that is open to all.

The Partnership for People with Disabilities in the School of Education is collaborating with the School of Education’s Office of Strategic Engagement to lead a six-session online training course on diversity, equity and inclusion this fall, aimed primarily at employees of Medicaid home- and community-based organizations.

Salem State University Receives Largest Cash Gift to MA State University

Cummings Foundation donates $10 million to Diversify and Strengthen Teacher Pipeline

By Salem State University and Cummings Foundation

Cummings Foundation has donated $10 million to Salem State University’s School of Education to support programs and initiatives aimed at diversifying, strengthening, and sustaining the next generation of educators. The gift represents the largest cash contribution ever made in the history of the nine Massachusetts state universities.

PVAMU Welcomes Students with Aldine ISD, Impact Leadership Academy Partnership

By Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View A&M University students, faculty and staff were on hand bright and early to help welcome students to the first day of school at Aldine ISD’s Impact Leadership Academy (ILA), the district’s first all-boys school. PVAMU is partnering with the ILA to cultivate learning experiences rooted in identity, leadership, community, and activism, all designed to address academic achievement and support social and emotional needs for young Black and Latino male students.

University of Kansas Launches New Center for PreK-12 Equitable Learning

By University of Kansas

The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas has announced the new Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL), whose mission is to support district- and building-level leaders to lead, organize and implement the most effective and equitable learning environments for PreK-12 students.

Federal Agency Funds STEM Project for Next Five Years

Funding will enable 18 more Noyce scholars to become STEM instructors

By Nicola Paerg

Sacred Heart University has received a grant of nearly $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. SHU will apply the grant to the preparation of educators to teach elementary science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Butler University’s Program Provides Training for Teachers with Alternative Credentials

By Butler University

Butler University is addressing Indiana’s teacher shortage through a new program designed to support new teachers, alternatively credentialed teachers, emergency-permitted teachers, or long-term substitute teachers with the training they need to succeed in the classroom. Butler’s first cohort of teachers will begin the first module of training in its “Teacher-Led, Teacher Education” program at the end of August.

According to a 2016 report from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, 8.5 percent of Indiana educators leave the field for reasons other than retirement (the third highest rate in the nation). The high attrition of educators, coupled with an insufficient pipeline of teacher candidates from bachelor’s degree programs, has led to drastic increases in alternative teaching credentials and emergency permits.

First-of-its-Kind Teacher Apprenticeship Program Launched at UCCS

By Jenna Press

This article originally appeared on Communique. 

UCCS has partnered with Calhan School District to offer a new K-12 Teacher Apprenticeship program. The program, offered through the College of Education, helps paraprofessionals become certified to teach in their own classrooms. 

“There’s a huge teacher shortage, especially in the rural communities, it’s especially difficult to recruit and retain teachers there,” explained Katie Anderson-Pence, Interim Associate Dean for the College of Education. “What this program looks to do is help people who are already at those schools, working as a paraprofessional or a teacher’s aide, to help them get their teaching license.”

New GSU Program to Assist Students in Special Education

By Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southern University special education faculty created an Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) program to assist undergraduate special education students with earning an advanced degree in special education in less time.

The team, including the College of Education’s Eric Landers, Ph.D., Cynthia Massey, Ph.D., Stephanie Devine, Ph.D., Kathryn Haughney, Ph.D., Caitlin Criss, Ph.D., and Karin Fisher, Ph.D., received approval for the new ABM to begin this fall, encouraging special education undergraduates at Georgia Southern to complete a M.Ed. in Special Education.

Findlay’s College of Education Addressing Educator Shortages

By Andrea Blankemeyer

University of Findlay’s College of Education is able to offer the Addressing Educator Shortages Program thanks to the support of the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the University.

Findlay’s Addressing Educator Shortages Program allows post-baccalaureate students to receive up to $14,600 in scholarships towards earning a teaching license in the following areas:

VSU Graduate Program To Address Richmond And Petersburg Teacher Shortage

By VSU

The Virginia State University College of Education has announced an innovative program which will enhance the experience of future teachers serving Richmond and Petersburg, while earning a Teacher License and Masters degree “free” of charge.
  
In the new teacher residency program, graduate students will co-teach and earn a Master of Education within one year, while gaining real-world experience in a classroom under the supervision of a master teacher. Once the co-teacher earns the degree, they must commit to full-time teaching positions in their residency school division for an additional 3-years.

Innovative Teacher Pathway Program Removes Barriers for Career Changers

By Patrice Scott

The Kansas State University College of Education is adding a new pathway to the teaching profession for career changers who want or need to work full time while pursuing their teaching license and master’s degree in education.

The Kansas State Board of Education recently approved the Master of Arts in teaching residency, which leads to elementary licensure. It is an 18-month online program with three entry points each year: August, May and December. The equivalent program for those seeking licensure for secondary classrooms was approved in March.

Literacy Leaders Undergo Transformative Experience Through Warren Fellowship

By Teresa Monaco Burnett

This May, a group of students in the Texas Christian University’s College of Education took a week-long trip to the Holocaust Museum of Houston as part of the Warren Fellowship program. The trip was a culmination of studying the Holocaust and antisemitism in Jan Lacina’s Literacy Leadership class. Lacina is the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education and associate dean of graduate studies in the TCU College of Education.

“I was compelled to integrate course goals, readings, and discussions about the Holocaust into my Literacy Leadership class because of recent antisemitic acts that took place in Texas,” Lacina said.