25 Apr2019
By Catherine Rosa and James Zoll
In September of 2018, University of North Georgia (UNG) Educational Leadership staff began partnership discussions with Gwinnett County Schools. The UNG educational leadership program went through several iterations and was working toward revising the program to align with the Principal Pipeline Research from the Wallace Foundation. This revision also met the requirements for the new Tier 1 certification program implemented by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. We were new to the work and very interested in the successful, data-driven work Gwinnett County Schools Leadership development programs.
The initial discussions were about the application process and how we screen candidates, as well as, how we measured the success of our candidates beyond the obvious licensing test by the state. This was the beginning of deep thinking for us about our program. We quickly learned that to build a quality program, we needed to attract the best candidates and track them through their placements in schools as leaders to determine the effectiveness of our work. We were most impressed with Gwinnett’s systems for measuring the success of their leadership development programs. This was great timing for our program as our Tier I participants had just completed the first cohort.
The quality measures divide the process program improvement into six domains. We shared our practices in our Tier I program in each of the six areas, collecting evidence to support our work with our critical friends from Gwinnett. At the same time, Gwinnett County Schools examined its practices in its principal preparation program sharing with us as critical friends. The process was transparent and helpful. We both walked away with fresh ideas for improving our programs.
18 Apr2019
By Matthew Wales
AACTE’s Leadership Academy is the perfect professional development opportunity for you to discover who you are as a leader. Designed for new and aspiring deans, department chairs, and anyone looking to develop or enhance their skills as an academic administrator, the academy covers the essentials of leadership while helping attendees cultivate a supportive network of peers. Here’s what the newest member of AACTE’s Academy Faculty, John Kuykendall had to say about his experience, including being a previous Academy participant:
What do you feel is the most valuable reason for attending the Leadership Academy?
For new administrators, it is essential to know that you are not alone in your role. I consider it necessary to develop a support group around your new leadership position and to have colleagues to call upon for guidance and assistance. The sessions at AACTE’s Leadership Academy provided me with key awareness in the decision-making process and leadership practices and strategies. My experience with the Academy was essential in developing a confident start in my new role as a dean for a school of education.
24 Mar2019
By Carlos Richardson
Congratulations to the Shanita. Pettaway, the March 2019 Holmes Scholar of the Month!
Pettaway, a native of Mobile, AL is a Ph.D. candidate in administration of higher education at Auburn University. She is focusing her research on the areas of administrative law, higher education law, human resources, public policy, historically black colleges and universities, as well as, the higher education professoriate—a logical and instinctive continuation of her previous graduate education. Her dissertation consists of a multi-content analysis of Title IX policies at historically black colleges and universities.
Graduating in 2008, with the highest academic average of a senior in business Administration from Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University, Pettaway is also an alumna of Southern University Law Center (Juris Doctor), Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College (Master of Public Administration), and Auburn University (Master of Education, Administration of Higher Education; Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching).
07 Mar2019
By Barbara Baals
This article on AACTE Board of Director Monika Williams Shealey and accompanying photo originally appeared in Rowan Today and are reprinted with permission.
Monika Williams Shealey has been named senior vice president of the newly created Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rowan University.
Shealey, who joined Rowan as dean of the College of Education in 2013, will oversee a division that brings together departments and programs to develop initiatives designed to address issues of access, equity and inclusion across all of the University’s campuses.
“Under Dr. Shealey, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be tasked with making Rowan a model institution—a University where diversity is valued and equity and inclusion are routine,” Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand said in announcing Shealey’s appointment.
19 Feb2019
By Katrina Norfleet
Jacob Easley II, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Touro College, recently authored A Way Forward Toward Professionalizing Teacher Education: A Response to the AASCU Teacher Education Task Force Survey, a commentary published in the Educational Renaissance journal. In the paper, Easley reviews the recommendations resulting from the 2016 American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Teacher Education Task Force survey. The survey was completed by member presidents, provosts, and their deans of education at public institutions of higher learning to better understand the state of the profession.
The results from the national AASCU survey yielded six recommendations for quality teacher education programs. Of the six, Easley categorizes the first four are as similar to the standards that inform national accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP):
- Bolster clinical experiences
- Ensure strong university-school partnerships
- Step up recruitment into preparation programs
- Build agreements with community colleges
06 Feb2019
By Conra D. Gist
On February 21, the Third Annual Diversified Teaching Workforce Institute (DTW) will convene teacher educators, aspiring teachers, school leaders and deans from across the nation to address one of the most pressing teacher education issues—diversifying the teacher workforce. Over 200 people, including the AACTE Holmes and Networked Improvement Community Members, have joined DTW Topical Action Group (TAG) members in Tampa, FL and Baltimore, MD at the first two Institutes. The Third Annual DTW Institute, part of the 2019 AACTE Annual Meeting Preconference, is organized by leaders of the DTW TAG, with the support of AACTE’s Member Engagement and Support team.
The Institute will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The morning activities will begin with opening comments by Marvin Lynn, College of Education Dean at Portland State University and be followed by an opening plenary, “Examining Teacher Diversity Across U.S. Policy Contexts,” to explore current teacher diversity initiatives and policies taking place in various states committed to addressing the recruitment and retention of teachers of color in the profession. Following the opening panel, the morning will offer four concurrent breakouts sessions by teacher diversity experts in growing your own initiatives, culturally responsive pedagogy, and program development focused on strategies and approaches that they are utilizing at their home institutions.
31 Jan2019
By Benita Kluttz-Drye
Congratulations to Madjiguene (Madji) Falls, Holmes Scholar of the Month for January 2019!
Falls is a 3rd-year doctoral candidate at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. She is part of Rowan’s inaugural cohort and is a professor in residence at West Avenue School in Bridgeton, NJ. Falls is devoted to social justice and equity in education. Her areas of specialization are language literacy and working with students who are English language learners. She fluently speaks five languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and Wolof.
As founder of her own language literacy company, Language for Work, Falls helps to eradicate barriers hindering families and children’s whose first language is not English. She provides cultural diversity training and occupational language courses to help students and families to engage with and be able to communicate more effectively with various systems. In addition, she partners with the Family Success Center of Glassboro, NJ and the Glassboro Child Development Center. Falls has provided other humanitarian services such as providing free Spanish classes to families in need, advocating for families involved with immigration services, and using her voice to speak out against violence.
13 Dec2018
By Carlos Richardson
Congratulations to Evandra Catherine, Holmes Scholar of the Month for December 2018!
Catherine is an active member of the Holmes Community where she has attended and actively contributed to a number of Holmes conferences and retreats. Catherine is a doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University whose research interests include emotion socialization of preschool-aged Black boys, preschool teachers’ emotion socialization behaviors, preschool exclusionary discipline policy and professional development on emotional competence for preschool teachers.
11 Dec2018
By Katrina Norfleet
The University of Idaho (UI) has received a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S Department of Education to support the second cohort of its Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program (IKEEP), which prepares and certifies culturally responsive Indigenous teachers to meet the unique needs of Native American students in K-12 schools. The first IKEEP cohort began in 2016 with nine students. The new grant will allow an additional eight scholars to begin training in the summer of 2019.
“I am so very pleased that the University of Idaho’s College of Education, Health & Human Sciences (CEHHS) is home to the IKEEP program,” said CEHHS Dean Ali Carr-Chellman. “This U.S. Department of Education grant will help some of our highest needs schools in the state of Idaho to have not only highly qualified teachers, but teachers with a clear sense of culturally responsive curricular approaches. I am deeply impressed by the dedication and perseverance of Drs. Vanessa Anthony-Stevens and Yolanda Bisbee in their pursuit of the IKEEP program for the betterment of all of Idaho.”
Anthony-Stevens and Bisbee, along with Christine Meyer and Joyce McFarland recently shared insights into the IKEEP model in the following Q&A:
11 Dec2018
By Jeff Rea
This article originally appeared on oswego.edu and is reprinted with permission from the SUNY Oswego Office of Communications & Marketing.
The SUNY Oswego School of Education has joined three other educator-preparation schools in Bank Street College’s Prepared to Teach-New York Learning Network, an initiative designed to develop sustainable funding pathways for residency programs that embed teacher candidates in schools and communities for two full semesters.
Prepared to Teach-NY, recipient of a $500,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, cites evidence to support a sea change in what represents "student teaching" in the state. The new model takes a page from residencies in medical professions for deeper, richer, authentic experiences linking school placements to concurrent education coursework.
05 Dec2018
By Jon Clausen, Chrystalla Mouza, Elizabeth Langran and David Slykhuis
Members of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology at the 2018 National Technology Leadership Summit in Washington, DC (L to R Shaunna BuShell, Guy Trainin, Jon Clausen, Lara Luetkehans, and Arlene Borthwick)
At the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T) will host a free preconference symposium Thursday, February 21, on “Action Steps to Address the Challenge of Integrating Technology in Teacher Preparation.” Members of the AACTE Committee, leaders from the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, and representatives from accreditation and standards organizations will share strategies, exemplars, and tools for education leaders to make informed decisions, develop processes, and assess the impact of their efforts to infuse technology throughout educator preparation programs. Participants will focus on four themes related to action steps education leaders can take to address the challenge of technology integration throughout teacher education. These include
30 Nov2018
By Carlos Richardson
Congratulations to Kayla C. Elliott, Holmes Scholar of the Month for November 2018!
Elliott attends Florida Atlantic University (FAU) College of Education where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education leadership. Elliott’s dissertation topic is The Influence of performance based funding on power and relationships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Her research interests include higher education equity, higher education leadership, higher education policy, historically black colleges and universities, minority serving institutions, and more.
21 Nov2018
By Lynn M. Gangone and Renée A. Middleton
These letters to the editor, Don’t Blame Admissions Standards and Ed. Colleges Provide Value first appeared in Education Week on November 13, 2018. Reprinted with permission from the authors.
Don’t Blame Admissions Standards
To the Editor:
Marc Tucker has helped us better understand education systems around the world. Unfortunately, in his recent opinion blog post (“Teachers Colleges: The Weakest Link,” November 1, 2018), he demonstrates less understanding of America’s teacher-preparation programs than he has about programs abroad.
05 Nov2018
By Brian McNeill
This article originally appeared online at news.vcu.edu and is reposted with permission.
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $4.97 million grant to expand Richmond Teacher Residency, help provisionally licensed science, technology, engineering and math teachers move toward full licensure, and provide math and science training to hundreds of local elementary and special education teachers.
Richmond Teacher Residency, a program in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education, is an intensive, school-based teacher preparation program that integrates a research-supported approach for effective teaching with real-world classroom experience. Residents teach in local schools under the mentorship of a veteran teacher, while also earning a graduate degree in either education or teaching from VCU.
26 Oct2018
By Carlos Richardson
Congratulations to LeTrecia Gloster, the October 2018 Holmes Scholar of the month.
Gloster is currently a doctoral candidate studying educational leadership at Bowie State University. Her research topic is a case study on the impact of mentorship on the trajectory and sustainability of African American women superintendents.
She completed her undergraduate studies at Bowie State University where she received her B.S. in mathematics education and her master’s degree at Trinity University in Washington, D.C.
