09 Nov2020
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
Join AACTE government relations consultant Jane West and her insightful and politically astute guests to dissect the 2020 election results at the federal level on November 18. Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis for the American Association of Colleges and Universities, will offer a perspective from the higher education sector while Danny Carlson, director of policy and advocacy for the National Association of Elementary School Principals, will cover the PK-12 perspective. Join us as we consider the following:
- Who is in the running for the next Secretary of Education?
- What will the education priorities be for the next four years?
- Will there EVER be another COVID relief bill? What will be in there for education?
- Who will chair the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in the Senate and what difference will it make?
- Who will take the helm of the all-important chair for the Appropriations Committee in the House and what difference will it make?
We will have a lively discussion about where the election results stand, what is possible with a new balance of power and how you can continue to make your voice heard! Remember, if you’re not at the table, you’re probably on the menu!
Register for our webinar Wednesday, November 18 from 3:00 -4:00 pm ET.
09 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
Join colleagues in tackling the current challenges impacting educator preparation and advocate for the future of education at AACTE’s virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, February 24-26. Education leaders from across the country will convene to address the national teacher shortage and how to effectively recruit and retain educators of color through topics featured in the conference Strand III: Establishing a Sustainable and Diverse Profession. Content from this strand includes these concurrent sessions:
- Enhancing Partnerships with University Departments to Increase Teacher Numbers
- Planting Seeds of Hope through a University-High School Pre-Educator Partnership Program
- Strategies for Prioritizing the Social and Emotional Health of New Teachers: Tools for Administrators and Preparation Programs
- Recruiting, Retaining, and Supporting Teachers of Color through Alternative Pathways to Licensure
- Creating a Collaborative and Sustainable Teacher Induction Program: A University and Multi-District Partnership
- A Pipeline of Promise: Leveraging Culture, Assessment and Data to Bridge the Teacher of Color Pipeline
- Cultivating Culturally Responsive Teaching Contexts
09 Nov2020
By Meghan Grenda
As an AACTE member you have most likely accessed educator preparation resources, attended webinars or downloaded presentations via the AACTE Resource Library, but have you visited the online Career Center?
The AACTE Career Center is your one-stop shop for teacher education students and professionals. Whether you are a seasoned educator searching for the best fit, a student embarking on your career journey, or an educator preparation provider seeking highly-qualified talent, the Career Center’s job board and resume resources are here to help. The Career Center features
- 700+ employer profiles
- 500+ job seeker profiles
- 9,000+ positions
03 Nov2020
By Katrina Norfleet
Have you visited the AACTE online News Room lately? While the News Room is the primary tool used by AACTE to increase the visibility of the educator preparation community, this resource is not only for journalists. AACTE has designed its news hub as a virtual repository of articles, information, and trends in the field to help its members stay up to date on timely education and educator preparation topics.
As a member-based organization, AACTE is keenly positioned to be a collective voice for the educator preparation community. When you want to know how the Association leadership is responding on behalf of AACTE to national events and federal issues that directly impact education and educators nationwide, visit the Press Release & Statements section. Read AACTE’s public comment on actions that range from the push to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic to the most recent statement on the Administration’s restriction of federal funding for critical race theory training in education. This section also houses news releases, offering you updates on the work your Association is generating to assure educators are profession-ready when they enter the classroom, such as research reports, partnerships with other educator preparation-based organizations, and AACTE professional development events (Annual Meetings, Leadership Academy and Washington Week).
02 Nov2020
By Lynn M. Gangone
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
As educators, we have confronted monumental challenges this year, and yet, have managed to still make great strides. In mid-March, while closing our classrooms due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we found ways to educate our students virtually. Amidst mounting challenges, educators united to ensure that our nation’s children were able to continue learning.
Then, just as we were discovering coping mechanisms to live amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we bore witness to incredible injustice and racial bias with the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Educators heeded the call for justice, uniting with the community at large, to show that racism will not be tolerated. But despite having met these challenges head on, we cannot rest upon our laurels. The battles that lie ahead are too important and necessary to protect the core of our democracy.
02 Nov2020
By JTE Insider
This podcast interview features insights from the article “Education Policy and Black Teachers: Perspectives on Race, Policy, and Teacher Diversity” by Terrenda White, Brian Woodward, DaVonna Graham, H. Richard Milner, and Tyrone C. Howard. The article is published in the September/October 2020 of the Journal of Teacher Education. AACTE members have free access to the articles in the JTE online archives—log in with your AACTE profile.
02 Nov2020
By Katrina Norfleet
The University of Michigan’s TeachingWorks is offering a series of free virtual mini-courses for English language arts teacher educators as part of its goal is to create a system for teacher preparation and establish support that will produce skillful beginning teachers who disrupt inequity.
The mini-courses will help build an understanding of critical content in ELA and develop practice-based approaches for teaching that content to novice teachers. This series will support ELA teacher educators to develop K-12 instruction and teacher education that fills immediate needs for children and contributes to building an education that dismantles injustice instead of perpetuating it.
The next course available for registration takes place on December 4, 2020:
02 Nov2020
By Weade James
During the 2020 AACTE Annual Meeting Holmes Program Preconference events, selected scholars participated in the AACTE Holmes Dissertation Funding Competition to receive $5,000 funding support for their dissertation research. AACTE interviews the winner of the 2020 competition, Monique Matute-Chavarria, who completed her study, Parents’ Beliefs of Cultural Considerations During the IEP Process: A Delphi Study, and received her Ph.D. from the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
How would you describe your experience as a Holmes Scholar? What supports were most impactful and why?
I was a Holmes Scholar at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three years. It was a great experience, and I am grateful for the opportunities the Holmes program afforded me. The Holmes program provided me with several professional development opportunities that helped me craft my goals that I wanted to accomplish in the doctoral program to prepare me for a tenure track position. I gained several skills that assisted me through my journey as a doctoral student, such as academic writing, scholarship opportunities, presenting my research, and serving on the Holmes council. I was also able to network with other Holmes Scholars at other institutions at the AACTE Holmes Preconference and build relationships that have led to lifelong friendships and several opportunities to collaborate on research. I gained a new confidence that I did not have prior to my doctoral studies. I know that I can write for publication, stand before experts in the field, and confidently present and discuss my scholarship. The academic and personal growth I gained from the mentorship helped prepare me for a career in academia.
02 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
As the November 3 election nears, AACTE is committed to uplifting and advancing America’s democratic values. During the virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, February 24-26, educators from across the nation will unite in advocating for the future of education through topics featured in the conference strand Activism for Renewing Democracy. Content from this strand includes these concurrent sessions:
- Teaching Culturally Responsive Dispositions, Informed Advocacy, and Activism through a Framework of Children’s Rights and Professional Ethics
- Teacher Education as a Factor in Failed Citizenship
- Pre-service Teachers Acts of Courage and Resistance: Wading Gently into Dissent
- University and State Agency Partnerships for Equity: From Regulation to Collaboration
- Networking Voices for Public School Advocacy: A Focus on Equity and Innovation
- Courageous Actions in Vulnerable Spaces: First-Year Teachers Meeting Students’ Needs in Challenging Contexts
- Preparing Doctoral Students to be Research to Policy Advocates
02 Nov2020
By Matthew Wales
Themed Leadership During Difficult Times, AACTE’s first session of the 2020 Leadership Academy Series, held on October 14, explored how three institutions have risen to the challenge and taken strides to make lasting policy and programmatic changes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. To continue the discussion, AACTE has provided panelist Lisa Norton, dean of the College of Education & Health Sciences at Touro University, California and one of the featured panelists, with some additional questions from session attendees. Here is what she had to say:
The Graduate School of Education at Touro University, California recently held a series of informative and courageous conversations regarding what it means for education to live diversity in 2020 and beyond. Can you share some of the insights related to accessibility for all PK-12 students in a remote learning environment?
Our current Academic College Instructional Designer and Graduate School of Education faculty member, Dr. Michael Barbour, is internationally known for work on PK-12 remote learning and accessibility. We are lucky to have him to help both our own campus and the local school districts with information related to creating an inclusive online environment. We conducted a webinar series entitled Diversity Now, in which we addressed this and many other topics. We are now in discussions to help the school district with additional support for families. This support includes tutoring and mentoring children in two of the schools and possibly partnering on a large-scale grant effort through the state.
02 Nov2020
By Hannah Reeder and Betsy Rosenbalm
This is Part 2 of an article by Hannah Reeder and Betsy Rosenbalm of Appalachian State University in which they share how they’ve moved from pivoting to disrupting the status quo as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Being forced to think creatively about how to support student teachers and beginning teachers at Appalachian State University has resulted in changes that we are now continuing into this semester and beyond. Using virtual platforms such as Zoom, we have been able to establish connections that have reached more people without the logistical barriers that are typically present. Taking away barriers such as travel, parking, and time constraints that previously seemed inevitable and unavoidable, have challenged us to consider if they are indeed necessary. What we have realized is that what started out as Plan B is now becoming Plan A. Providing seamless support for students and teachers that disrupts the status quo has many advantages.
Overcoming barriers and offering meaningful learning opportunities for pre-service and in-service teachers has led us to think differently about how we support our students and teachers. During the summer of 2020, both of our offices teamed up with the Reich College of Education’s Math & Science Education Center to host a virtual education conference called IDEA-CON. The conference offered a variety of sessions for educators of all levels, from beginning teachers to teacher educators. From brief resource sharing sessions to 30-minute idea discussions to panels to plenary speakers, IDEA-CON had something for everyone. And best of all, we were able to offer this conference for FREE.
02 Nov2020
By Amber Benedict
The CEEDAR Center is working on a collaborative effort to collect information from educator preparation programs across the country who are implementing effective, practice-based opportunities for teacher candidates within a virtual space. We’d like to invite you, your colleagues, and your partners (if applicable) to participate in a survey focused on online education for teachers of students with disabilities.
If you previously utilized an online teacher education program before COVID-19, and/or have adapted your program and/or clinical preparation model to accommodate a hybrid and/or online teacher education model during COVID-19, CEEDAR would love to hear from you. Please spend a few minutes completing this survey.
02 Nov2020
By AACTE
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement today urging educators to resist the Trump administration’s attack on critical race theory and other anti-racism work in education:
“In its June 4 statement, the AACTE Board of Directors called educators to take courageous action on race matters in America to address not only recent racial injustices across the nation but also structural racism that has deep, historic roots in our society. Critical race theory represents the scholarly work of educators who provide research evidence and expertise on how the legacy of slavery and inequality in America has unequivocally influenced our American way of life, including our system of education, and on effective ways to dismantle structural racism in American society. It has long been the focus of scholars across many disciplines, which has contributed to the great strides institutions have made in advancing human and civil rights for all Americans.
Banning federal funds to be used for professional development that addresses topics like white privilege, implicit bias, and structural racism, which are examined within critical race theory, is a denial of the historic realities of our country, and is an assault on the strategic gains institutions of higher education and educator preparation programs have made to enlighten students and affect change that promotes racial and social justice for all. Educators must resist any setbacks to the many years of research and activism scholars have made to progress our nation into a society that values the lives of all human beings.
AACTE and its member institutions are committed to revolutionizing education by upholding high standards in the preparation of future teachers through inclusive curriculum and evidence-based instructional strategies, modeling, and advocacy that dismantle racial oppression. AACTE members are actively working to diversify the teaching profession, address the teacher shortage, redesign curricula that reflects the needs of 21st century learners, advocate for policies that fund student teachers of color, and build social justice partnerships for strengthening the education community—all in a concerted effort to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in PK-20 education. Critical race theory is at the foundation of this vital work. AACTE calls on educators and the educator preparation community to stay the course and to actively support the work of critical race theorists and other anti-racism efforts for building a more racially just society.
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AACTE: The Leading Voice on Educator Preparation
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is a national alliance of educator preparation programs and partners dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are profession-ready as they enter the classroom. The 700 member institutions include public and private colleges and universities in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Through advocacy and capacity building, AACTE promotes innovation and effective practices that strengthen educator preparation. Learn more at aacte.org.
29 Oct2020
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE members took action when the Trump administration issued an attack on critical race theory two months ago. In its blistering critique of anti-racist initiatives, the Administration essentially banned work on critical race theory in use of professional development funded by federal dollars. In partnership with Education Deans for Justice and Equity, AACTE members united in a written response signed by over 400 scholars of race in education, led by Marvin Lynn, dean and professor of the college of education at Portland State University. The memo is as follows:
Critical Race Theory in Education Scholars Respond to Executive Memo M-20-34
On September 4, 2020, Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the Executive Office of the President issued M-20-34, a “memorandum for the heads of executive offices and agencies.” The document states, “Executive Branch agencies have spent millions of taxpayer dollars, to date, on ‘training’ government workers to believe divisive, anti-American propaganda.” As critical race scholars working in universities and communities across the globe, the following statement is our response to Mr. Vought’s memorandum.
27 Oct2020
By Ward Cummings
Election season is upon us. According to CNN, more than 50 million Americans have already cast their ballot in the 2020 election by mail or by early voting. Some predict that as many as two-thirds of the electorate will have voted before election day arrives on November 3. The remaining third of Americans will go to their neighborhood polling place next Tuesday and cast their vote in person for the men and women they want to see run their cities, municipalities, states and the country. Across the nation, hundreds of political offices are up for grabs and thousands of men and women have registered to have their names placed on the ballot. Some of the names will be familiar to voters, many more will not be. For those seeking information about candidates and candidate positions on education, AACTE is keenly positioned to help.
