23 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Congress was engaged in a frenzy of appropriations activities last week … where it will all lead remains to be seen!
With the End of the Fiscal Year in Sight, Congress Punts
September 30—the end of the federal Fiscal Year—is looming, and Congress is getting edgy. Seeing that there is no way to resolve differences in all of the spending bills in that timeframe, Congress has moved to postpone the showdown. The House passed a Continuing Resolution to keep all government funding at current levels through November 21. The Senate is expected to pass it next week and the President is expected to sign it. On November 22, the challenges will remain.
Meanwhile, several of the 12 individual funding bills are moving through the Senate Appropriations process. You will recall that last week the markup of the Labor/HHS/Education funding bill was suddenly canceled. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee did not move that bill forward, but they did release both the text of their bill, a summary and the Committee report. Links are below.
23 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Congress was engaged in a frenzy of appropriations activities last week … where it will all lead remains to be seen!
With the End of the Fiscal Year in Sight, Congress Punts
September 30—the end of the federal Fiscal Year—is looming, and Congress is getting edgy. Seeing that there is no way to resolve differences in all of the spending bills in that timeframe, Congress has moved to postpone the showdown. The House passed a Continuing Resolution to keep all government funding at current levels through November 21. The Senate is expected to pass it next week and the President is expected to sign it. On November 22, the challenges will remain.
Meanwhile, several of the 12 individual funding bills are moving through the Senate Appropriations process. You will recall that last week the markup of the Labor/HHS/Education funding bill was suddenly canceled. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee did not move that bill forward, but they did release both the text of their bill, a summary and the Committee report. Links are below.
23 Sep2019
By Kim Metcalf
As we settle in to a new academic year, it’s a particularly opportune time to update you on the work the Board of Directors has been doing on your behalf.
I am fortunate to collaborate with an exceptional group of leaders on the AACTE Board of Directors. They serve the Association in so many ways: as ambassadors for AACTE and for our profession, as liaisons to our Standing Committees, as officers on the Executive Committee, and as chairs and members of Board task forces addressing key issues, among many other activities. I want to thank each and every one of them for their hard work and dedication.
Already this year, the Board has taken a number of significant steps. In June, the Board approved new vision, mission, and core value statements for the Association as part of an ongoing board-led, member-informed strategic planning process. This plan reinforces the Association’s role in serving to promote advancement and innovation in educator preparation. Special thanks to Michael Dantley, who led this work, and to the members of the Strategic Planning Task Force for engaging in this process.
20 Sep2019
By Lynn M. Gangone
America is a country of immigrants. Through each wave of immigration, our public schools incorporate immigrant children into the fabric of our country. Our public schools serve as a cultural incubator to aid and nurture acceptance of diversity. Our local classrooms should be a microcosm of a global demographic. We, as educators, need to harness that belief for our teachers and the students they teach and guide.
How do America’s immigration challenges impact schools?
The challenge is that there are undocumented students entering U.S. schools, colleges, and universities who were not given the option to decide for themselves whether they wanted to come to this country. They have been incorporated into society, but are affected by current practices that impact their safety and security. It is projected that by the year 2040, one in every three children in the United States will grow up in an immigrant household (Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008). It begs the question: How do we work with those students?
Educators, school support staff, and service providers are often the first individuals in whom a student and/or family confides and reveals that they are undocumented. Recent efforts to identify undocumented parents and children in the United States challenge public schools in their efforts to meet the needs of all children residing within their school districts. Public schools are often embroiled in politically and legally sensitive situations, in which they must balance their responsibilities to serve immigrant and undocumented children, while meeting the expectations of local authorities to identify undocumented individuals.
What role do educators play in supporting immigrant children and their families?
20 Sep2019
By Renee Rybak Lang
The AACTE Programs and Professional Learning team served on the committee to select the following inaugural Civic Engagement Champions with the National Association of State Boards of Education and the Frank Islam Institute.
Four middle school teachers have been named Civic Engagement Champions (CEC) for their work in promoting civics education and active citizenship.
In partnership with the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship (FII), the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) created the CEC award to highlight the critical role that middle school teachers play in helping students become active, responsible citizens. Teachers from four states representing each of NASBE’s regions—Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington—were eligible to apply.
The four winners are Jane Leyderman, Dever Elementary School in Chicago, IL; Michael Neagle, Pyne Arts Magnet School in Lowell, MA; Michelle St. Pierre, Loch Raven Technical Academy in Baltimore County, MD; and Don Jenkins, North Whidbey Middle School in Oak Harbor, WA.
19 Sep2019
By Kimberly Underwood
This article and photo originally appeared in EdSurge and are reprinted with permission.
Two percent. That figure may seem insignificant, until you understand the context. Despite students of color representing more than half the student population, Black males make up only two percent of the teacher workforce. So as it happens, that statistic is very significant as this lack of diversity has negative implications for all students.
For years, Black males have been underrepresented in PK-12 education. While there have been many efforts to diversify classrooms by adding more Black male educators, there are still obstacles preventing us from successfully reaching this goal. Now these educators are speaking up and their voices are sounding the alarm for education diversity.
For years, Black males have been underrepresented in PK-12 education.
19 Sep2019
By Jerrica Thurman
The AACTE Annual Meeting consistently earns high attendee ratings. More than 90% of the 2019 attendees ranked the conference and its content quality as “Good” or “Excellent,” and said they would recommend it to their colleagues. Some of the top benefits participants cite are the value of learning and networking with like-minded professionals. Here is what attendees had to say:
“I love the Annual Meeting. The people are great, the sessions are generally strong, and I really appreciate the focus on taking ownership of education policy making.”
“I really appreciated the time to connect with peers doing this work and to hear about the ways in which we can continue to move the needle to a practice-based curriculum.”
“I enjoyed talking with all the vendors and making decisions about products to implement at our university.”
“I find the sessions useful and the networking is always great. [The event is] very important for gaining new information and perspective and [for] professional networking.”
Join colleagues from across the nation at the premier conference for teacher educators — AACTE’s 72nd Annual Meeting, February 28 – March 1, 2020. Register and take advantage of early bird rates by October 30.
Visit aacte.org for conference details, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and join the conversation using #AACTE20.
For additional assistance, please contact us at events@aacte.org
18 Sep2019
By Danny Ryan
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) work on education helps individuals and nations to identify and develop the knowledge and skills that drive better jobs and better lives, generate prosperity, and promote social inclusion.
Access to OECD Education data
Through the OECD data portal, educators can cross-reference data on teacher’s salaries, graduation rates, education spending, and much more. All data is available to download for free.
For example, are you curious about how education policies support students, teachers, and principals? The OECD’s new Education Policy Outlook reports on the progress of over 200 school improvement policies implemented over the last 10 years.
School and University leaders will find a treasure trove of information within the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), which asks teachers and school leaders about working conditions and learning environments at their schools to help countries face diverse challenges.
For those wanting further OECD insight, the OECD iLibrary contains nearly 20,000 content items related to education. Content on the platform is accessible to all by clicking the READ or WEB icon. Certain features and access is restricted to intuitions that have a subscription. Find out if your institution is an existing subscriber.
17 Sep2019
By Linda Minor
Have you registered to attend the 2020 AACTE Annual Meeting?
The first 100 paid registrants will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Google Play gift card. The deadline to be entered in the drawing is Friday, September 27, so make sure to register early—plus you will also receive the Early Bird discounted registration rate! The winner will be notified by October 4.
As an attendee at the AACTE’s 72nd Annual Meeting, “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change” you will join your colleagues in this united effort to tackle injustice and challenge the status quo. This year’s conference will take place February 28 – March 1 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta.
You’ll learn how to become a driving force in crafting the narrative on educator preparation in sessions organized by these four strands:
- Strand 1 – Equity and Inclusivity in Preparation and Practice
- Strand 2 – Activism and Innovation for Transforming Democracy
- Strand 3 – Establishing a Sustainable and Diverse Profession
- Strand 4 – Clinical Practice and Community Engagement
If you have any questions about the drawing or the Annual Meeting, please email me at lminor@aacte.org.
16 Sep2019
By Jane E. West
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide update information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
A Congress is back in session, and bi-partisanship is increasingly looking to be something we see only in the rear-view mirror.
Senate Fails to Move Education Funding Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee, often considered one of the last bastions of bi-partisanship, fell apart this week— and along with it, hope for passage of a Senate Labor/HHS/Education bill any time soon. In a surprise last-minute move, the scheduled Tuesday subcommittee markup for the Labor/HHS/Education spending bill was canceled. Republicans claimed that Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) intention to offer an amendment blocking President Trump’s limitation of services offered under Title X (most notably abortion services offered by Planned Parenthood) violates the bipartisan budget agreement. That agreement prohibits “poison pill” riders on appropriations bills. Democrats argued that including funding for the President’s border wall in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill is likewise a poison pill. Thus, the Tuesday Subcommittee markup was canceled.
13 Sep2019
By Madeline Will and Corey Mitchell
The excerpt below is taken from an article originally published in Ed Week and is reprinted with permission.
It’s a constant struggle for school districts across the country to find qualified special education teachers. An extra challenge: finding special educators of color to help meet the needs of a student population that can be disproportionately nonwhite.
Just over 82 percent of special education teachers in public schools are white, according to 2011-12 federal data, the most recent available. Meanwhile, only about half of students receiving special education services are white, according to 2017-18 data.
Yet teacher diversity matters: Decades of research has shown that students often perform better academically when they are taught by teachers of the same race.
“The special education field is really prime to recruit faculty of color,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez,
12 Sep2019
By Katrina Norfleet
The annual Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity honors members for their outstanding work infusing diversity throughout all components of a school, college, or department of education (SCDE) as critical to quality teacher preparation and professional development. This award, sponsored by the Committee on Global Diversity, represents one of the nine categories of the annual AACTE Award Program that recognizes excellence in educator preparation.
This video features the 2018 Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity recipient, University of Colorado (UC) Denver School of Education and Human Development (SEHD). The Committee selected this program for it outstanding efforts in preparing teacher candidates from diverse, multicultural backgrounds to gain the foundational knowledge and experiences necessary to advocate for the educational equity for all children.
12 Sep2019
By Jane S. Bray
This article originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and is reprinted with permission.
SOME SAY mountains cannot be moved, but the commonwealth has done just that.
Achieving solidarity among educators, politicians, policymakers, higher education institutions and leaders from across Virginia, the effort to combat the teacher shortage in our classrooms has been nothing short of truly astonishing.
On June 20, the Virginia Board of Education gave the final seal of approval for 53 four-year undergraduate degree programs in teacher education at 15 institutions of higher education across the state.
12 Sep2019
By Mike Yough and Lynley Anderman
As editors, we are seeking proposals for chapters in an upcoming volume, Teaching to Prepare Advocates, part of the Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching series.
In an age where the quality of teacher education programs has never been more important, educators need a fundamental understanding of the principles of human learning, motivation, and development. Each volume in the series will draw upon the latest research to help college instructors select and model essential principles of learning, motivation, and development prepare professionals to work with children and adolescents in diverse learning contexts using asset-based
12 Sep2019
By Middle Tennessee State University and SCORE
This article and photo originally appeared on the Middle Tennessee State University website and are reprinted with permission.
Middle Tennessee State University announced Wednesday (Aug. 28) a first-of-its-kind partnership focused on bringing research-supported innovations to how the university prepares students to become K-12 teachers.
