19 Dec2017
By Deborah Koolbeck
On Friday, December 15, members of the U.S. Congress unveiled a conference report on tax reform, resolving differences between the House and Senate bills.
Full text of the conference report, which is nearly 1,100 pages long, can be found here. For those who want to go into the weeds, a joint explanatory statement, which describes current law, the House and Senate provisions, and what is in the conference agreement, can be found here.
18 Dec2017
By Kristin McCabe
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) requests proposals for workshops and other interactive sessions to be presented at its 2018 National Teacher Leadership Conference, July 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Proposals are due by February 5.
The 4-day conference will convene state and national teachers of the year (and finalists from the states) to “engage with national education leaders, administrators, policy makers, the business community, and colleagues to dynamically teach and learn in order to impact students, schools, and the profession.” Themed Teaching Tomorrow’s Leaders, the conference will offer sessions focused on four urgent problems of practice identified through a membership survey by NNSTOY:
15 Dec2017
By Zachary VanHouten
To keep members informed, AACTE regularly monitors and reports on the activity of the National Council on Teacher Quality that could affect educator preparation programs. Visit our NCTQ resource page for additional information.
This week, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its biannual review of state policies related to teacher quality, providing a status report on what the organization considers effective policies governing how teachers are selected, prepared, evaluated, and retained.
According to the 2017 State Teacher Policy Yearbook, many states have room for improvement in these policies, and despite recent progress on several fronts, NCTQ reports, many have stalled in their efforts to improve key policies related to educator quality.
The yearbook recommends various areas of improvement for states to consider:
15 Dec2017
By Matthew Wales
Have you ever wondered what goes into creating the AACTE Annual Meeting? One of the largest professional gatherings for the educator preparation field, the 2018 Annual Meeting will offer more than 300 presentations over the course of 4 days—the final destination on the long and winding road that leads up to each conference.
Here’s an inside look at some of the planning and milestones along the way to the 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, starting more than 4 years ago:
15 Dec2017
By Monique Matute
Congratulations to Eboni Caridine, Holmes Scholar of the Month for December 2017!
Caridine is a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. program in higher education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her research interests include undergraduate student involvement in campus governance processes, community-based organizations and their partnerships with postsecondary institutions, and racial equality in education.
At UNLV, Caridine has taught several first- and second-year seminar courses for the College of Education and served as a graduate assistant with CREA (Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment), where her responsibilities included assisting the team with evaluating school reform programs in the state of Nevada.
12 Dec2017
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is pleased to share new announcements related to the Clinical Practice Commission’s upcoming press briefing. We’ve confirmed several speakers and panelists for the briefing in Washington, DC, and in addition to registering to attend the live event, you can sign up to view a live webcast of the briefing and join members of the commission for a Twitter chat this week.
Limited seating is still available for the briefing itself, which will be held Wednesday, January 17, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Register for free by December 18 to secure your spot at the briefing, where members of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission will unveil their findings on how effective clinical educator preparation ensures educators are prepared to meet the needs of all learners.
12 Dec2017
By Jungnam Kim and Dianne Mark
The authors are members of AACTE’s Committee on Global Diversity.
The AACTE Committee on Global Diversity will host a premier symposium a day before the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The free preconference event, “A Global Lens to Educator Preparation: Shared Knowledge and Advocacy for Diverse and Multicultural Perspectives,” will be held Wednesday, February 28, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and includes breakfast and a keynote luncheon. Please sign up to join us!
11 Dec2017
By Sarah Verneret
Three new videos are available this week in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting clinical preparation and partnerships of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education. The latest videos focus on the importance of building clinical partnerships around “natural connections” with the community, the key challenges to keep programs going, and aspirations for the future of the UNLV-Clark County School District partnership.
The University of Las Vegas (UNLV) and its clinical partners, including the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the on-campus CSUN Preschool, have cultivated strong relationships that allow them to weather obstacles together and share hopes for the future.
08 Dec2017
By Denise Pearson and Amanda Lester
As the nation’s classrooms become more diverse, research has demonstrated that developing a more diverse teaching workforce is imperative to meeting the needs of all students. Efforts are under way across the nation to identify successful strategies for increasing the recruitment and retention of teachers of color, especially men of color, into the education workforce. Organizations including AACTE and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) are among those leading such efforts.
At AACTE, this work includes the Black, Hispanic, and Latino Male Teacher Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC), the AACTE Holmes Program, and the Diversified Teaching Workforce: Recruitment and Retention Topical Action Group. Each of these initiatives is focused on increasing educator diversity by identifying and implementing practice that supports degree attainment and teacher certification. The NIC is currently developing a conceptual framework paper to highlight some of these strategies and plans to release the paper at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting.
08 Dec2017
By JTE Insider
Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team? Check out the following interview with the authors of a recent article. This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles themselves in the full JTE archives online – just log in with your AACTE profile here.
This interview features insights from the article “Focusing on Teacher Learning Opportunities to Identify Potentially Productive Coaching Activities,” by Lynsey K. Gibbons of Boston University (MA) and Paul Cobb of Vanderbilt University (TN). The article, which appears in the September/October issue of JTE, is summarized in the following abstract:
06 Dec2017
By Jon Clausen, Guy Trainin and Arlene Borthwick
Members of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology at the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit in Washington, DC
AACTE and its Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T) are committed to being a leading voice in the preparation of educators to integrate technology within teaching and learning. The latest examples of this commitment include active participation in the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) and plans for a preconference symposium at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting.
AACTE hosted the 18th annual NTLS September 28-29 at the Association’s headquarters building in Washington, DC. AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone welcomed NTLS attendees, acknowledging the importance of the work to be done during the summit. Six members of the I&T committee attended the event, including Chair Arlene Borthwick (National Louis University, IL), Jon Clausen (Ball State University, IN), Elizabeth Finsness (Minnesota State University-Mankato), Charles Hodges (Georgia Southern University), Lara Luetkehans (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), and Guy Trainin (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
06 Dec2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Thursday, December 14, AACTE will host a free webinar, supported by The Wallace Foundation, on principal leadership. Please join us from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST for “Principals as Transformation Leaders: Support for New Leaders.”
Although university support for new school leaders often ends with graduation, novice principals need ongoing professional development and can benefit from continued connections with their preservice preparation programs. The new leaders serving as panelists on this webinar will offer perspectives on their preservice principal preparation and ideas for creating ongoing systems of support. Each panelist is a recent participant in a new leadership institute at Colorado State University, developed in partnership with AACTE and the Wallace Foundation, that convened early-career principals to identify practices and support structures needed for graduates beyond university-based preparation programs. Outcomes from these institute discussions will help guide curriculum reform to better prepare school principals and will also inform universities on how to keep the connection with alumni vibrant and relevant.
05 Dec2017
By Sarah Verneret
On November 14, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) held a briefing to share research-based findings and recommendations on investing in community schools as a means to school improvement. The briefing was based on a study LPI recently conducted with the National Education Policy Center and highlighted community schools – that is, schools that partner with local agencies to provide integrated academic, health, and social services to the community – as a school improvement approach that meets the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirement for “evidence-based” interventions.
At the briefing, panelists included representatives from community schools and other supporters. Community School Director Shanelle England described her work at Baltimore’s Forest Park High School, which consists of supporting her students, their families, and the school staff, as well as developing relationships with community agencies. The panelists all advocated for continued funding for the integrated models.
01 Dec2017
By Deborah Koolbeck
On the same day that Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) released her Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Trump Administration released a set of principles for HEA reauthorization.
The White House document (see PDF here) reveals five broad goals and eight policy principles for consideration as the reauthorization process begins in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House Education and the Workforce committee is expected to move the bill forward starting the week of December 4. On the U.S. Senate side, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has stated that HEA reauthorization will be a priority for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee next year.
01 Dec2017
By Deborah Koolbeck
On December 1, the Republicans of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce released their bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. H.R. 4508, the “Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity though Education Reform (PROSPER) Act,” would change or repeal aspects of the current law.
While we are still analyzing the bill, here are few key provisions that would affect educator preparation:
