29 May2023
By Nicole Dunn
May is Jewish American Heritage Month. AACTE joins the nation in celebrating the values, culture, and contributions of Jewish people by encouraging all educators to think broadly and critically about how to teach the diverse and complex history and experience of Jewish people. This is more critical than ever, as noted by Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon in Dear Colleague Letter issued in conjunction with the Biden-Harris administration’s national strategy to counter antisemitism; in which Lhamon reminds us of the nationwide rise in reports of antisemitic harassment, including in schools.
29 May2023
By Nicole Dunn
Since its designation by Congress in 1999, National Military Appreciation Month in May, is the nation’s opportunity to honor the service and sacrifice of servicemembers and their families. Part of honoring that service is to ensure active and veteran military have access to educator preparation for those seeking to be teachers or administrators in the nation’s PK–12 schools.
24 May2023
By Weade James
The Call for Proposals for AACTE’s 2024 Annual Meeting is now open. The conference theme, “Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession into the Future” aligns the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting with the association’s vision and mission to revolutionize education for all learners by elevating education and educator preparation through research, professional practice, advocacy, and collaboration. AACTE’s Annual Meeting brings together professionals from the preponderance of higher education institutions and their affiliates who are preparing educators for the workforce and influencing the field. This year’s conference will disseminate the latest research on educator recruitment, preparation and retention, illuminate new ideas for innovation, and elevate research and evidence-based practices to enhance teaching and learning.
23 May2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the number of emergency teaching certifications issued across the state outpaced the number of newly fully certified teachers entering the field. The shift comes as the Commonwealth faces its most significant staffing challenges in well over a decade. During the 2021-22 school year, 6,366 people received emergency permits — compared to 4,220 students who received teaching certificates. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, more than 15,000 in-state certifications were issued during the 2010-11 school year. By 2021-22, that number dropped to more than 4,200 — a decrease of 10,800 certifications. As you may recall, those prepared through alternate pathways that require less coursework and student teaching experiences are 25% more likely to leave their teaching positions and the profession than those who are well prepared.
23 May2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Conversations surrounding the debt limit continue to dominate the Washington, DC news cycle this week. High stakes talks surrounding an agreement between the GOP and White House paused on Friday after Republican negotiators walked out of the room — ultimately blaming the Biden Administration for holding up discussions. As you will recall, last month House Republicans passed a bill that ties the debt limit to appropriations by raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through the end of next March, whichever happens first, in exchange for a wide range of proposals to decrease government funding. The cuts to federal funding would include capping federal funding at fiscal year (FY) 2022 levels — a nearly 22% cut to non-defense discretionary programs (i.e., education) — while also limiting spending growth to 1% every year over the next decade. Under the proposal, as many as 7.5 million children with disabilities would face reduced supports — a cut equivalent to removing more than 48,000 teachers and related services providers from the classroom.
23 May2023
A Q&A with Susan Kemper Patrick and Karen Escalante
By Brooke Evans
Susan Kemper Patrick Ph.D. and Karen Escalante, Ed.D. are presenting a session at AACTE’s 2023 Washington Week, June 4-7, “An Increased Number of Teachers?! What Has California Done to Address the Teacher Shortage and Why has it Worked?” Below Patrick and Escalante answer a few questions about the topics they will discuss at the session and tools attendees can take back to their organizations.
23 May2023
By Stephanie Barrette
MTSU’s College of Education continues to strengthen its relationship with Murfreesboro City Schools, this time through math literacy training for K-5 teachers who will return to their district and share their new knowledge with teacher colleagues.
“We love the teachers teaching teachers model,” said Katie Schrodt, assistant professor of education and one of three faculty running the professional development. “Teachers want to hear from other teachers like them who are in the classroom, so it’s a really effective professional development model.”
23 May2023
By Northern State University
Northern State University is helping South Dakota solve the teacher shortage by creating a flexible, low-cost pathway for educational assistants (para-educators) who are working in schools to become teachers.
The South Dakota Department of Education opened applications for the Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway to thousands of para-educators working in accredited school districts across the state. The program will help para-educators pursue certification to become licensed teachers.
16 May2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Last week, the Ohio State Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee voted to accept a substitute version of Senate Bill 83. The original version of the bill, also known as the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act, was first introduced in April and proposed a slew of wide-ranging changes, including ending mandated diversity trainings, bans on partnerships with Chinese institutions, restrictions on faculty unions striking during contract negotiations, and new evaluations for students to rate professors on how well they have removed bias from their classrooms.
16 May2023
By Tim Neubert
The American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) is pleased to announce the release of its 2022-2023 Educator Supply and Demand Report, and wishes to thank the many colleges, universities, and school systems responding to the survey that served as the basis for this report.
The Educator Supply and Demand Report is conducted in conjunction with the Center for Marketing & Opinion Research, LLC (CMOR). With data and perceptions gathered from educational organizations over several decades, the report generated will provide education professionals and institutions with valuable regional and national insights and trends in PK-12 educator supply and demand.
15 May2023
By UNC Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Cato College of Education, a leader in literacy instruction and research, has been selected by the Mebane Foundation to help continue its legacy of supporting innovation in literacy education in North Carolina and beyond through a five-year grant and potential endowment of up to $23 million.
The decision follows a competitive statewide search to identify a partner to continue to carry on founder Allen Mebane’s commitment to support inventive educational endeavors as the foundation winds down operations over the next decade.
15 May2023
By Jennifer L Parks
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education (COE) Professor of Mathematics Education Linda Furuto has been selected as one of 105 Obama Foundation Global Leaders. The program trains participants around the world in leadership development and civic engagement to help build their skills and scale their work across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Furuto will be among just 34 leaders participating in the Asia-Pacific program, representing a cohort of 22 countries/territories across the region.
“I can’t think of anyone more qualified than Linda to represent the COE as an Obama Leader,” Department of Curriculum Studies Chair Patricia Espiritu Halagao said. “Her cutting-edge work with ethnomathematics and involvement as the UH Ambassador to the PVS Moananuiākea Voyage will greatly contribute to better understanding how education can serve our global communities. And, above all, she exudes the values of a humble, caring, and committed servant leader.”
15 May2023
By AACTE
The Journal of Teacher Education (JTE), AACTE’s flagship research journal, is pleased to announce its new editor-in-residence, A. Lin Goodwin. The role of the editor-in-residence is to serve as a knowledgeable other who has proven to be an essential and powerful voice in the field of education. This individual attends meetings with JTE editors, co-authors an editorial, and provides insight into the current state and future of the profession and solutions to overcoming challenges.
15 May2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
This week, in recognition of National Teacher Appreciation Day and National Teacher Appreciation Week the Biden-Harris Administration acknowledged the hard work and critical importance of our nation’s educators. President Biden issued a proclamation, saying in part:
“In schools across America, teachers are arriving early to set up classrooms, spending long hours educating students, and staying late to prepare tomorrow’s lesson plans. Their devotion to our children embodies the best of America — ready to serve and eager to see others thrive. Today and during this week, we celebrate our nation’s remarkable teachers and early childhood educators, and we recommit to having their backs, just as they have ours.”
Additionally, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden shared a video of 2023 State Teachers of the Year receiving thank you messages from the parents of their students. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona released a video and penned an op-ed, calling for the “ABCs of the teaching profession: agency, better working conditions, and competitive salary.”
15 May2023
A Q&A with Paul Katnik
By Nicole Dunn
AACTE’s 2023 Washington Week, June 4-7, is a legislative conference designed to enhance member advocacy skills, including Congressional visits while promoting policies to support educator preparation programs. Regarding academic censorship legislation, school leaders are at the intersection of the implications of proposed or passed legislation and how they affect student’s learning and the mental well-being of everyone working within our nation’s P-20 institutions. In a Wallace Foundation report by lead author Linda-Darling Hammond, Developing Effective Principals: What Kind of Learning Matters, the research tells us that for school leaders to serve their primary objective, to serve and be inclusive of all students, they must be provided quality principal preparation programs that are equity-oriented. How can our school leaders meet their objective if policies are explicitly, or through an induced chilling climate, preventing them from even discussing how to teach diverse learners and the history and context in which diverse students live?
Educator preparation professionals are invited to join AACTE’s premier advocacy event to exchange ideas with like-minded colleagues and leaders and advocate for positive change in educational policies. Take a look at the full schedule of sessions and register by May 31 to save your spot.
