In One Giant classroom, Four Teachers Manage 135 Kids – and Love It

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

A teacher in training darted among students, tallying how many needed his help with a history unit on Islam. A veteran math teacher hovered near a cluster of desks, coaching some 50 freshmen on a geometry assignment. A science teacher checked students’ homework, while an English teacher spoke loudly into a microphone at the front of the classroom, giving instruction, to keep students on track.

One hundred thirty-five students, four teachers, one giant classroom: This is what ninth grade looks like at Westwood High School, in Mesa, Arizona’s largest school system. There, an innovative teaching model has taken hold, and is spreading to other schools in the district and beyond.

Lipscomb University to Launch New Teacher Preparation Program to Support Rural Communities

Lipscomb University is launching a new teacher preparation program designed for educators and leaders in rural school systems across Tennessee, President Candice McQueen announced today. 

Beginning next fall, Lipscomb University is making plans to offer a Rural Education and Coaching Certificate program designed to feature specific professional learning, coursework, and field experiences that focus on the challenges and opportunities unique to rural districts. Tennessee has the nation’s fifth-largest number of students attending rural schools, with more than 293,000 rural students — well over three times the roughly 86,000 students enrolled in Metro Nashville Public Schools. This new certificate program will provide valuable resources and training to support and equip highly effective teachers in these communities.

Courts Pause President Biden’s Debt Forgiveness Plan

A U.S. District in Texas ruled on November 10 that President Biden overstepped his authority in creating a student debt relief program without congressional approval, preventing the Administration from providing relief to federal borrowers. A federal appeals court expanded the ruling on November 14 saying, the pause “will remain in effect until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States.”

AACTE and Education Community Urge Congress to Support EDUCATORS for America Act 

AACTE recently sent a letter to all members of Congress urging them to cosponsor the EDUCATORS for America Act (S 3360/HR 6205), which would invest in and revitalize federal educator preparation programs. These programs are critical to addressing the shortage of profession-ready, fully licensed teachers in our nation’s classrooms. The letter was cosigned by 41 other education groups. 

Opinion: Problems with the ‘Teacher Pipeline’ — An Unfit Analogy for Finding (and Fostering) Future Educators 

“Teacher Pipeline” is a common term used to encompass issues of teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention. The phrase is not new, popular in seasons of dire teacher shortages —from the 1980s (AACTE, 1988; Ekstrom & Goertz, 1985) to our present age (Choate, Goldhaber, & Theobald, 2020; Goldhaber & Mizrav, 2021; Kyser et al., 2021).  

 A “Teacher Pipeline” evokes vivid imagery: supply and demand, staff shortages akin to an energy crisis, and an impetus to extract and extrude future educators. To wit, the pipeline analogy lends itself to further symbolism such as “refueling” (Goldhaber et al., 2015/6); “widening” (Gagnon et al., 2019), “excavating” (Goldhaber & Cowan, 2014); and dealing with numerous “breaks,” “holes,” or “leaks” (Barth et al., 2016; Shah et al., 2018; Stohr, Fontana, & Lapp, 2018; TNTP, 2020). 

Save your Spot and Get Inspired at #AACTE23 in Indy

Register by December 31 for Early-Bird Rates



AACTE’s 2023 Annual Meeting presents an opportunity for participants to learn from the nation’s thought leaders in the educator preparation field. Attendees will share the innovations they have created, learn from the work of colleagues and peers, and find inspiration by remembering the past to revolutionize the future.

It’s Time to Renew Your AACTE Membership

Benefits Expires December 31

Membership with AACTE demonstrates the commitment in advocating and building capacity for high-quality educator preparation programs in a dynamic landscape. With member support, AACTE aims to continuously provide valuable resources and actively develop our educator community. Put simply, members make what we do possible.

It’s not too late to lock in your benefits for 2023. Renew by December 31 — and continue to access all the connections, knowledge, and opportunities to support the future of education.

Register Today: Learner Variability and Culturally Responsive Practices

A Webinar Hosted by AACTE and Digital Promise

Understanding learner variability helps disrupt the idea of a one-size-fits all approach and paves the way for more equitable teaching and learning, writes Jessica Jackson, director of professional learning for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise.

“The intersection of culturally responsive practice with the science of learner variability … also helps us understand why culturally responsive practices are necessary for reaching and embracing the whole learner,” Jackson explains.

Real Classroom Experience and Real Pay

A Snapshot of a Teacher Preparation Program in America’s Most Diverse Small City

New Jersey City University, a minority serving institution, is home to the innovative “Teacher Intern Program” (TIP) — a preservice collaboration that supports the preparation, placement, and retention of diverse educators. TIP includes vital elements that address financial and pre-professional learning needs, graduating educators that often return to teach in their home communities. 

Important Work Continues While Congress on Recess

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.

Department of Education logoWe have finally made it to mid-term election week. Congress remains on recess until after the elections, but important work continues. It is my hope that by the end of the week we will have the complete results of the mid-term elections and I will provide an analysis on the makeup of the 118th Congress in our next Washington Update.

Holmes Program Doctoral Scholar Reflects on First Year

From the Holmes Bulletin

This reflection originally appeared on the Holmes Scholars Bulletin. 
 
Who would take me under their wing? Why would they help me get into a doctoral program? Does anyone see me and any potential in me?

Questions of uncertainty, depreciation, and self-doubt were hurling at me as I searched for a doctoral program in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration.

Yet, as I navigate the University of South Carolina’s program for these past two months of the semester, I have found that I belong, with all my humanity being present in the spaces I navigate.

Teaching Innovators: A Spotlight on Special Education at Clemson University

This article was originally published by Clemson News and is reprinted with permission.

Catherine Griffith serves as a clinical associate professor of special education in the Department of Education and Human Development at Clemson University. She coordinates the Master of Education program in Special Education with emphases in academic and behavioral interventions and teaches coursework on individuals with learning disabilities and emotional and behavioral disorders, intensive academic interventions, and applied behavior analysis.