11 Feb2022
By AACTE
AACTE is excited to announce that one of the nation’s foremost experts in education law and policy, Derek W. Black, J.D., is the opening keynote speaker for its 74th Annual Meeting, March 4 – 6, in New Orleans, LA. An outspoken champion for the importance of public education, Black will take center stage on Friday, March 4, to discuss his latest book, Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy, and discuss how current education trends represent a retreat from our nation’s foundational commitments to democracy and public education.
Black is currently a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and focuses on school funding and equality for disadvantaged students. He has published more than 30 scholarly articles in the nation’s top legal journals, and his research has been cited several times in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Black began his career at Howard University School of Law, where he founded and directed the Education Rights Center. Prior to teaching, he litigated education cases at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
08 Feb2022
By Anthony Webster
This post is part of AACTE’s Black History Month 2022 Blog series.
Every February, during Black History Month, we celebrate the countless contributions and achievements of notable Black inventors, educators, lawyers, and politicians from over the years. However, as I reflect, I remember to pay homage to the heroes and sheroes in my life who sacrificed to create a better tomorrow, from the Black teachers who inspired me during my PK-12 journey to the Black professors at my HBCU (Jackson State) who saw my potential and pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Because of them, I knew that getting to this point was possible.
08 Feb2022
By Nicole Dunn and Jacqueline Rodriguez
AACTE is committed to tackling systematic censorship within our country’s education system, alongside our members and partners, and it does so through an intersectional lens.
As an organization whose mission is to revolutionize education for all learners, AACTE developed the Racial and Social Justice Resource Hub to be a place for members to learn, grow, inquire, and share resources with one another that address social injustices and advocate for the preparation of profession-ready educators.
The Hub includes three sections: Education Censorship, Combating Racism, and LGBTQ+ Rights. Each section offers resources created by AACTE and its members and strategic partners, including articles, webinars and workshops, curriculum tools, and calls for action. Considering the ongoing efforts underway that limit educators’ teaching and discussion of our nation’s history, and other so-called divisive topics, AACTE is encouraging members to engage with the Hub to support your own teaching and scholarship.
07 Feb2022
By Nicole Dunn
Throughout AACTE Presents: The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) podcast, guests have talked at length about the district’s role in working with preparation programs to produce effective school leaders, but what is the state’s role? Each of the seven programs in UPPI were given a state partner as well, and in the final episode of the podcast, AACTE talks to authors of two Wallace Foundation commissioned reports on state policy and principal prep about how UPPI programs should be leveraging their state partnerships.
07 Feb2022
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.
While it feels like there has been sand in the gears surrounding movement on FY22 appropriations and the Build Back Better Act- Congress may be on a path to more forward movement in the coming weeks. We expect there could be movement in the House next week to address the Continuing Resolution (CR) which expires on February 18th. Now is the time for advocates to be at the table expressing the critical need for the proposed historic investments in education funding.
07 Feb2022
By Julie Tucker
Through a new partnership with William & Mary Law School, two doctoral students from the School of Education’s Holmes Scholars program are developing and teaching an English language preparatory course for newly-arrived international students in the university’s LL.M. program. Jingjing Liu, a Ph.D. student in higher education, and Paola Mendizábal, a Ph.D. student in curriculum and learning design, will teach Legal English during the upcoming spring and summer semesters.
The Holmes Scholars Program is a national initiative sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) that aims to support high-achieving students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds pursuing doctoral degrees in education. As Holmes Scholars, Liu and Mendizábal benefit from mentorship and professional development opportunities, as well as a close-knit network of peer scholars.
03 Feb2022
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
The growing interest by policymakers to provide early childhood education to learners across the country has been met with celebration by parents and families, and support from education organizations, including AACTE. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recently released a groundbreaking report addressing the future of the early childhood profession, Preparing a Profession: Perspectives of Higher Education Leaders on the Future of the Early Childhood Education Workforce. The report synthesizes interviews with key education stakeholders, including AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, focused on two key areas: What is the status of the early childhood profession? and What can education institutions be doing to strengthen the preparation of early childhood educators?
03 Feb2022
By Meghan Grenda
AACTE’s Member Spotlight features an individual from a member institution, highlighting how their work makes a difference in classrooms across the country. Nominate yourself or another member by providing a response to the following questions and sending it to mgrenda@aacte.org.
Meet Melody Russell …
Current Position: Professor, Auburn University
Number of years in your position: Since 2002
Alma Maters: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (B.S.); University of Nebraska-Lincoln, (M.S.); University of Georgia, (Ph.D.)
How long have you been a member of AACTE?
I’ve been a member since 2019.
Why did you join AACTE?
I was serving as assistant department head and my department head at the time invited me to join the TAG he started for department heads, chairs, and directors.
03 Feb2022
By AACTE
In commemoration of her retirement, AACTE sat down with Jane West, Ph.D., former AACTE senior vice president and current senior consultant, for a candid interview about her life, career, and the change she has inspired within education and educator preparation.
Jane West’s career illustrates her passion for education and her pursuit to ensure equitable access for all students. This commitment may be written into the very fabric of her DNA, as she was inspired early in her childhood through her mother’s example. An incredible advocate in her own right, her mother was the youngest of 10 children from a small town in North Carolina and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1936. Her mother’s principal belief that public education is an essential core aspect of our society had a profound impact on West. This belief sparked the beginning of her efforts in both advocacy and education.
03 Feb2022
By AACTE
It’s hard to believe there’s just one month until the AACTE 74th Annual Meeting.
As a reminder, the cutoff date for discounted hotel rates is
Monday, February 7. This year, you have two options for accommodations: the New Orleans Marriott (555 Canal Street) and the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel (500 Canal Street). While the majority of conference events will take place at the Marriott, AACTE preconference events, Holmes programming, and some affiliate and interest group meetings will occur at the Sheraton. Both are located near the French Quarter and just steps away from notable NOLA points of interest. For details, please view the hotel tab on the
Annual Meeting page on our website.
We can’t wait to see you in the “Big Easy,” as we
rethink, reshape, reimagine, and revolutionize our profession post pandemic. For details on the Annual Meeting, check out the
Speaker Wall and visit the
Event Planner.
01 Feb2022
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
As PK-12 schools, colleges, and universities around the country cope with the surge of coronavirus cases, AACTE’s fall 2021 member survey is drawing public attention to the pandemic’s continuing impact on educator preparation. The teacher shortage is now front-page news, and AACTE’s survey is providing vital information on how COVID-19 is affecting the supply of new teachers, counselors, and other educators.
AACTE members can access a free copy of the survey report and view a short video summary of key results. A new infographic provides a quick visual representation to share on social media.
01 Feb2022
By Nicole Dunn
Join AACTE in celebrating Black History Month by sharing your favorite resources for teaching Black history at the Ed Prep or PK-12 level. AACTE will compile this shared knowledge as a toolkit for teaching Black history every month of the year. Please take a moment to share your resources.
This post is the first of AACTE’s weekly Black History Month 2022 Blog series to celebrate members’ essential efforts to increase the representation of Black History in America’s schools. As a kickoff to the celebration, AACTE is releasing, for a limited time to the public, a recording of AACTE’s 2021 Annual Meeting Deeper Dive session, The 1619 Project.
Founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Lonnie Bunch, describes the museum as a place that “transcends the boundaries of race and culture that divide us and becomes a lens into a story that unites us all.” That is a powerful statement, and one AACTE and its members strive to emulate as it celebrates Black History, not just this month, but every day as AACTE advocates for curriculum and policies that are representative of the country’s diverse history.
Black History Month began as an effort to increase the representation in history classes of Black people’s contributions to America’s society, culture, and progress as a nation. Its origin lies in the thesis of Carter G. Woodson. According to an adaption of the National Museum of American History’s blog exhibit on Dr. Woodson, he was challenged by his dissertation advisors, who, according to Dr. Woodson, cautioned him time and again not to “undertake research that the Negro had a history.” Woodson knew that education is essential to social change — and AACTE honors that as part of its mission.
01 Feb2022
By Anna Merod
This article originally appeard in K12 Dive and is reprinted with permission.
Dive Brief:
- Supporting teacher prep programs through regulatory relief is key to addressing the ongoing teacher shortage that is impacting districts nationwide, said Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, during EdPrepLab’s Second Annual Virtual Policy Summit
- One potential pending policy solution is the EDUCATORS for America Act, introduced by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., in December to invest $1 billion annually for states to enhance teacher preparation programs and provide grants for strategies to meet K-12 workforce needs, said Lynn Gangone, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
- Funds from the $122.7 billion awarded to school districts nationwide through the pandemic-relief American Rescue Plan can also be used to fuel innovative, collaborative solutions between higher education and K-12 leaders to fix teacher shortages, according to Roberto Rodriguez, assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
28 Jan2022
By Michael Rose
AACTE has heard about several educator preparation programs and local school districts partnering together to utilize Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds to help address the teacher shortage in their communities. Now, we want to hear from you. Please take a moment to complete this short survey to share how you are using ESSER funds to place teacher candidates in local classrooms to help with the transition back to in-person learning.
28 Jan2022
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
AACTE joined the Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA) in 2020 as the pandemic gave rise to the growing challenges to teaching students with learning differences online. The Alliance steadfastly supports PK-20 students through resource development, including the newest resource: A Framework for Change: Investing ESSER Funds to Prepare and Support Teachers of Students With Disabilities.
This resource was developed by EALA partners to give an overview of strategies for preparing and developing highly qualified general and special education teachers. It will show how states and districts can invest Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to address the current and growing need for educators to support students with disabilities and their peers. It shares data and research on both current challenges and recommended strategies and outlines recommended actions for states, districts, and educator preparation programs.
