03 Aug2021
By Gaelle Gilbert

AACTE is the winner of an 2021 Apex Award for Publication Excellence for its online COVID-19 Resource Hub.
AACTE earned the Award of Excellence in the COVID-19 Media –Education and Training category. This award, sponsored by Communications Concepts Inc., is an annual competition for publishers, editors, writers, and designers who create print, web, electronic and social media. Nearly 1,200 entries were submitted to this year’s competition.
AACTE developed the COVID-19 Resource hub to in response to the global crisis to address the immediate needs of its member institutions. The pandemic caused many unprecedented challenges in education preparation—whether it be the move from in person to virtual learning or putting safety measures in place, colleges of education had to quickly adapt their teaching methods to prepare their students to step into virtual classrooms while fighting teacher shortage and burnout.
29 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
Members of an AACTE Topical Action Group (TAG) can collaborate with fellow members through AACTE’s online community,
Connect360. This new platform enables you to easily post content, ask questions, exchange ideas, and share resources and best practices.
23 Jul2021
By Gaelle Gilbert
Series one, episode four of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest episode features the story of an educator preparation program facing multiple challenges in its work to prepare teacher candidates for the classroom. Additionally, covering how their local school district faces its own pressures impacted by teacher shortages, poor teacher performance, high burnout, and issues with retention. In the fourth episode of the Revolutionizing Education Podcast, Jeff Bill and Ashley Smith from Pitt County Schools and Christina Tschida from Appalachian State University share three case stories featuring the use of co-teaching and demonstrating a partnership between university and schools that builds capacity, efficacy, and resilience in teachers at various levels of preparation.
Listen now to Episode 4: Learning Together

13 Jul2021
By Gaelle Gilbert

Series one, episode three of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.
The latest episode features The RockTEACH Program at member institution Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. It covers the efforts of the university to diversify the teacher workforce by recruiting underrepresented minority high school students to the field of teaching, providing financial assistance and mentoring support through the RockTEACH Program. AACTE members Monique Alexander, Jeremy Lynch, Christine Walsh, and Linda Zane of Slippery Rock share the story, the situation, and the results of the program. Listeners will gain insight into a burgeoning and multifaceted program to support a diverse teacher pipeline and develop an understanding of the critical elements and challenges of their story.
Listen now to Episode 3: The RockTEACH Program

13 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda

Have you needed to edit your member roster, update your address, or change your areas of expertise lately? If so, you have probably noticed a few changes to the AACTE Profile Manager.
From now to August 2021, AACTE is in the final stages of a database migration. As such, you will not be able to make any edits to your member profile during this time. Do not worry, you can still access all other tools. Do you need to search for a colleague, access a resource, or register for an event? The Membership Directory, Resource Library, Registration System are still accessible. Or are you planning to renew your membership for 2022? You may also still make renewal payments via the Profile Manager.
Once the migration is complete, you will have access to all AACTE resources and much more! The only difference is that when you log into the site, it will look a little different and be more user friendly.
Do you have a question, need to edit your member profile, or would like to offer feedback? Please contact the Membership Team at membership@aacte.org.
29 Jun2021
By Ward Cummings

AACTE is happy to announce the release of the newly updated State Affiliate Leaders Manual. As with previous versions of this important resource, the purpose of the manual is to advise AACTE state officeholders on how best to use their leadership roles to support and guide their state affiliates, as well as to help them channel their efforts toward improving teacher quality and the education profession in their state, in their region, and nationally.
Assuming the leadership of an AACTE state affiliate can be a daunting experience for any newly elected president. Not only must new leaders attend to all the sundry responsibilities associated with the proper functioning of a state chapter, they must also attend to regional duties—such as the responsibility to participate in AACTE regional meetings and activities and the national AACTE State Leaders Institute. As a guide on how to perform these and other functions, this updated manual is a resource not just for newly elected state leaders, but also for long serving ones.
28 Jun2021
By Linda Minor

We are excited to announce the video recordings of the general sessions, deeper dives and learning labs are now available on aacte.org. These attendee-only resources are available to access on-demand for your continual professional development.
AACTE is also pleased to share registration is now open for the 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, March 4-6. Themed “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic,” the conference will highlight these four strands:
- Strand 1 – Preparing Educators In and For the Future
- Strand 2 – Renewing Democracy through Activism and Collaboration
- Strand 3 – Addressing Public Concerns for the Future of the Profession
- Strand 4 – Confronting the Challenges Facing Our Programs and Institutions
Register by October 29, 2021, and receive discounted early bird rates. Secure your spot and savings today! Visit www.aacte.org for additional information, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and join the conversation using #AACTE22.
We hope you will join us again in New Orleans!
21 Jun2021
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is excited to announce its first ever podcast,
Revolutionizing Education, is now available! This new podcast examines ways to innovate educator preparation and education for all learners. AACTE’s first series highlights case stories shared by members during the 2021 Annual Meeting. The first two episodes are available now, with additional episodes being released throughout the summer. A second series will premiere this fall featuring live interviews with AACTE members and partners, national education leaders, teacher candidates, and students.
AACTE is expanding the reach of its members’ work in educator preparation through podcasting. Episodes of Revolutionizing Education are available on
Apple Podcasts,
Google Podcasts,
Stitcher,
TuneIn, and
Spotify, where you can not only listen to or download the podcast, but also leave ratings, reviews, and feedback.
Listen now to the first two episodes:
In this episode, we hear from AACTE members Kyle Harrison, Kelly Hayek, and Irene Ann Resenly from the University of Wisconsin who explore the role of joy in teacher education.
In this episode, Eva Zygmunt from Ball State University in Muncie, IN, details the creative efforts of a mid-sized, midwestern community collaborative to reclaim its school district from a state-takeover, resulting in the legislated granting of authority over the local district to the state university.
Follow the AACTE Podcast on
Twitter at #AACTEPodcast and #RevolutionizingEd. Be sure to tune in and spread the word!
Warm regards,
Jerrica Thurman, MBA, CAE
Director, Marketing and Communications
15 Jun2021
By Jerrica Thurman

AACTE is excited to announce its first ever podcast will debut this month. The new podcast entitled, Revolutionizing Education, examines ways to innovate educator preparation and education for all learners. The first podcast series highlights case stories shared by AACTE members during the 2021 Annual Meeting. New episodes from the first series will be released throughout the summer. In the fall, the AACTE podcast will feature live interviews with members, national education leaders, students, and other influencers in the education industry.
AACTE has partnered with Resonate Recordings for high-quality podcast production that will expand the reach of members’ work in educator preparation throughout the world. AACTE’s podcast episodes are available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify. On these platforms, you can search for and access the podcast, learn about it, listen to the episodes as well as leave ratings and reviews.
Follow the AACTE Podcast on Twitter at #AACTEPodcast and #RevolutionizingEd. Be sure to tune in and spread the word!
15 Jun2021
By Nicole Dunn

AACTE’s “Combating Racism is Educator Preparation Series” began in 2021 with three specific objectives for our membership, audience, and the field at large:
- Contextualize the role of racism in structural oppression and how the education system at large maintains and promulgates these oppressive systems.
- Engage with you, the audience, to understand you and your organization’s understanding and capacity to address racism using antiracist, abolitionist, inclusive, and intersectional policies.
- Normalize and humanize critical conversations around racism within the field that will lead to collaborative action around structural oppression in education.
10 Jun2021
By Jerrica Thurman
Are you looking to connect with colleagues with similar, scholarly interests? Engage with like-minded peers and grow your network on AACTE’s
Connect360 anytime, from anywhere. Simply log on to aacteconnect360.org, create your profile, and begin inviting colleagues to join your network right away. You can even introduce yourself in the open forum.
02 Jun2021
By AACTE
While we love engaging conversations within Connect360, we also love seeing friendly faces and updated bios on profiles! Updating your profile enables others to learn more about you. Adding your bio, job history, and interests encourages your colleagues to engage and collaborate with you within the community.
27 May2021
By AACTE

Watch this video to learn more about AACTE Connect360 and visit aacteconnect360.org to get involved. For the latest in what’s happening with AACTE’s new online community, follow us at #AACTE360.
27 May2021
By Mandi Jo John
How can we train teachers to elicit student thinking in ways that position students as sense-makers without being able to place them directly in the field?
The newest episode of Mursion’s Education Roundtable Series will dive into Oakland University’s account of how its math and social studies training program is implementing mixed reality simulations to replace and/or augment field experiences during the global coronavirus pandemic.
On June 8, Sue Wiley will be joined by Dawn Woods, Linda Doornbos, and Cynthia Carver from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. to present their findings. During the Roundtable, the team will discuss emerging themes from their research, such as how simulations supported the development of justice-oriented high-leverage practices within their teacher education program.
The Education Roundtable: The Argument for Mixed Reality Simulations in Teacher Preparation, will include a live simulation demo, as well as a Q&A session where attendees can ask questions about their findings as well as funding, vouchers, and more.
Register now for this free Roundtable.
24 May2021
By Michael Rose
President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) in March, which includes $122 billion for the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. The ARP ESSER funds are intended to help state educational agencies and school districts safely reopen and address the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s students. AACTE has developed the Educating the Future, Today toolkit to help members navigate conversations with state or local education leaders, encouraging them to use ESSER funds to staff classrooms with teacher candidates.
These funds provide a unique opportunity for school districts and educator preparation programs to address the teacher pipeline. As the U.S. Department of Education’s noted in its COVID-19 Handbook, Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs, ARP ESSER funds can be used to staff classrooms with teacher candidates, thereby providing them with practical experience while helping alleviate the challenges teachers are encountering with the transition back to in person teaching.