Reflection: National Teacher of the Year State Dinner

By Brooke Evans

On May 2, 2024, the inaugural National Teacher of the Year (NTOY) State Dinner was held at the White House. The event welcomed National Teacher of the Year (NTOY) Missy Testerman from Tennessee, state teachers of the year, members of the NTOY selection committee, sponsors, and esteemed guests to honor Testerman as well as celebrate the work of the state teachers of the year in camaraderie.

The event, hosted by First Lady Jill Biden, Ed.D., made history as it was the first time being held at the White House, with distinguished guests Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Secretary of Health & Human Services Xavier Becerra, with a special appearance from President Joe Biden, who addressed the audience with celebratory remarks for the state teachers of the year in attendance, “Teaching is not what you do, but who you are. I realize how hard you all work every day. I just want to say how much I appreciate all you do.”  

JTE’s Special Issue on Family and Community Engagement: Insights from NAFSCE’s Innovation Collaboratives

By Margaret Caspe

Over the past four years, the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) has partnered with AACTE to understand the landscape of educator preparation for family and community engagement and to develop a framework to bring together educator preparation programs, families, schools, and policymakers to create systemic change in this space.  This partnership prepares educators to develop the competencies to reflect on their work with families and to connect, collaborate, and lead alongside them is one of the most important ways to impact students in classroom settings positively.

Continuing this work, Reyna Hernandez and I are honored to provide the commentary for the upcoming special issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) focused on family, school, and community partnerships and edited by Valerie Hill-Jackson, Ed.D.  In our commentary, we share the cumulative findings of nine collaboratives working to enhance how educators are prepared to engage families. These collaboratives linked educator preparation programs nationwide with families, communities, and school partners. The collaboratives then carried out and collected data on short-term projects that enhanced family engagement in educator preparation through changes to coursework, clinical experience, and other programmatic areas.

Violence, Aggression Against Educators Grew Post-Pandemic

By Jim Sliwa

While threats and violence against PK-12 teachers and other school personnel in the United States declined during the pandemic after the restrictions were lifted, incidents rebounded to levels equal to or exceeding those prior to the pandemic, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

As a result, the percentage of teachers expressing intentions to resign or transfer rose from 49% during the pandemic to 57% afterward, the researchers found.

“Aggression and violence against educators and school personnel are major concerns that affect the well-being of school personnel and the students and families they serve. This study highlights a growing crisis in our schools that needs to be addressed nationally,” said lead author Susan Dvorak McMahon, Ph.D., of DePaul University, chair of the APA Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel. The task force conducted two surveys in collaboration with national education and related organizations. The results were published in the journal American Psychologist.

National Academy of Education Releases New Consensus Report

Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs

By Kenneth Zeichner

This article was written by Kenneth Zeichner, Ph.D., and Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D.

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) recently released a consensus study report, Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs, which addresses the interconnectedness between the role of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) to both prepare teachers well and the larger policy supports necessary for the nation to meet the critical goal of recruiting, retaining, and equitably distributing a well-qualified workforce to ensure that all students are taught by well-prepared, culturally responsive teachers.

Register for the May 8 Family Engagement Educator Prep Webinar

By AACTE

AACTE has partnered with the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) on their Family Engagement Educator Preparation Innovation Project also known as FEEPIP. Do not miss the last webinar in their FEEPIP series this coming Wednesday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. EST, “Building Systems to Support How Educators Learn to Engage Families and Communities.” 

This webinar highlights two innovation collaboratives to explore how they are sparking efforts to build stronger systems for preparing educators to engage families and communities.

Prepared to Teach: How New Mexico is Building Its Path 

By Karen DeMoss

This two-day convening on May 30-31, 2024 in Albuquerque, NM, will explore concrete, synergistic actions based on the Prepared to Teach model to produce positive, mutually reinforcing transformations in the teacher preparation ecosystem. 

Day 1 of this convening will review New Mexico’s robust, supportive public and policy environment for teacher preparation transformation. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore key approaches for shifting public narratives about teacher preparation and education, using new and existing data to build political will for residency funding, and framing policies that support ecosystem shifts. 

Tennessee English as a Second Language Teacher Named 2024 National Teacher of the Year

By Erica Stanley

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today announced Missy Testerman, a kindergarten through eighth grade English as a second language (ESL) teacher, as the 2024 National Teacher of the Year.

Testerman served as a first and second-grade teacher at Rogersville City School in Rogersville, TN, for three decades before taking advantage of the state’s Grow Your Own initiative and adding an ESL endorsement three years ago. She currently works as an ESL specialist at Rogersville City School, where she teaches K-8 students who do not speak English as their first language and supports them in all academic areas. A staunch advocate for students, teachers, and families, Testerman prioritizes instruction that ensures her students have the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve. She knows families are extensions of the classroom and often advocates for her families who speak little English.

National Center for Learning Disabilities Research and Survey

By Lauren Wong

My name is Lauren Wong and I am from WestEd, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization engaged in educational technical support and research across the country. We are partnered with the National Center for Learning Disabilities, one of the nation’s leading organizations advancing the lives of individuals with learning disabilities through policy, innovation, practice, and outreach. We are working together to learn about the experiences, opinions, and perspectives of educators who teach students with learning disabilities. 

We are surveying K-12 educators who teach students with learning disabilities. Your participation in this survey will help us understand your experiences teaching students with learning disabilities, the needs you have related to professional development and access to resources, and your school’s climate. All information shared will be kept secure and will be de-identified to protect your privacy and confidentiality. Results from this survey will be used to guide NCLD’s efforts in outreach, policy, and advocacy.

AACTE Celebrates Public Schools Week 2024 

By AACTE

AACTE is joining with the Learning First Alliance and partners nationwide to celebrate educators, students, and school communities during Public Schools Week 2024.  

This year’s week of events takes place from February 26 to March 1, 2024. Throughout the week — families, educators, and community members are encouraged to highlight the amazing things happening in their local public schools while expressing their support and advocacy for public education and all the benefits it provides children and families alike.  

“Public schools not only educate the minds of our future leaders but nurture the values of community, citizenship, and democracy that cultivate a society where every individual has the chance to thrive and contribute,” said AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D. “AACTE extends a happy Public Schools Week to our educator workforce that stands as pillars for the students who will one day become exemplary American citizens.” 

AACTE is Co-Hosting National Symposium for Educator Preparation, Policy, and Leadership

Registration is Open

By AACTE

AACTE is co-hosting the 2024 National Symposium for Educator Preparation, Policy, and Leadership. The symposium will bring together teachers, university/college faculty, education deans, teacher leaders, school district personnel and superintendents, state licensure and certification professionals, education leaders, and state and federal policymakers to identify and highlight effective and equitable strategies, resources, policies and practices to recruit, prepare, and retain an effective teacher workforce with a focus on teachers from historically marginalized communities.

AACTE Joins National Coalition to Combat SPED Shortages

By AACTE

AACTE has joined the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services (NCPSSERS) to continue advancing toward solutions for the nationwide PK-12 special educator shortage. 

NCPSSERS is a national coalition composed of more than 30 participating member organizations. Since 2006, NCPSSERS has been dedicated to addressing the issue of shortages in special education and related services personnel in schools. 

Prepared To Teach Launches Webinar Series on Building Residencies

By Tyler Pointer

In their work to prepare aspiring teachers with pathways to paid residencies, Prepared To Teach is offering a six-part webinar series titled “Foundations to Futures” to support building new residencies. Foundations to Futures is a free, exploratory webinar series on residencies that will culminate in an invitation to join the Prepared to Teach Community of Practice to launch residencies.

The series will launch on January 29, 2024, with its first webinar, “Foundations for a Strong Residency” which will focus on the potential teacher residencies have to fundamentally transform both how individuals enter the profession and how students and teachers experience schooling. This webinar will share the following:

• A vision for residencies as a unique approach to preparation—and why we need them today,
• How preparation programs and school/district partnerships form the backbone of a strong residency,
• The basics of co-constructing residency designs,
• And tools and resources—all Creative Commons Licensed—for you to use in your local context.

Kern Family Foundation’s Master of Arts in Character Education Scholarship Opportunity

By Kirstin Werner

The Kern Family Foundation is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham located in Edgbaston, U.K. delivers a Master of Arts (MA) in Character Education. The MA program is a part-time degree that is taught online over three years giving students the flexibility to complete the program alongside full-time employment. The 2024 cohort begins in September 2024.

The university will offer scholarships covering the full tuition expense for a select number of U.S. citizens, who live and work in the United States. This scholarship is known as the Kern Award. As a valued partner of the foundation, we invite you or one of your esteemed colleagues to apply for the program.

At 11:00 a.m. CST on December 14, 2023, Paul Watts, Ph.D., program lead for the MA in Character Education, will be presenting an information session about the program via Zoom.

Department of Education and Partners Launch PSA Campaign – Teachers: Leaders Shaping Lives

By Nicole Dunn

On November 9, the U.S. Department of Education, TEACH.org, and the One Million Teachers of Color (1MToC) Campaign announced their partnership for a new public service announcement (PSA), Teachers: Leaders Shaping Lives.

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the Biden Administration are prioritizing teachers and the shortage crisis by investing in strong teacher pipelines that focus on diversifying the profession. AACTE was consulted on this project and on the development of the PSA.

By demonstrating the value and impact of teaching, the PSA looks to elevate the profession, shift perceptions, ignite respect, celebrate teachers, and inspire more talented people — especially Black and Latino talent — to become teachers.  In a LinkedIn Live event that accompanied the PSA launch, Secretary Cardona dived into teacher diversity and shortages, stating that the teacher shortage is a symptom of a teacher respect issue.

Fenwick Delivers 20th Annual Brown Lecture in D.C.

By Tyler Pointer

AACTE’s Dean in Residence Leslie T. Fenwick, Ph.D., recently delivered the 20th Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research in Washington D.C.

According to the American Educational Research Association, which hosted the event, the Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research illuminates the important role of research in advancing the understanding of equality and equity in education.

Fenwick’s lecture, “Otherwise Qualified: The Untold Story of Brown and Black Educators,” offered a newly excavated history of implementing the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. It also advances her theory of “cultural elision” to explain how Brown is still misdefined.