04 Jan2018
By Zachary VanHouten
Today, the Council of Chief State School Officers announced four teachers from New Jersey, Ohio, Washington, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) as finalists for the 2018 National Teacher of the Year:
Amy T. Anderson, 2018 New Jersey Teacher of the Year
A high school American Sign Language teacher at Ocean City Public Schools, Anderson received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree from Western Maryland College. Learn more
18 Dec2017
By Kristin McCabe
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) requests proposals for workshops and other interactive sessions to be presented at its 2018 National Teacher Leadership Conference, July 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Proposals are due by February 5.
The 4-day conference will convene state and national teachers of the year (and finalists from the states) to “engage with national education leaders, administrators, policy makers, the business community, and colleagues to dynamically teach and learn in order to impact students, schools, and the profession.” Themed Teaching Tomorrow’s Leaders, the conference will offer sessions focused on four urgent problems of practice identified through a membership survey by NNSTOY:
08 Dec2017
By Denise Pearson and Amanda Lester
As the nation’s classrooms become more diverse, research has demonstrated that developing a more diverse teaching workforce is imperative to meeting the needs of all students. Efforts are under way across the nation to identify successful strategies for increasing the recruitment and retention of teachers of color, especially men of color, into the education workforce. Organizations including AACTE and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) are among those leading such efforts.
At AACTE, this work includes the Black, Hispanic, and Latino Male Teacher Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC), the AACTE Holmes Program, and the Diversified Teaching Workforce: Recruitment and Retention Topical Action Group. Each of these initiatives is focused on increasing educator diversity by identifying and implementing practice that supports degree attainment and teacher certification. The NIC is currently developing a conceptual framework paper to highlight some of these strategies and plans to release the paper at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting.
06 Dec2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Thursday, December 14, AACTE will host a free webinar, supported by The Wallace Foundation, on principal leadership. Please join us from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST for “Principals as Transformation Leaders: Support for New Leaders.”
Although university support for new school leaders often ends with graduation, novice principals need ongoing professional development and can benefit from continued connections with their preservice preparation programs. The new leaders serving as panelists on this webinar will offer perspectives on their preservice principal preparation and ideas for creating ongoing systems of support. Each panelist is a recent participant in a new leadership institute at Colorado State University, developed in partnership with AACTE and the Wallace Foundation, that convened early-career principals to identify practices and support structures needed for graduates beyond university-based preparation programs. Outcomes from these institute discussions will help guide curriculum reform to better prepare school principals and will also inform universities on how to keep the connection with alumni vibrant and relevant.
17 Nov2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Thursday, November 30, AACTE will host a free webinar on preparing principals for effective leadership, with support from The Wallace Foundation. Please join us from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST for Principals as Transformation Leaders: High-Quality Preservice Preparation.
Considering the impact of school leaders on student achievement, principal preparation programs have a huge responsibility to best prepare individuals to lead our nation’s schools. Yet a recent report by the Wallace Foundation, Improving University Principal Preparation Programs: Five Themes From the Field, indicates there is concern that many university-based programs need curricular redesign and stronger connections to school districts. The panelists on this webinar will discuss the need for reform in principal preparation and examples of quality innovations.
03 Nov2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
Please join us Thursday, November 9, at 3:00 Eastern for the third free webinar in the series we’ve organized for AACTE on principal leadership, with support from The Wallace Foundation.
Great school culture starts with strong leadership and builds a context for excellence in every area of the school. Fostering open relationships at all levels, principals are at the heart of building and sustaining a healthy school culture. This webinar, Principals as Transformation Leaders: Changing School Cultures, will feature school leaders who have successfully worked to create a positive school culture that promotes learning and acceptance for all.
02 Nov2017
By John F. Snyder
AACTE is partnering with the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) to increase input from educator preparation providers in the organization’s annual teacher supply and demand survey. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The current shortage of educators is no longer a myth. Data from several reports, including the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) Educator Supply and Demand Report 2016-17, show that in numerous certification areas in most areas of the country, there are not enough well-qualified candidates to fill educator vacancies. And even in states where the demand for full-time teachers is not as severe as in other states, there is a critical shortage of substitute teachers.
27 Oct2017
By Jemima Cabedo
In celebration of National Principals Month, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) announced the 2017 Class of National Distinguished Principals and recognized them at an event in Washington, DC, October 12-13. AACTE is proud to congratulate the honorees and to note that nearly all of the principals recognized by the program were prepared at AACTE member institutions.
This year’s distinguished principals completed their preparation at the following AACTE member institutions:
20 Oct2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
On Thursday, October 26, AACTE will host the second in a series of free webinars we’ve organized on principal leadership, sponsored by the Wallace Foundation. Please join us 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT for Principals as Transformation Leaders: Serving Urban, Rural, and Alternative Settings.
This webinar will feature school leaders who face unique challenges based on school settings. While we know principals can significantly impact student achievement in all situations, the challenges of a specific environment can require unique skills. Presenters will share aspects of their work, including:
10 Oct2017
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE celebrates National Principals Month this October! The key to student success is a great school, and the key to a great school is a great principal. Please join us in this opportunity to say “thank you” to principals across the nation and to recognize their valuable contributions in your local community.
National Principals Month gives us the chance to honor and reflect on the roles of school leaders and the importance of preparing them well. AACTE members across the country are working to advance principal preparation through a variety of initiatives and partnerships. For example, AACTE member institution Colorado State University will host a 2-day School Leadership Institute this fall to survey new principals about ways to enhance university-based preparation programs and support school leaders in their critical first year on the job. Many other institutions are participating in AACTE’s new Principal Preparation Program Learning Community Topical Action Group, a member-led collaborative exploring issues and promising practice in principal preparation.
06 Oct2017
By Rodrick Lucero and Amanda Lester
We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new AACTE task force to study how to improve the preparation of special education teachers through clinical practice. Growing out of the work of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC), the AACTE Special Education Task Force held its inaugural meeting October 1-2 in Washington, DC.
The task force is charged with applying the CPC frameworks for clinical educator preparation to the particular needs of developing special education teachers. During this week’s meeting, the group began outlining the scope of its work, which is supported by a grant from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. The task force will study areas such as dual licensure and dual preparation models, pipeline strategies around recruitment and retention, interdisciplinary collaboration, and other factors pertinent to this specialized preparation. They ultimately plan to identify models and develop recommendations to amplify promising practices, establish continuous improvement benchmarks, and provide guidance for the field.
29 Sep2017
By Aaron Goldstein
A commission made up of college of education deans, state legislators, university presidents, heads of postsecondary systems, state and district superintendents, and leaders of nationwide organizations has released a report presenting recommendations for state policy related to teacher preparation data systems. This Teacher Preparation Commission of the Southern Regional Education Board, a nonprofit organization that works with states to improve public education and support state policy makers, is charged with developing and identifying state recommendations to improve teacher preparation programs.
More Than the Numbers – Teacher Preparation Data Systems: State Policy and Recommendations, the Commission’s first report, focuses on how to build strong statewide data systems for teacher preparation drawing on policy models in three states – Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In Louisiana, the report acknowledges the work of the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Teacher Preparation Program Dashboard for promoting data in a more accessible and transparent way. In North Carolina, the report praises the University of North Carolina Educator Quality Dashboard. In Tennessee, the State Board of Education, Tennessee Department of Education, and Tennessee Higher Education Commission redesigned the state’s Teacher Preparation Report Card to provide an interactive tool for aspiring teachers. Other practices that the report praises are data systems’ ability to follow teachers through their careers, focus on outcome measures, break down data “silos,” and make data more accessible.
26 Sep2017
By Jemima Cabedo
“Although the current dialogue about school choice is generally focused on charter schools, vouchers, and the overall diversion of taxpayer monies to private entities, it misses a fundamental reality: Most public school districts already offer a wide range of choices to their students.” This message is at the core of a new report from the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education titled Busting the Myth of “One Size Fits All” Public Education.
At an event unveiling the report earlier this month, panelists discussed the wide variety of alternative options offered in public education. Thomas Gentzel, executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, noted that the system has evolved over many years from one that offers limited options into one that molds to students’ diverse needs – providing a greater degree of choice, in fact, than many private schools.
22 Sep2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
This fall, AACTE will present a new webinar series called “Principals as Transformation Leaders,” supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of the Association’s ongoing partnership to disseminate the latest research and practice innovations in principal preparation. As faculty working with current and aspiring principals in Colorado, we are excited to serve as moderators for these webinars. If you are involved in school leadership, either as a practicing administrator or as a university faculty member, please join us!
The first webinar, titled Principals as Transformation Leaders: Changing Roles and Responsibilities, will be held October 12 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Transformation leaders identify needs and empower stakeholders to implement positive change to maximize the desired results. They are visionary, resourceful, and adaptable – qualities that are especially valuable in today’s educational environment, where the roles and responsibilities of a principal are changing drastically in any typical day. This webinar will explore these changes and how they impact the day-to-day work of a principal. Learn about proactive ways to support new principals in their challenging role from our panelists:
05 Sep2017
By Kristin McCabe
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) has selected a professional development partnership of the University of Toledo (OH) to receive the 2017 Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award. The award will be presented October 22 at the AASCU Annual Meeting in La Jolla, California.
The winning program, NURTURES (Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science), aims to improve the science learning and readiness scores of preschool through third grade students in the Toledo area. NURTURES is a collaboration among the university’s education, engineering, and natural science faculty; local daycare centers and nursery schools; informal science centers; and other community resources to create a complementary, integrated system of science education. The program enhances teacher understanding of science content to improve classroom practices and offers classroom extension activities and family learning opportunities.
