Winding its way from D.C. to Louisiana, the U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 “Opportunity Across America” bus tour kicks off today and runs through Friday. If you’ll be nearby any of the tour stops, you might consider taking the opportunity to connect with national and local officials as an education leader in your community.
AACTE and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities are working collaboratively with the U.S. Department of Education to put together a dynamic Teach to Lead summit this fall related to teacher preparation in the United States. We invite you to apply by September 15 to participate in this event, which will be held November 3-4 in Washington, DC.
The summit will convene teams of educators to focus on the successes and challenges in teacher preparation. If you are developing or currently have partnerships with your local community colleges and school districts, then this event is especially for you. This summit is particularly timely given the presidential election this fall and the implementation/interpretation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. It will be an opportunity to explore our narrative prior to the new administration, which is critical to enable us to spotlight the high-quality work we do with teacher candidates and the children they will serve.
At the recent National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislative Summit, the organization’s International Education Study Group released the report No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State. This report culminates a 2-year study by a bipartisan group of state legislators and legislative staff examining the highest performing countries on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to discover common themes across their policies and practices.
You frequently hear AACTE champion the virtues of advocacy—of making your voice heard to help land you a place “at the table” rather than “on the menu.” AACTE staff are practiced at this habit, engaging in regular meetings with key officials at the U.S. Department of Education and elsewhere to share the work of the Association and our membership. I am pleased to share that some of these efforts have paid off with an invitation from the Department to collaborate on an upcoming teacher preparation summit.
The Department invited AACTE and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities to be partners on the summit, scheduled for November 3-4 in Washington, DC, as part of the “Teach to Lead” series focused on amplifying teachers’ voice and role in transforming education and related policy. This event will bring teams of educators together to discuss actionable ideas for collaborative, teacher-led improvements to teacher preparation. We are honored to represent you at the table on this critical issue.
As Americans, one of our most important duties is to participate in our democracy. Although it can be challenging to get out the vote on college campuses, engaged citizenship is one of the desired outcomes of postsecondary education, and we certainly want to nurture in our students a sense of responsibility to participate.
To help students navigate residency requirements, absentee ballots and their filing deadlines, and other voting rules and options, I encourage you to consult the resources compiled by the “Your Vote, Your Voice” campaign. This effort is spearheaded by the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, which includes AACTE and nearly 50 other national higher education organizations.
Did you know that August and October are great times to meet with your U.S. Representative and Senators? During these months, Congress is in “recess,” meaning members are back home meeting with constituents like you.
Time is running out on the August recess, but it may still be possible to land a meeting with some members of Congress before they return to Washington, DC, after Labor Day weekend. If not, October is coming fast, and now is an excellent time to ask for a meeting—or even work with your institution’s government relations office to invite elected officials to an event you are hosting.
The Advisory Council of State Representatives (ACSR) is pleased to announce a new consensus document, the State Policy Statements to Enhance Educator Preparation, developed by AACTE state chapter leaders and members to support the advocacy work of educator preparation providers (EPPs).
ACSR leaders representing more than 1,100 EPPs participated in a collaborative process to develop the document, agreeing on key statements under the following three priority areas:
As this year’s presidential election promises a tumultuous campaign season, the work of policy development goes on. So while the conventions and tweets capture our attention, the U.S. Department of Education is keeping to its tight timeline for the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), including releasing proposed regulations for public comment (see this recent blog for the latest opportunities).
Wondering where to go for the latest information on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)? Here are some key resources and opportunities from the U.S. Department of Education:
Comment on Proposed Regulations
Make your voice heard in the three separate proposed regulations currently open for comment:
As participants in the William Paterson University (WP) Holmes Network–part of the AACTE Holmes Program–we have enjoyed many new and stimulating opportunities. Throughout the past year, we’ve received mentorship and other valuable support as Holmes Honors students (undergraduates in teacher preparation programs) and Holmes Master’s students (in-service teachers in graduate programs), and last month we capped it all off with an inspiring trip to AACTE’s Washington Week.
I was honored to attend AACTE’s Clinical Practice Summit earlier this month, where the common theme was creating a unified profession to improve teacher preparation programs. It was wonderful to see so many passionate educators working to make improvements for future educators like me.
During the summit, I was able to sit in on the conversations of various groups and heard about roadblocks facing education policy. One that was mentioned repeatedly is the fact that many policy makers have no experience in education to inform policies that are truly helpful. There is also a persistent disconnect between higher education institutions and PK-12 schools. One participant noted that many principals still do not know what edTPA is, for example, making it hard to implement. This is just one of the many examples that show the necessity of better communicating and operating as a unified profession.
The recent passing of Muhammad Ali was a sad time for many. Although I was not particularly a boxing fan, I count myself among the millions of individuals around the world who were significantly impacted by Ali’s teachings. As educators and teacher educators, we stand to benefit from discussing and embracing the steadfast resolve shown by this great legend.
My fascination and admiration with Ali began with a personal encounter while I was attending college in Pennsylvania. The champ trained for some of his boxing matches in Deer Lake, PA. Upon a Saturday night whim, a group of friends and I decided to visit his training camp. We arrived there not realizing that there were actually regular visiting hours—and unfortunately, we had missed them.
The Council of Chief State School Officers has released a new guide for state policy makers to engage stakeholders on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation, and educator preparation providers (EPPs) are among the two dozen groups recommended for consultation. Although the guide indicates that EPP input is required only for state Title II grant applications, it encourages states to “not stop there” but rather engage whatever perspectives best represent the state’s interests. AACTE encourages its members and state chapters to get involved with their state’s ESSA implementation in as many areas and as early as possible.
The value of “acting as one” was the resounding message highlighted throughout AACTE’s Washington Week, June 5-8, themed “Diverse Perspectives, Deep Partnerships, One Profession.” Attendees were urged to join forces with fellow educators across conventional boundaries to build professional and political coalitions in order to effectively advocate for shared values. From connections made during the Holmes Scholars Summer Policy Institute to panel discussions at the State Leaders Institute through Day on the Hill advocacy work, the importance of building partnerships was stressed by invited partners and AACTE member participants alike.
AACTE’s 2016 Day on the Hill welcomed more than 120 member participants to the nation’s capital last week, building their capacity for political advocacy and delivering them to Capitol Hill to present their messages personally to member of Congress and their staff.
The event kicked off June 7 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. Attendees enjoyed a full-day orientation, expanded from prior years to more fully prepare them to articulate their positions, cultivate positive relationships with elected officials and the media, and partner with other education advocates.
AACTE President/CEO Sharon Robinson welcomed participants, saying she was excited to convene members for such an important cause. “We are taking on some of our greatest challenges,” she said. AACTE Board of Directors Chair Jane Bray and Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy Chair Joen Larson joined in offering greetings.
