05 Feb2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is delighted to announce the selection of Millennial Teachers of Color, by Mary E. Dilworth to receive the 2019 AACTE Outstanding Book Award. The award will be presented at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting Closing Session, February 24, in Louisville, KY.
The volume, published in 2018 by Harvard Education Press, explores the opportunities and challenges for creating and sustaining a healthy teaching force in the United States. Millennials are the largest generational cohort in American history, with approximately 90 million members and, of these, roughly 43 percent are people of color. This publication offers a fresh look at these millennials and explores their views of the teaching profession, focuses attention on their relation to schools and teaching and considers how these young teachers feel about teaching for social justice.
05 Feb2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE has chosen an article by Melanie M. Acosta of the University of Alabama, Michele Foster of the University of Louisville, and Diedre F. Houchen of the University of Florida, as recipients of the 2019 AACTE Outstanding Journal of Teacher Education Article Award. Their article, “Why Seek the Living Among the Dead? African American Pedagogical Excellence: Exemplar Practice for Teacher Education,” was published in the September/October 2018 issue of the journal and will be recognized formally with the award at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, February 22-24, in Louisville, KY.
In this article, the authors address current dilemmas in recruiting and preparing a diverse teaching force by reorienting teacher education toward an underutilized resource—African American pedagogical excellence. This article outlines the core attributes of African American pedagogical excellence, including its historical genesis, and reveals ways public school desegregation has jeopardized the transcendence of African American pedagogical excellence within teacher education. The article concludes with possibilities and recommendations for moving African American pedagogical excellence from margin to center in teacher education.
24 Jan2019
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
The Global Lens to Educator Preparation: Shared Knowledge and Advocacy for Diverse and Multicultural Perspective preconference will explore opportunities for a global focus in educator preparation that includes diverse perspectives and multicultural experiences, beginning in the university classroom and moving to infused clinical practice. Selected AACTE award recipients will share best practices, as well as innovative experiences and partnerships that prepare mindful teacher candidates who advocate for and insist on multicultural education and diverse global perspectives within the classroom
Sessions will take place 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on February 21, and will include a focus on the internationalization of teacher preparation. The first presentation and panel discussion, “Identifying and assessing unique indicators of global competency in pre- and in-service teachers and programs, and how to measure the benefits and impact of internationalization on teacher education programs,” ensures participants will walk away with tools and criteria for evaluating their programs on effectiveness on internationalization, as well as framework for positioning themselves for international engagement.
14 Jan2019
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for the 71st Annual Meeting Closing Session are Mary Dilworth, editor of Millennial Teachers of Color, and Leslie Fenwick, dean emerita of Howard University. The session will take place at the Kentucky International Convention Center on February 24, 2019.
Join this dynamic duo in a provocative discussion that probes beneath the surface to address how the millennial generation of teachers and those of color, in particular, have become agents of change in education. Discover why the missing link in the recurrent conversation about teacher diversity and inequities is the millennial generation—the most diverse, educated, socially connected, and now largest generation in the workforce.
11 Jan2019
By Jerrica Thurman
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released yesterday A Vision and Guidance for a Diverse and Learner-Ready Teacher Workforce, a report that outlines key recommendations state education chiefs, leaders in educator preparation, local education agencies, and others can take to ensure each child in the public school system is taught by a diverse and learner-ready teacher workforce. The report highlights actions for attracting, preparing, placing, supporting, and retaining teachers from diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds and socioeconomic experiences. It identifies specific policy levers state education agencies (SEAs) have authority over that should be activated to achieve the vision of what success can look like for students and teachers as well as highlight distinct responsibilities of SEAs where they have a moral imperative to lead for equity. Additionally, the report appendix references some of the best practices and policy recommendations states have implemented to push this work forward.
Along with state chiefs, AACTE and other national education organizations partnered with CCSSO on its new initiative to diversify the teaching profession through its Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers (DLRT) Initiative. The collaboration led to the production of the new report—a viable resource for state teams that provide model research- and evidence-based state best practices and policies.
08 Jan2019
By Deborah Koolbeck
The U.S. Department of Education Office (USDOE) of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, recently published a funding opportunity geared to help improve the outcomes of postsecondary students, specifically underrepresented students. The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) has issued a Funding Announcement and Request for Proposals on “Building Rigorous Evidence about How to Improve Postsecondary Success.”
According to the USDOE newsletter, “LJAF is interested in funding research and evaluation projects testing interventions related to postsecondary success (including student learning, persistence, completion, time to completion, job placement, and post-college earnings). They are particularly interested in interventions that promise to improve success among underserved students, such as low-income students, students of color, adult students, and veterans. LJAF has committed up to $10 million for these grants.”
Letters of Interest are due by January 31, 2019.
(Please note: AACTE is sharing this opportunity; it is not an endorsement of the foundation or its work.)
To stay abreast of other funding opportunities and updates, subscribe to the USDOE newsletters.
12 Dec2018
By Conra D. Gist
The Third Annual Diversified Teaching Workforce (DTW) Institute will convene on February 21, 2019 at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY. The Institute will convene a group of national leaders at colleges and universities across the United States to spotlight and explore innovative efforts for addressing racial/ethnic teacher diversity across five key areas: recruitment and retention, teacher preparation, mentorship, induction and professional development, and advocacy. Recognizing the need to create spaces within professional networks to discuss and unpack the challenges and possibilities for increasing teacher diversity, the institute offers presentations on current research, opportunities to converse in working groups, and panel sessions focused on best practices from teacher preparation and teacher diversity pipeline leaders. A brief overview of potential panels at the Institute include:
11 Dec2018
By Katrina Norfleet
The University of Idaho (UI) has received a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S Department of Education to support the second cohort of its Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program (IKEEP), which prepares and certifies culturally responsive Indigenous teachers to meet the unique needs of Native American students in K-12 schools. The first IKEEP cohort began in 2016 with nine students. The new grant will allow an additional eight scholars to begin training in the summer of 2019.
“I am so very pleased that the University of Idaho’s College of Education, Health & Human Sciences (CEHHS) is home to the IKEEP program,” said CEHHS Dean Ali Carr-Chellman. “This U.S. Department of Education grant will help some of our highest needs schools in the state of Idaho to have not only highly qualified teachers, but teachers with a clear sense of culturally responsive curricular approaches. I am deeply impressed by the dedication and perseverance of Drs. Vanessa Anthony-Stevens and Yolanda Bisbee in their pursuit of the IKEEP program for the betterment of all of Idaho.”
Anthony-Stevens and Bisbee, along with Christine Meyer and Joyce McFarland recently shared insights into the IKEEP model in the following Q&A:
13 Nov2018
By JTE Insider
Check out the latest the JTE Insider post featuring insights from the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) article “Promoting Educators’ Use of Culturally Responsive Practices: A Systematic Review of Inservice Interventions” by Jessika H. Bottiani, Kristine E. Larson, Katrina J. Debnam, Christina M. Bischoff, and Catherine P. Bradshaw. The article appears in the Sept/Oct 2018 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education.
06 Nov2018
By Katrina Norfleet
AACTE member H. Richard (Rich) Milner, IV, a leading scholar of urban education and teacher education, recently delivered the 15th Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research sponsored by the American Educational Research Association. The Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research is designed to feature the important role of research in advancing understanding of equality and equity in education. Each year, a distinguished scholar notable for producing significant research related to equality in education is invited to give a public lecture in Washington, D.C.
Milner is currently the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education and professor of education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. His lecture, “Disrupting Punitive Practices and Policies: Rac(e)ing Back to Teaching, Teacher Preparation, and Brown,” focused on research on the practices and policies that implicitly or overtly punish rather than support the development of students of color.
30 Oct2018
By Katrina Norfleet
AACTE members Ernest Black and John Kuykendal joined AACTE consultant Amanda Lester on a recent episode of Education Talk Radio to discuss the networked improvement community’s (NIC’s) study on the challenges and opportunities to increase Black, Hispanic, and Latino male teachers nationwide.
“Using a NIC is part of an ‘improvement science’ approach to looking at a problem of practice that persists in education,” explained Lester. The NIC involved a study of 10 institutions that shared their own experiences in recruiting and retaining teacher candidates in this population. Black and Kuykendal represent two of the college preparation programs that participated in the study, which began in 2014.
The premise of the research is that Black and Hispanic/Latino male students underperform in schools but when paired with Black and Hispanic/Latino male teachers for as little as one year, their success improves.
01 Oct2018
By Katrina Norfleet
AACTE members Rebecca Kantor and Barbara Seidl of the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) recently appeared on the EduTalk radio show to discuss their award-winning program. A recipient of the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity, CU Denver has discovered innovative ways to infuse multicultural education and diversity into educator preparation.
When asked by Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs about what makes their program stand out, Seidl answered, “Nationally, we all struggle to diversify the teacher workforce. But we thought about it in two ways: the first is to diversify the actual teaching pool … and the other is to make sure that [multicultural education and diversity] is really infused across all of our content and preparation.”
26 Sep2018
By Alicia Diaz
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) across the country have just concluded another successful observance of National HSIs Week, celebrated this year from September 17-23. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) joined the celebration by releasing a Resource Page dedicated to its new legislative initiative, the PK-12 and Higher Ed Collaboration. This initiative would create a new Part C under Title V of the Higher Education Act for a grant program to support partnerships and collaboration between HSIs and Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs) that educate the majority of Hispanic students.
On the Resource Page, you will also find a recently launched interactive map that shows the geographic relationship between HSIs, HSSDs, Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Emerging Hispanic-Serving School Districts. Click on this link for details on our PK-12 and Higher Education Collaboration initiative and to view our interactive maps.
19 Sep2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE has partnered with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) on the new Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative. The Initiative is a network of nine states that will connect with each other and experts in the field to receive individualized support as they address challenges to increase the racial diversity of the teacher workforce in their states. Participating states are Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, and New York. Through this work, these states hope to revise, enact or remove state policies that will address specific challenges for both diversifying the educator workforce and ensuring all educators are culturally responsive in practice by 2020.
“CCSSO is proud to launch the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative as we strive to better prepare all teachers to meet the needs of every learner in their classroom,” said Carissa Moffat Miller, executive director of CCSSO. “This work is firmly rooted in CCSSO’s commitment to providing an equitable education to all students.”
14 Sep2018
By Mike Enright
This article originally appeared in UConn Today and is reposted with permission. The University of Connecticut is 1 of 10 institutions participating in AACTE’s Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teacher Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC). To learn more about how UConn developed the programs noted in the article through its participation in the NIC, visit this AACTE webinar and Ed Prep Matters blog post featured in 2016.
A lack of diversity among classroom teachers in elementary and secondary schools has long been a national issue. In the state of Connecticut alone, less than 8 percent of teachers are of color, while students of color represent 40 percent of the population.
