26 May2015
By Omar Davis
Many of your institutions have championed the AACTE Holmes Scholars® Program by establishing local programs, while others have yet to realize the potential of the program to meet not only individual universities’ needs but the greater goals of the profession—such as AACTE’s strategic goal to launch and sustain systemwide initiatives to promote the diversity of the professional community and to prepare educators who can serve diverse learners. On May 15-16, this trajectory gained steam in Tallahassee, Florida, where officials from Florida A&M University (FAMU), the University of Central Florida (UCF), the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NASHA), and AACTE gathered with scholars from member institutions for the Holmes Scholars Dissertation Retreat on the FAMU campus.
26 May2015
By Whitney Watkins
Congratulations to May Holmes Scholar of the Month Ahmed Fahad!
Fahad is a third-year doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati (OH) in the Second Language Studies Department. His research interests are in second-language acquisition and pedagogy, critical discourse analysis, and computer-mediated communication.
28 Apr2015
By Jerrica Thurman
Participants in Day on the Hill join Sharon Robinson during Washington Week
Every year, AACTE’s Washington Week attracts hundreds from around the nation. Read these testimonials from recent participants about the value of attending:
15 Apr2015
By Etta R. Hollins and Rodrick Lucero
The following letter to the editor was published today in Education Week.
There are kids entering urban classrooms every day hungry, sad, tired, and angry. Name an obstacle to learning, and most urban teachers have seen it play out firsthand among their students.
In January, the Horace Mann League of the United States released School Performance in Context: The Iceberg Effect, a report on the “unparalleled levels” of poverty, inequity, and violence faced by U.S. students. Though outside factors such as these are not the reason for increasing gaps in achievement, they’re barriers teachers must understand and address to have an impact on student learning.
14 Apr2015
By Rodrick Lucero
Join your voice with those of other educator preparation providers at AACTE’s annual Washington Week, to be held in the nation’s capital June 9-11. Under the unifying theme “Diverse Perspectives, Deep Partnerships, One Profession,” this year’s Washington Week will be held at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This is your chance to deliberate with colleagues on provocative issues in the profession, experience interactive sessions with national leaders, and convene with policy officials.
07 Apr2015
By Jerrica Thurman
Kick off the summer with AACTE’s signature June events: Washington Week and the Leadership Academy. Join your colleagues from around the country in Washington, DC, advocating for the profession on Capitol Hill and participating in a special conference on closing the achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; or meet with fellow new deans and administrators in Cincinnati, Ohio, for intensive leadership development and networking. These are two popular summer conferences, so mark your calendar today!
07 Apr2015
By Etta R. Hollins
Editor’s Note: Professor Hollins inspired attendees of AACTE’s recent Annual Meeting in Atlanta during the Speaker Spotlight Session. (View a video recording of her speech here, and read another version in this Hechinger Report piece, which includes the video she played during her address.) To follow up on her presentation, we invited Hollins to explore her topic in a series of blogs for Ed Prep Matters. This is the final post in the series.
Most teachers in urban schools, as elsewhere, are dedicated professionals who put much effort into their practice and care deeply about the students they teach. Teachers understandably feel frustrated when their students fail to meet expectations for learning outcomes. How they address this frustration, however, makes all the difference for student outcomes—and it is influenced heavily by the ideology developed in their school’s professional community.
31 Mar2015
By Omar Davis and Whitney Watkins
AACTE Holmes Scholars connect during the Annual Meeting in Atlanta
More than 60 AACTE Holmes Scholars® participated in the Annual Meeting in Atlanta last month. The commitment of their 15 host institutions, as well as of AACTE, to building a more diverse professional community was on full display in the lively atmosphere and collegial environment at the conference, which offered a platform of reinvigoration for some and the start of an exciting journey for others. One attendee commented that she had not experienced that much energy in quite a while.
At the kick-off session February 27, AACTE’s Rodrick Lucero, vice president for member engagement and support, described the Association’s renewed commitment to the Holmes Scholars Program and emphasized its value and necessity in the field. He highlighted goals for the coming year, which touched on not only recruiting and retaining scholars in academia, but looking closely at the entire continuum of PK-24. Lucero praised the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NASHA) for its continued support in providing highly sought-after mentoring services for 1st-year and midlevel doctoral students.
31 Mar2015
By Etta R. Hollins
Editor’s Note: Professor Hollins inspired attendees of AACTE’s recent Annual Meeting in Atlanta during the Speaker Spotlight Session. (View a video recording of her speech here, and read another version in this Hechinger Report piece, which includes the video she played during her address.) To follow up on her presentation, we invited Hollins to explore her topic in a series of blogs for Ed Prep Matters. This is the second post in the series.
Teaching is an interpretive practice that requires knowledge of the community where students grow and develop, and where they are socialized. Students’ initial and ongoing learning happens within a particular community; is framed by the ideologies and practices of the community; is influenced by the experiences, interests, and values shared among members of the community; and is appropriated through the learner’s perception, which is developed within the particular community. The initial learning that happens within a community constitutes the intellectual, psychological, social, and emotional development of the individual person.
18 Mar2015
By Etta R. Hollins
Editor’s Note: Professor Hollins inspired attendees of AACTE’s recent Annual Meeting in Atlanta during the Speaker Spotlight Session. (View a video recording of her speech here, and read another version in this Hechinger Report piece, which includes the video she played during her address.) To follow up on her presentation, we invited Hollins to explore her topic in a series of blogs for Ed Prep Matters. This is the first post in the series.
The way teaching and learning teaching are conceptualized influences approaches and practices in both. For example, where teaching is viewed as an interpretive process, learning teaching also requires an interpretive process for constructing the habits of mind and deep knowledge of approaches and practices necessary for facilitating meaningful, purposeful, and productive learning experiences for students in different contexts, from different cultural and experiential backgrounds, and with different developmental needs.
05 Mar2015
By Kristin McCabe and Deborah Koolbeck
On Tuesday, March 10, the U.S. Department of Education’s International and Foreign Language Education Office will host a free webinar to assist minority-serving institutions (MSIs) with applications for Fulbright-Hays grants. An additional webinar will be open to all audiences the following day.
19 Feb2015
By Kristin McCabe
AACTE has selected Kansas State University’s College of Education to receive the 2015 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Teacher Education. The award will be presented at the 67th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Friday, February 27, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
A model for global diversity education throughout the institution, K-State will be honored in particular for its Teaching English as a Second Language “Go Teacher” program, an award-winning, multifaceted program of professional education for practicing Ecuadorian teachers.
19 Feb2015
By Kristin McCabe
AACTE’s Committee on Global Diversity has selected Texas Christian University’s College of Education to receive the 2015 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity. The award will be presented at the 67th AACTE Annual Meeting Speaker Spotlight Session, Sunday, March 1, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
The university’s robust Early Childhood Through Grade 6 Program (EC-6) is the particular target of AACTE’s award, with a focus on diversity broadly conceived. Students in this program–who predominantly come from middle-high socioeconomic, monolingual backgrounds and initially expect to teach in schools with similar demographics–develop knowledge, skills, and values to effectively work in high-need settings by serving as a bridge between home and school while academically challenging all children for success.
10 Feb2015
By Omar Davis and Jacob Easley II
Are you a doctoral student seeking a tenure-track position? Or maybe you have a faculty post but would like guidance navigating the promotion and tenure process? Plan to attend a Tenure Academy in Chicago, April 15-16, being held as a preconference event of the American Educational Research Association annual meeting.
Presented by the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA), this second annual event will provide the latest strategies for navigating the tenure and promotion process.
29 Jan2015
By Zachary VanHouten
On Tuesday, January 27, the American Federation of Teachers and Howard University (DC) convened a panel at the National Press Club to discuss the potential impact of the proposed federal teacher preparation regulations on minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and their teacher pipelines. AACTE President/CEO Sharon P. Robinson was among the panelists who shared their concerns and urged the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw the regulations.
