27 Nov2017
By Brianna Joseph
Congratulations to Monique E. Matute, Holmes Scholar of the Month for November 2017!
Matute is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in special education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This is her second year in the doctoral program, and she is also a graduate assistant.
Matute is a determined doctoral student who exemplifies hard work and dedication to the field of special education. Her research interests are the disproportionality of African American males in special education and applied behavioral analysis. She strives to present critical issues and implications on overrepresentation and underrepresentation of students from culturally linguistic and diverse backgrounds in special education.
27 Oct2017
By Renée A. Middleton
The evolution of a teacher candidate into a professional educator does not occur overnight. Rather, it is a slow, steady, empowering journey that unfolds over several years, with teacher candidates receiving support and encouragement from mentor teachers and university faculty alike. Through it all, teacher candidates learn just as many lessons as they teach, ideally with one overarching principle repeatedly impressed upon them: that they must serve all learners.
This is no small task, as today’s educators enter increasingly diverse schools. This diversity creates wonderful learning opportunities for all, but it also presents its fair share of challenges. Teachers will encounter students with disabilities. They will encounter students who are gifted and talented. They will encounter students from low-income families. They will encounter students from various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as students who do not speak English as a first language.
16 Oct2017
By Jane E. West
The American Council on Education, the major coordinating association for our nation’s colleges and universities, is leading the Protect Dreamers Higher Education Coalition, of which AACTE is a member. The coalition is coordinating a week of advocacy efforts beginning today, October 16, and has developed a website providing multiple resources related to Dreamers, including fact sheets and talking points, which can be used by individual campuses for advocacy.
In addition, the coalition is leading a letter that your institution can sign on to – but time is tight. The deadline is Wednesday, October 18, at noon EDT. To have your institution sign on to the letter, please reach out to your president’s office as well as your government relations staff. Find the instructions here.
13 Oct2017
By Dana Dunwoody
Congratulations to Stacey Litam of Kent State University (OH), Holmes Scholar of the Month for October!
Litam’s research rests within the field of counselor education. Her specific research interests pertain to supporting, advocating for, and designing interventions working with survivors of and individuals within sex trafficking. She is also engaged with the improvement of mental health services and civil justices for marginalized groups in regard to sex, sexual orientation, religion, and race.
26 Sep2017
By Lori Piowlski, Elizabeth S. Finsness and Karen Colum
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
At the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), our strategic vision is to inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion within a global context. Our collective energy as a faculty is spent engaging in conversations, professional development, and research to ensure that our instructional approaches foster cultural proficiency in our teacher candidates.
To enhance that collective learning, several MNSU faculty attended the “edTPA and Equity” strand during the August AACTE Quality Support Workshop held in Minneapolis. The sessions, facilitated by teams of local teacher educators and national experts, examined how edTPA constructs address equitable teaching and learning practices and considered how candidates can engage in the assessment as a reflective opportunity to learn about equitable teaching practices.
12 Sep2017
By AACTE
On September 6, AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone issued the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
“The decision by President Trump yesterday to end the DACA policy leaves the plight of these individuals – who are integrated into our schools, our institutions of higher education, our workforce, and our communities – in the hands of the Congress.
22 Aug2017
By Lynn M. Gangone
The AACTE Quality Support Workshop this month was an inspirational model of improvement in action. During my 3 days in Minneapolis, I witnessed a profound commitment among participants to ensure high levels of quality in their programs. Understanding standards and evidence more deeply, using data more strategically, and creating more effective quality assurance systems were some of the topics covered.
Dedication to continuous improvement is shared by AACTE’s members and the Association itself. To that end, the AACTE team is focusing the first part of this new academic year on an extensive review of the organization’s operations and programs, facilitated by an experienced consulting firm with assistance from a staff steering committee (see this recent article by Vice President Rod Lucero). In addition, an Association-wide member survey launches in September, and we’re counting on your participation to inform our work going forward. AACTE is always looking to improve and meet the changing needs of the membership.
27 Jun2017
By Amanda Lester
On July 27, AACTE will host the final installment of a four-part webinar series highlighting the experiences and findings of each of the 10 institutions in the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The webinar, “Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline at CSU-Fullerton and Northeastern Illinois University: Lessons From AACTE’s NIC,” will be held on Thursday, July 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT.
In this webinar, presenters from California State University, Fullerton, and Northeastern Illinois University will discuss the how their teams applied improvement science in the context of the NIC, as well as at their own institutions. The discussion will feature specific initiatives and strategies developed by both institutions’ teams and will demonstrate how NIC-developed approaches can be adapted locally to advance a common goal – in this case, to increase the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino men receiving initial teaching certification through educator preparation programs.
30 May2017
By Sharon Robinson
Leaving office as president and CEO of AACTE is truly bittersweet. First, the bitter part: After 12 years, I am acutely aware of many good reasons to retire from this office in spite of my abiding passion for the profession and causes of equity. At this moment, it is clear to me that my passion for the work is far outpaced by the energy required to get it done.
Now, for the sweet part (albeit severely summarized):
18 Apr2017
By Shalander Samuels
Congratulations to April Holmes Scholar of the Month Dwayne Cormier!
Cormier is a second-year Ph.D. candidate in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University, studying curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on curriculum and supervision. His research interests include how culture and context influence engagement in educational settings, as well as the impact of memes on the thoughts and ideals of citizens.
A military veteran and former executive director of a nonprofit organization that changed the lives of young people through the game of golf, Cormier recognized the need to aid students of color in the education system and vowed to make an impact in the classroom through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Over the years, his experiences in and outside of the classroom have given him insight on the inequities facing students, preservice and in-service teachers, and administration in educational organizations.
04 Apr2017
By Rebecca Gutierrez and Michelle Kotek
On March 4, AACTE convened representatives from organizations working with different stages of the educator pipeline to speak at the major forum “Acting as One to Support Educator Development.” The forum, one of six held during the 69th Annual Meeting, covered issues such as student recruitment, candidate support across the continuum of preparation through induction, the role of school-university partnerships, and ensuring novice teachers are prepared to engage their students in deeper learning. In the interest of collaborating as one across this continuum, panelists discussed how their roles intertwine by sharing their perspectives on the best way to achieve a national, cohesive effort supporting high-quality educator preparation.
The forum was moderated by Michael Dennehy, director of college access and completion at Boston University (MA). Panelists included Dan Brown of Educators Rising, Kimberly Tobey of the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP), and Linda Darling-Hammond and Maria Hyler of the Learning Policy Institute.
04 Apr2017
By Amanda Lester
A major forum at last month’s AACTE Annual Meeting highlighted actions under way to diversify the teaching workforce and advance social justice at universities across the country. Titled “Meeting the Needs of All Learners: Advancing Social Justice and Diversity in Teacher Preparation,” the forum featured panelists from four Association initiatives working toward these objectives: the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teacher Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC), the Diversified Teaching Workforce: Recruitment and Retention AACTE Topical Action Group, the AACTE Holmes Program, and the AACTE Committee on Global Diversity.
The forum was moderated by Sharon Leathers of William Paterson University (NJ) and included the following panelists, each of whom is a member of one or more of the four initiatives: Lora Bailey of New Mexico Highlands University, Traci Baxley of Florida Atlantic University, Jacob Easley of Eastern Connecticut University, Conra Gist of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Reyes Quezada of the University of San Diego (CA).
04 Apr2017
By Rebecca Gutierrez
How does the work of teaching become the work of justice and equity? At AACTE’s 69th Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, TeachingWorks organized one of the six major forums around this question, convening panelists from across the nation to discuss high-leverage practices for teachers to disrupt inequity in the classroom. Speakers at the March 3 forum emphasized the need for teachers to orient their practice around valuing community and students’ individual voices in order to advance social justice and learning for all.
Deborah Loewenberg Ball, education dean at the University of Michigan and head of TeachingWorks, moderated the forum with panel conversations based on building relationships with students, leading group discussions, and implementing routines for classroom discourse. Audience questions were also incorporated in the forum via live interaction and the hashtag #TWforum on Twitter.
28 Mar2017
By Rebecca Gutierrez
The 2017 AACTE Speaker Spotlight Session featured a rousing address from Linda Darling-Hammond, who encouraged educators to persist in their focus on educational equity and advocacy despite the barrage of obstacles and distractions in the current environment.
Although teacher educators have been hard at work and have much to celebrate, she said, there is not a moment to relax in confronting the challenges of the day. Citing issues such as child homelessness, access to healthcare, funding cuts, and policy centered on “testing without investing,” she urged attendees to step up their work with candidates to engage in equity-focused practices. Recent surges in racist and anti-immigrant incidents further hamper students’ well-being and ability to learn.
28 Mar2017
By Jerrica Thurman
The Welcoming Session at the AACTE 69th Annual Meeting featured guest speaker Shaun Harper, professor and executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. In his presentation, “Ed Schools and the Mis-Education of White America,” he discussed diversity, equity, and race issues in education and the obligation of universities – especially educator preparation programs – to address them.
He emphasized the critical role for schools of education in preserving and advancing democracy in America: As preparers of teachers for the public schools, they are in a position to ensure that every student is educated with the proper consciousness and skills needed to raise race questions and pursue greater equity. Harper said that most teacher preparation programs do not currently live up to this objective, as their curricula contain very little about cultural diversity and fail to challenge racial biases.
