15 Jun2023
By Cole Hatcher
This article was originally published by Ohio Wesleyan University.
Ohio Wesleyan University’s Sarah Kaka, Ph.D., has testified before Ohio lawmakers, collaborated on research, and presented to peers on the impact of so-called “divisive concepts” teaching laws now adopted in more than half of the nation.
The chair of OWU’s Department of Education, Kaka also has been discussing the topic with multiple media, including The Columbus Dispatch, Education Week, and the “TeachLab with Justin Reich” podcast.
“I think it depends on who you talk to what they say the goal of the legislation is,” Kaka told Reich during their June 8 podcast, “but the reality is that all of the laws – divisive issues concepts – seek to limit what teachers can say or do in their classes.”
06 Jun2023
By Christine Gentry
With the crucial need for diverse representation and inclusivity in education, two innovative teachers are making an impact in their fields of teaching. I had the pleasure of working with Linden, a science educator from Boston, and Bill, an English language arts teacher in San Francisco, during their residency years spanning from 2017 to 2020.
In honoring trans/nonbinary educators, I captured our discussions, highlighting key themes on the challenges and opportunities they have faced, as well as how they have both transformed their classrooms into safe and supportive spaces for their students.
29 May2023
By Kelly Coash Johnson
We know the educator shortage is a national crisis. To promote conversations across traditional silos, the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) convened PK-20 stakeholders, including AACTE, to discuss educator workforce and pipeline shortages at the annual National Educator Shortage Summit. The results of this gathering are represented in a whitepaper entitled 5 Shifts for Addressing the Educators Shortage.
This white paper moves beyond surface-level responses to examine deeper, systemic issues that contribute to mismatches between educator supply and demand. Five comprehensive shifts are presented in contrast to traditional calls to action. A discussion of each shift contains high-level recommendations, along with examples of actions that different stakeholder groups can take to address the educator shortage.
25 Apr2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Last week, the Texas State Senate approved a bill that would largely restrict how the state’s public universities can promote equitable access to higher education and cultivate diversity among students, faculty and staff. The bill, SB17, would require universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices; ban any mandatory training surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion; and eliminate the completion of diversity statements as part of the hiring process.
25 Apr2023
By Christina Wright Fields and Dana A. Gathers
The authors of this article write from a positionality as Black women teacher-educators who value the cultural identities K-12 students bring into the learning space. As such, they prepare teacher-candidates to value, respect, and include the cultural identities and experiences of students. Much of teacher-candidates’ preparation includes modeled teaching and learning practices infused throughout their courses.
Teachers are often looked upon to develop and sustain classroom spaces that include and value the cultural identities and experiences of students. However, many teachers do not share similar cultural identities and experiences with their students. Muhammad suggests, “youth need opportunities in school to explore multiple facets of selfhood, but also to learn about the identities of others who may differ (Muhammad, 2020, p. 67).
18 Apr2023
By National Center for Teacher Residencies
The National Center for Teacher Residencies’ (NCTR) Black Educators Initiative (BEI) recently released a report focused on state, higher education, and school district recommendations to support the recruitment and preparation of Black educators.
Informed by the work and impact of NCTR’s BEI-supported teacher residency programs, the report, “Doing Better for Black Educators: Six Policy Recommendations for Improving the Recruitment and Preparation of Black Educators,” provides six policy recommendations and action steps that are meant to help teacher preparation programs, school districts, and states use what BEI grantees are learning in order to improve the recruitment, preparation, and support of Black educators across the country.
11 Apr2023
By Joe Gutierrez
Students participating in the Project Impact program during an event in May 2022 at the James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education.
The goal of California State University, San Bernardino’s Project Impact, a community outreach initiative of the James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education, is direct: Help close the academic achievement gaps in the state’s K-12 schools, which will ultimately pay dividends in the classroom and its students through the recruitment, training and deployment of minority male teachers into California’s classrooms.
Project Impact was a vision that Watson College of Education Dean Chinaka DomNwachukwu brought with him when he came to CSUSB. It was born out of his own educational journey as a public school teacher in East Los Angeles in the 1990s. He knew firsthand how it felt to be the only Black male teacher on campus at the K-12 schools where he worked.
04 Apr2023
By Alice Ginsberg, Marybeth Gasman and Andrés Castro Samayoa
While the majority of U.S. K-12 students are children of color, only 20% of teachers are people of color — and 40% of the nation’s public schools do not have a single teacher of color on record. Despite a now decades old, nationwide effort to diversify the teaching profession, there is obviously still much work to be done. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) hold great promise towards the goal of bringing more teachers of color to the profession. They also provide teacher candidates opportunities to do their student teaching in schools and communities that are racially diverse. Of importance, these teacher candidates share a common interest in remaining in multicultural and high-needs schools after getting certified.
A related, but significantly less prominent issue, concerns the diversity of teacher educators. Across higher education, 75% of professors are White and teacher educators are over 76% White, demonstrating that many teacher candidates will not have a single professor of color as they make the transition through their teacher preparation programs. This challenge has huge ramifications for what happens in teacher education programs, including how candidates are recruited, how the curriculum is designed, and how urgently a program works to address critical issues of race and equity. Moreover, as Galman, Pica-Smith, and Rosenberger note: “It’s important that teacher educators have examined their own implicit biases before asking preservice teachers to engage with [them].”
04 Apr2023
By Brooke Evans
Educators play a crucial role in how students are welcomed both into the classroom and within their communities — and understanding how to integrate international, intercultural, and global experiences and perspectives into the curriculum of teacher education is vital in a globally connected and diverse world.
As part of the first webinar in the Global Education Faculty PLC Professional Development Series, AACTE members are invited to join a panel of faculty experts and international scholars as they discuss educator prep program recruitment and support for international students on April 17. Save your spot and register today.
27 Mar2023
By Elaine Tubré
A new grant will support TCU’s effort to determine how it has implicitly influenced the inequities found in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) departments. The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant is titled ADVANCE Catalyst: Faculty Resources and Opportunities for Growth in STEM, also known as FROG in STEM. By identifying barriers and bridges for women STEM faculty, this project aims to produce institutional change that will impact not only STEM, but also all women faculty at TCU.
“Receipt of this award will facilitate our institutional goals to increase the representation and advancement of women among our academic science and engineering faculty and ensure that all our faculty in every discipline are supported and thrive at TCU,” said Floyd Wormley, associate provost for research and dean of graduate studies. “I can think of no better person at TCU than Dr. Weinburgh to lead these efforts, and she has the administration’s full support.”
06 Mar2023
By Annie Ma
This article was originally published by The Associated Press.
Surrounded by kindergarteners, Lana Scott held up a card with upper and lower case Ys, dotted with pictures of words that started with that letter: Yo-yo. Yak. Yacht.
“What sound does Y make?” Scott asked a boy. Head down, he mumbled: “Yuh.” Instead of moving on, she gave him a nudge.
“Say it confident, because you know it,” she urged. “Be confident in your answer because you know it.”
He sat up and sounded it out again, louder this time. Scott smiled and turned her attention to the other kids in her group session.
21 Feb2023
By Dwayne Ray Cormier and Terrance McNeil
Join us at the AACTE Annual Meeting this year to learn how historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are transforming teacher education and preparation. The HBCU Teacher Education Topical Action Group (TAG) provides a platform for leaders and scholars associated with HBCUs to share their ideas and research on teacher education and preparation.
On Friday, February 24, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., come to the Marriott IndyPlace’s Indiana Ballroom F to learn about the innovative programs and research initiatives at HBCUs that are driving change and making a difference.
13 Feb2023
Register Today for Two Preconference Tours
By AACTE
Attendance at the AACTE 75th Annual Meeting demonstrates your advocacy in educator preparation — and your priority in serving institutions with goals to support and increase diverse educators, equity in access to high-quality instructional environments, and the inclusion of all students in PK-20 classrooms.
Preconference programs, open to members and nonmembers, and tours are not included in the AACTE Annual Meeting pricing. Preregistration and an additional fee are required to participate. If you’ve already registered for the conference and would like to register for a preconference activity, contact the registration team at gjones@aacte.org.
06 Feb2023
By Monika Williams Shealey
This article was originally published by Education Week and is reprinted with permission.
Dear Florida Educators,
When I was growing up in Florida and I would hear church folks describe a troubling event that ran afoul of their moral compass, they would say, “it’s just not sitting right with my spirit.” That’s how I’ve been feeling lately when I hear about recent efforts in my home state of Florida to limit academic freedom in higher education; stifle intellectual curiosity in schools; ban books; obliterate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education; and silence the questions of pre-K-12 learners who may be struggling with their gender identity and sexuality.
I was educated in public pre-K-12 schools and graduated from three major Florida universities with my undergraduate and graduate degrees in the area of special education. I’m a former special education teacher who worked in Pinellas, Seminole, and Miami-Dade counties and was a tenure-track faculty member at Florida International University. Yet today, when I think about the education landscape in my home state, I’m grieved that instead of being lauded as a leader in innovation and delivering high-quality, equitable educational opportunities to all learners, Florida is applauded by its governor as “the place where woke goes to die.”
02 Feb2023
By Nicole Dunn
Join AACTE as we celebrate Black History Month. This year, AACTE’s 75th Annual Meeting falls in February, the theme of which is Innovation through Inspiration: Remembering the Past to Revolutionize the Future; and how could we revolutionize the future of education and education and education preparation to ensure all learners receive a high-quality, equitable education without Black educators? AACTE is excited to offer programming throughout Annual Meeting and its preconference events, February 23 – 26, dedicated to supporting Black Educators and the representation of Black history and perspectives and curriculum and educator preparation policy and practice.
