12 Jun2018
By Samuel Santos
AACTE intern Samuel Santos (second from left) joined this New York delegation June 6 at AACTE’s Day on the Hill.
My summer internship with AACTE started during the 2018 Washington Week, and I had the privilege of not only witnessing the week’s events but also accompanying members on their congressional visits during Day on the Hill.
My fellow interns and I were each paired with different scholars who took us along with them and acted as our mentors during the Hill visits June 6. I was paired up with Jacob Easley II, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Touro College in New York City. Along with other members from New York State, we spent most of the day meeting with representatives, senators, and their staff to advocate for AACTE’s current legislative agenda.
06 Jun2018
By Sara Hiller
Dean Renée A. Middleton of Ohio University
Superintendent Paolo DeMaria of Ohio Dept. of Education
AACTE is pleased to announce two keynote speakers for the Quality Support Workshop in Columbus, Ohio, August 2-4: Renée A. Middleton of Ohio University and Paolo DeMaria of the Ohio Department of Education.
The heart of the Quality Support Workshop is a series of hands-on sessions focused on quality assurance, continuous improvement, and performance assessment. Participants work with expert facilitators to develop their own quality assurance plans and other program-specific solutions to problems of practice. At the Ohio event, attendees will have a choice of concurrent workshop sessions in six time slots spread across 3 days, interspersed with group work time, a gallery walk, and office hours with facilitators.
04 Jun2018
By AACTE
(June 4, 2018, Washington, D.C.) – Teacher educators and other members from colleges and schools of education across the nation are convening June 3-6 for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2018 Washington Week. This national advocacy event for educator preparation, themed “Your Voice Matters,” is taking place at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, and on Capitol Hill.
“Washington Week is one of our premier programs, and AACTE is very proud to gather our colleagues and students from throughout the states to focus on policy and advocacy. I strongly encourage all of our members–administrators, faculty and staff—to attend and to make their voices heard,” said Dr. Lynn M. Gangone, president and CEO of AACTE. “Washington Week also showcases many of AACTE’s partnerships and highlights the importance of coalition and collaboration, particularly among education organizations here in Washington, to advocate for educator preparation at the federal and state levels.”
29 May2018
By Matthew Wales
In just a few weeks, new and aspiring academic leaders from across the country will gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for AACTE’s annual Leadership Academy. This popular professional development experience provides attendees the opportunity to advance their leadership skills while exploring a wide range of topics including garnering and allocating resources, promoting your unit and program, and managing your personal and professional time.
Even if you have attended AACTE’s Leadership Academy in the past, you might want to consider returning this year, June 24-28, as the program has implemented new, interactive content that will continue to develop your critical skills. (View the full schedule here.)
29 May2018
By Janeula Burt
On June 4, AACTE will welcome more than three dozen students to the Holmes Summer Policy Institute in Arlington, Virginia, as part of the Association’s Washington Week. This annual institute connects students with advocacy work at the intersection of education research and policy.
Throughout the day, interactive panel discussions will explore topics such as advocating for students of color, using social media for research and advocacy, and partnering with grass roots organizations and other advocacy groups. Featured panelists will include representatives from national organizations and associations such as UNCF, EdTrust, and HBCU Buzz. The Holmes institute participants will also receive a policy briefing and join an evening reception with the leaders of AACTE’s state chapters.
29 May2018
By Kristin McCabe
Are you ready to get ahead this summer?
Make progress on your program’s quality assurance plan, get advice on interpreting your assessment data, and develop your understanding of evidence for accreditation–all at the AACTE Quality Support Workshop! Please join us for this interactive event in Columbus, Ohio, August 2-4.
18 May2018
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
Do you ever find that you have to leave your office to make progress on important work? At your desk, the urgent can often crowd out the important so that, at the end of the day, you know you were incredibly busy but can’t say that you made progress on any of your real priorities. Leaving the office can be a great way to set aside the day-to-day tumult and really focus.
When you need to tackle the important work of measuring, improving, and assuring the quality of your educator preparation programs, AACTE is ready to help. The 2018 Quality Support Workshop, August 2–4 in Columbus, Ohio, will help you make rapid progress on your quality assurance plan.
03 May2018
By Zachary VanHouten
As the midterm election rapidly approaches (yes, even though it’s May), members of Congress are scrambling to tackle as much of their agenda as possible before they leave Washington, DC, to campaign back home. Join AACTE for our member-exclusive Federal Update webinar May 23 to learn about all the latest developments.
How might the elections influence activity at the state and federal level? What is the status of federal funding for Fiscal Year 2019? Has there been progress on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act? What’s the status of DACA? Net Neutrality? Get answers to these questions and more on the webinar with Deborah Koolbeck, AACTE’s senior director for government relations.
03 May2018
By Ena Shelley
I have attended the AACTE State Leaders Institute (SLI) for 6 years and have found it to be one of my best professional development experiences. I hope other state chapter leaders will join me June 3-4 at this year’s SLI, the first of three signature events that make up AACTE’s Washington Week.
Over the course of 2 days at SLI, we’ll have rich opportunities to learn from each other and to discuss legislative issues and advocacy strategies, ways to support the growth and vitality of state chapters, and effective measures to increase our impact on state policy.
01 May2018
By Christine Tambini
Is establishing or revisiting your quality assurance plan one of those “important but not urgent” tasks that you can’t seem to get around to tackling? Do you need advice to ensure that your plan is robust and can point the way to improved outcomes for your graduates? AACTE is here to help! Join us for the 2018 Quality Support Workshop, August 2-4 in Columbus, Ohio.
Building on two successful workshops held in 2017, this year’s event will provide a focused opportunity for you to design or refine an action plan for assuring and improving the quality of your program. And not just conceptually either—you will actually work on your own quality assurance plan!
30 Apr2018
By Matthew Wales
Are you a new dean or department chair – or simply looking to advance your career as an academic administrator? Get off to a strong start with AACTE’s Leadership Academy this June in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The annual Leadership Academy, a popular professional development event for new administrators, was reimagined in 2017 to provide a more interactive, updated look at leadership in educator preparation. So if you have attended the Academy in the past, you might want to consider reuniting with us in Milwaukee, as you are sure to walk away with new ideas and concepts in our 2018 experience.
30 Apr2018
By Beth Giles-Klinkner
Experienced advocates share their experiences during the 2017 AACTE Day on the Hill.
The buses pull around the corner. Capitol Hill is buzzing with activity. This is your first time advocating. Butterflies begin to fly and then you remember: You are well prepared for this thanks to AACTE!
You’ll feel comfortable and confident as you head into Day on the Hill (June 6) because of AACTE’s extensive orientation the day before. During this “prep day” (June 5), you will be introduced to folks who are seasoned veterans at this type of work. They remember what it was like to be in your shoes and to be taking their first journey into advocacy.
27 Apr2018
By Matthew Wales
AACTE experienced another record-setting year for its Annual Meeting in 2018, receiving an astounding 567 proposals for consideration. Given the limited number of spaces available for presentations, we were able to accept only 47% of the proposals received.
Looking to share your work at AACTE’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville? Then you will want to prepare a proposal that stands out in our competitive, peer-review process. Here are five tips to keep in mind:
24 Apr2018
By Trish Parrish
AACTE’s Day on the Hill is always an exciting event for me. I love the energy of the group at orientation and the feeling of making a difference when I visit my elected officials and their staff during Washington Week. But anticipating these visits can also provoke some anxiety, which is why AACTE offers a full day of preparation before our Capitol Hill visits.
The orientation day has always prepared us well, but this year’s promises to be even better. The enhanced agenda offers a choice of two tracks with breakout sessions tailored to increase readiness based on your experience and comfort level with advocacy.
20 Apr2018
By Larry Daniel
James McManus (undergraduate social studies education major), Jennifer Bucciarelli (MAT math education major), and Associate Professor Stephenie Hewett represent The Citadel in their visit with Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) at the 2016 AACTE Day on the Hill.
I have been attending AACTE’s Day on the Hill (DOTH) for the past 18 years. It is a highlight event of the year, as it allows opportunity to assess our priorities for advocacy while simultaneously putting advocacy into action. Over time, I have found that some of the best advocacy team members are our education students. I have had the privilege of making DOTH congressional visits accompanied by numerous students over the last 8 years – including both undergraduate and graduate students – and, in every case, the students have added value to the conversations well beyond what might have been obtained by faculty and deans alone.
When planning our Hill visits, we ask students to help us deliver important messages about pending legislation or federal education budgets and policies to our congressional members, and they are very effective in doing so. More importantly, we ask our students to tell their own story: Why did they decide to become an educator? How will new policy changes impact them as practicing teachers and school leaders? What can the federal government do to make a career in education more important to other students at their institution? When students visit and present answers to these and other questions, congressional members and staffers take notice.
