AACTE Participates in STEM Roundtable with Department of Education

By Michael Rose

AACTE is a member of The STEM Education Coalition whose mission is to raise awareness among policymakers about the critical role STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century. The Coalition recently participated in a roundtable discussion with Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and Assistant Secretary of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Roberto Rodriguez on how best to advance STEM education for all students. Meredith Kier, associate professor of science education at the College of William and Mary, represented AACTE at the round table. 

Below is a summary of the discussion:

Combatting Shortages of Educators Serving Students with Disabilities

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

AACTE will facilitate a webinar, “Educator Preparation Innovation: Creating Pathways to Strengthen Recruitment,” on Tuesday, April 19. The virtual session is part of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the CEEDAR Center 12-part webinar series focused on evidence-based strategies to strengthen and diversify the special education workforce.

According to multiple research studies, fully prepared teachers in special education are more effective and are more likely to remain in the teaching profession than are teachers who are not fully prepared. It is clear that public schools need fully prepared and credentialed special education teachers.

Recap and Reflection of AACTE and AERA Joint Session: Youth, Censorship, and Academic Freedom

By Tommy Silas

The white folk of Altahama voted John a good boy, – fine plough-hand, good in the rice-fields, handy everywhere, and always good-natured and respectful. But they shook their heads when his mother wanted to send him off to school. “It’ll spoil him, – ruin him,” they said; and they talked as though they knew. (W. E. B. Du Bois, 1903/2015, p. 173)

This excerpt is a great representation of the fear fueling the push behind the call for censorship of critical race theory (CRT) and stages the focus of a Deeper Dive session at the AACTE 2022 Annual Meeting for educators to discuss how to address some of the challenges related to the threat that banning CRT has on American democracy. The “AACTE and AERA joint session: Youth, Censorship, and Academic Freedom” was moderated by Marvin Lynn (Portland State University), and the panelists were Michael Dantley, (Miami University) Kimberly White-Smith (University of La Verne), and Jacob Easley (Touro College). The discussion started with recapping the timeline of efforts to constrain teaching about race in higher education, followed by organizing faculty and staff, the role of education leaders in advancing social justice, and how to work with state and national organizations to address issues of education and censorship.

Deeper Dive Panelists Discuss MSIs as Drivers of Educational Equity at #AACTE22

By Thelma Quardey Missedja

The “Minority Serving Institutions as Drivers of Educational Equity” Deeper Dive session at this year’s Annual Meeting provided insight on the essential role minority serving institutions (MSIs) play in providing postsecondary access to students of color, preparing diverse educators for the workforce, and increasing the economic mobility of low-income, first-generation college students. The session focused on unique programs, supports, and partnerships that these institutions offer to attract and prepare diverse teachers. The panel for the session included deans from four MSI schools or colleges of Education: J. Fidel Turner (Clark Atlanta University), Chinaka DomNwachukwu (California State University-San Bernardino), Stephen Silverman (Florida Atlantic University), and Denelle Wallace Alexander (Norfolk State University).

New Leadership Academy Format, New Opportunities for All Leaders

By Matthew Wales

What’s new at AACTE’s 2022 Leadership Academy? In response to requests for tailored programming, AACTE will offer its high-quality leadership training in two distinct program sessions—one for new chairs and academic leaders, the other for new and seasoned deans.

With a focus on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both sessions explore critical components of academic leadership. Attendees will understand the complex roles and functions of their positions while building key leadership skills and forging networks with other professionals in similar leadership roles.

Registration Open for AACTE 2022 Leadership Academy, June 26 – 30 in Tampa, FL

By Christine Chirichella

AACTE is excited to announce that registration is now open for its high-quality leadership training for new and seasoned deans, department chairs, and other academic leaders. The program offers professional development designed to develop and enhance your skills as an academic administrator, covering the essentials skills of leadership today, while cultivating a supportive network of peers.

In response to your feedback, Leadership Academy now offers multiple ways to participate. For the first time, this year’s in-person event offers two tracks with differing experiences. This means less time away from campus and more focus on the pressing topics identified by your peers. Attend one or both of this year’s offerings in Tampa, FL:

Learn to Address Censorship through Collective Action and Messaging

By Jacqueline Rodriguez and Nicole Dunn

AACTE continues its collaboration with AERA’s Division K: Teaching and Teacher Education to produce an in-depth, scaffolded, three-part series of professional learning opportunities addressing the recent uptick in education censorship across the nation. The first presentation of the series took place as a Deeper Dive session during AACTE’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans. On April 12, AACTE and AERA Division K will co-host a workshop: Educators Addressing Censorship through Collective Action & Messaging, which will include members of our P-20 education system. The third session in our series is a Town Hall taking place during the AERA Conference in late April where Lynn Gangone, AACTE CEO and president will be moderating alongside AERA Executive Director, Felice Levine, and Division K Chair, Dorothea Anagnostopoulos.

Webinar to Highlight Key Findings from AACTE’s Signature Report

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

The Colleges of Education: A National Portrait is AACTE’s signature report on schools, colleges, and departments of education. The second edition was released today and AACTE is hosting a webinar to review its findings on Monday, March 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

This report is a major vehicle for AACTE to tell the story of colleges of education nationwide and for members to situate their own programs in the broader context of the trends that are shaping the profession. Education preparation program faculty are encouraged to use it to communicate with their institution’s leadership, PK-12 partners, and other key cnstituents about the issues, trends, and challenges impacting educator preparation.

This year, in addition to describing the work of colleges of education, the people who do that work, and the students they serve, the National Portrait includes a special analysis on the important contributions that community colleges make to educator preparation.

Join me and my co-author Weadé James on March 28 for this member-only, informative webinar.  Register today.

Educating for American Democracy: Educator Preparation Program Possibilities

By Elizabeth S. Brown and David Fuentes

In this blog post, members of the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) pilot program outline how EAD can best work with educator preparation programs to address threats to schools’ ability to prepare civically engaged students, the topic of discussion at their 2022 Annual Meeting Learning Lab session. 

In 2021, AACTE released a report, Revolutionizing Education for All Learners, that detailed its strategic plan for following the COVID-19 pandemic with a revolution in education intended to address long-standing and newly discovered educational inequities (AACTE, 2021). Among its strategic planning outcomes was a dedication and commitment to have democratic principles guide the education revolution, stating “democratic principles must guide what we revolutionize toward” (p.8).  Democratic principles, coupled with inclusive pedagogies, specifically inquiry, encompass great potential in addressing stagnant educational gaps. AACTE’s recommitment to democratize teacher education pedagogy and principles culminated in a Pilot program, Educating for American Democracy, in which both authors were participants. Struck by the possibilities of enhanced democratic principles guiding teacher preparation and teaching and learning in K-12 schools, the authors share about the pilot experience. The authors also offer their view on the shift’s constraints and possibilities to enhance educator preparation and ultimately to address longstanding questions about equity and school outcomes in American public schools (Fuentes, 2022).

NJACTE Announces Terri Givens as Keynote Speaker for Day of Assessment Conference

By Amy R. Kline

The New Jersey Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (NJACTE) state affiliate is excited to announce its fifth annual Day of Assessment Conference, offered this year — free of charge — over the course of two dates: March 24 and March 31, 2022. Both days will start with a featured speaker, followed by concurrent presentations by the affiliate members and other colleagues in the field. The conference began as an in-person event, and in recent years it has shifted to a virtual format that has enabled participation from a wider geographic area across the mid-Atlantic region. The annual event is part of our overall efforts to increase chapter engagement providing a valuable opportunity for faculty, administrators, and students to come together and learn from each other on various aspects of assessment in educator preparation.

The conference will kick off on March 24 with keynote speaker, Terri Givens who will talk about “Empathy in Assessment? The Challenge of Inclusion”— a timely and thought-provoking topic in higher education. Givens will share how this work has challenged the way to approach her own assessment in the classroom, and her thinking on how to develop desired outcomes more broadly on our campuses. Givens is a professor of political science at McGill University, founder of Brighter Professional Development, and an accomplished author. Her most recent books are the memoir, Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides and The Roots of Racism: The Politics of White Supremacy in the US and Europe. After Givens speaks, attendees will have a choice of member presentations to attend, in the concurrent presentation track.

Thank You for Attending #AACTE22!

By AACTE

Thank you for joining over 1,300 education leaders at AACTE’s 74^th Annual Meeting in New Orleans to revolutionize and transform the profession. The collective energy of this year’s attendees made for an exciting return to in-person collaboration. We hope you left feeling energized, inspired, and ready to rethink, reshape, and reimagine the future of education. 
 
Key Reminders:

AACTE to Host Webinar on Colleges of Education: A National Portrait

By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.

AACTE will soon release the second edition of its signature report, Colleges of Education:  A National Portrait. In addition to updating information on colleges of education and their leaders, faculty, and students, this edition features a special analysis on the contributions that community colleges make to educator preparation. Topics to be covered will include:

• Scope of educator preparation in the U.S.
• Trends in undergraduate and graduate degrees conferred in education
• Demographics of leaders and faculty
• Student demographics
• Contributions of community colleges to educator preparation

Register for Session Two: The Holmes Scholars Leadership Series

By Oumarou Abdoulaye Balarabe

Sponsored by Ohio University’s Patton College of Education, The Holmes Council, and AACTE, this free four-part series of conversations is designed to explore the leadership trajectories and experiences of various individuals connected to the field of education. The sessions will offer a platform for the presenters to share valuable insights regarding leadership lessons. Participation is free. Register a tinyurl.com/yheh3tkc.

Session Two: A Conversation on Leadership Lessons With Deans of Colleges of Education Monday, February 28, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. EST

Speakers

Andrew P. Daire, Dean, School of Education
Virginia Commonwealth University

Michael E. Dantley, Dean Emeritus College of Education
Miami University

Mia Tuan, Dean, College of Education
University of Washington

AACTE Diversified Teacher Workforce TAG to host Day Long Preconference Institute

Driving the National Conversation to Recruit, Sustain, and Retain Diverse Teaching Candidates

By Amanda Morales

The AACTE Diversified Teacher Workforce Topical Action Group (TAG) will convene Pk-20 practitioners, researchers, and community stakeholders to discuss how to bolster collective efforts to recruit, sustain and retain teachers of color. The preconference event will take place on Thursday, March 3 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Grand Ballroom B, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.  

Across the field of education (PK-20) students, teachers, administrators, teacher educators/professors, and program leaders continue to witness and lament the chronic disparities in representation and lack of ethno-racial and linguistic diversity among teachers (relative to their students) in our nation’s schools. And in the wake of a global pandemic, enduring civil unrest, the impending mass teacher exodus, and calls for racial justice related to systemic anti-Black, anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiments within all aspects of society, educational institutions are being forced to engage in introspection with greater magnitude. Teacher preparation programs in particular are feeling increased pressure to recruit, retain and effectively prepare a highly-qualified, racially-literate, and ethno-racially diverse pool of candidates as districts scramble to hire teachers with the content knowledge and pedagogical skills as well as the cultural and linguistic competencies needed to meet the needs of today’s students.

Make the Most of Your AACTE Membership at the 74th Annual Meeting

By Meghan Grenda

Are you a current AACTE member and want to make the most of your membership?  You are invited to stop by the AACTE membership area during the 74th Annual Meeting to learn more about the resources offered to you as a member and how to become an even more engaged member.

New to AACTE?
The AACTE team will be on hand in the Gallery to share information on how to take full advantage of your membership.

Get Your Complimentary Gift
To show appreciation to its valuable network, AACTE will give a complimentary gift to any member attendee who visits the membership area.