24 May2022
By Brooke Evans
For the first time in three years, AACTE will be hosting its 2022 Washington Week in-person in Washington DC, June 6 – 8. This annual educational policy and advocacy event draws together AACTE’s State Chapter Leadership, Holmes’ Scholars, deans, and faculty for an opportunity to learn and advocate for education and high quality educational preparation programs throughout the country.
This year, AACTE is combining the best programming from three separate events — State Leaders Institute, Holmes Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill — into one reimagined mini-conference for enhanced collaboration and networking. The 2022 Washington Week program includes shared keynotes and strand-based sessions on today’s most critical issues in education and teacher preparation: censorship, educator shortage, and educator diversity. Attendees can choose to align with a particular strand throughout the event or select sessions from among the three strands.
Holmes Scholar and Ph.D. student from Ohio University, Shauna Torrington attends Washington Week because she loves how the training has helped her to find her voice, “I have been better able to articulate my views to support my stance on any subject.” Torrington shares the rest of her thoughts about Washington Week with AACTE.
19 May2022
By Brooke Evans
PNC Bank, N.A. has awarded AACTE with a charitable sponsorship to support the Holmes Program with the goal of helping to diversify the nation’s education workforce. This program provides mentorship, professional development and support to students who self-identify as racially and ethnically diverse and are pursuing graduate degrees in education at AACTE member institutions. More specifically, the PNC funding will support the Holmes Scholars’ Research and Dissertation Retreat, and the Career Expo.
The Research and Dissertation Retreat brings together Holmes Scholars for an intensive, in-person professional development opportunity focused on research methods, academic writing, and scholarship while the Career Expo will connect these Holmes Scholars with AACTE member institutions to learn about opportunities and the faculty job search process. Scholars will have an opportunity to meet with faculty and search committee representatives face-to-face. Both the Retreat and Expo offer our diverse Holmes Scholars with unprecedented academic and career development.
17 May2022
By Nicole Dunn
As of May 2, PEN America has noted that 34% of Live Educational Gag Order bills affect Institutes of Higher Education, and 100% of the teachers in the 15 states that have signed gag orders into law feel the impact on their work. In addition to these laws and the more than 80 live gag-order bills, rampant illegal and legalized banning of books is restricting the rights of educators to serve diverse students and their equally diverse needs. It is necessary for educators to understand and address this coordinated attack to protect students’ quality of education, human rights and mental health.
This year, at AACTE’s 2022 Washington Week, AACTE has dedicated one of its three strands to education censorship. The strand was developed based on feedback from members and AACTE’s research report on education censorship. Highlights from the report will be released at Washington Week. Sessions will cover the following objectives:
- The scope, tactics, and themes within education censorship policies
- Which policies implicate IHE, and how faculty can organize to address them
- How these policies and the moral panic surrounding them affect the work of teachers, and therefore teacher educators
17 May2022
By Lisa Bisogno
Advocacy for teacher preparation programs and the fundamental need to place highly diverse qualified teachers in the classroom across the nation is more dire than ever before. AACTE’s Washington Week is the precise opportunity to perfect one’s craft of advocacy through training, workshops, and immersive experiences by conducting congressional visits with Senators and Congressmen or Congresswomen on Capitol Hill.
Legislators may not be aware of the obstacles our teacher preparation programs are confronted with on a daily basis nor the negative impact it is having on school districts in surrounding communities, and someone else might be telling your story incorrectly. This is one of the times when universities aren’t competing against one another and can come together to advocate the need for teacher preparation to be an equitable education for all children. Institutions of higher education are able to cohesively express the barriers encountered by teacher preparation programs and share their stories as one collective unit to their designated state legislators. You are able to learn how to advocate for the importance of the Higher Education Act, Teacher Quality Grants, and other fiscal appropriations that pertain to teacher preparation in the hopes that legislators will move it to the forefront of their agenda. More significantly, Washington Week has returned in person this year allowing you to better collaborate with colleagues in your field and even within your state.
16 May2022
By Weade James
AACTE’s upcoming Washington Week conference will feature speakers from national civil rights and advocacy organizations who have sought to empower and increase educational access and opportunities for disenfranchised communities. One of these organization is the National Urban League. Founded in 1910, the National Urban League, also known as The League, is a historic civil rights organization whose mission is to help African-Americans and underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self- reliance, power, and civil rights. The League promotes economic empowerment through education and job training, housing and community development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health, and quality of life. Through their signature education programs, The League strives to ensure that every child is ready for college, career, and life.
Representing The League at the upcoming Washington Week conference is Horatio Blackman, vice president of education policy, advocacy, and engagement. Blackman’s work has focused on educational improvement, access, and opportunity for marginalized communities, specifically Black youth, utilizing data and evidence to support change efforts at the local, state, and national levels. Central in his practice is engaging communities in education improvement efforts. In his role at the National Urban League, Blackman leads the Equity & Excellence Project and related education policy and advocacy work.
Blackman joined the League after serving as an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development and a research associate with the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy at the University of Delaware. Blackman is an expert in connecting evidence to policy, practice, all with a focus on supporting the needs of historically underserved communities. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
Register today for AACTE’s Washington Week conference.
16 May2022
By Brooke Evans
For the first time in three years, AACTE will be hosting its 2022 Washington Week in-person in Washington DC, June 6 – 8. This annual educational policy and advocacy event draws together AACTE’s State Chapter Leadership, Holmes’ Scholars, deans, and faculty for an opportunity to learn and advocate for education and high quality educational preparation programs throughout the country.
This year, AACTE is combining the best programming from three separate events — State Leaders Institute, Holmes Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill — into one reimagined mini-conference for enhanced collaboration and networking. The 2022 Washington Week program includes shared keynotes and strand-based sessions on today’s most critical issues in education and teacher preparation: censorship, educator shortage, and educator diversity. Attendees can choose to align with a particular strand throughout the event or select sessions from among the three strands.
AACTE Holmes Scholar and Hofstra University adjunct instructor, Angeline Dean, successfully defended her dissertation recently. But Dean isn’t just a faculty and scholar, she is also an activist studying at Rowan University, eager to share her enthusiasm for Washington Week and how it served as the catalyst for her new role as campaign manager. “We [Candidate Armstrong and I] are working to dismantle the status quo in our communities, says Dean, “If you believe in all of this, you have to fight back.” Read below for the rest of Dean’s interview with AACTE.
10 May2022
By Brooke Evans
For the first time in three years, AACTE will be hosting its 2022 Washington Week in-person in Washington DC, June 6 – 8. This annual educational policy and advocacy event draws together AACTE’s State Chapter Leadership, Holmes’ Scholars, deans, and faculty for an opportunity to learn and advocate for education and for high quality educational preparation programs throughout the country.
This year, AACTE is combining the best programming from three separate events — State Leaders Institute, Holmes Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill — into one reimagined mini-conference for enhanced collaboration and networking. The 2022 Washington Week program includes shared keynotes and strand-based sessions on today’s most critical issues in education and teacher preparation: censorship, educator shortage, and educator diversity. Attendees can choose to align with a particular strand throughout the event or select sessions from among the three strands.
Executive Director of the Office of Educator Support and Partnerships at Rowan University, Stacey Leftwich, has only attended Washington Week once, and it was virtually. But, as the new president to her AACTE state affiliate, she found Washington Week’s State Leadership Institute (SLI) invaluable in preparing her for her state advocacy activities, stating “(SLI) was particularly helpful as we prepared for the Day on the Hill activities and for our meeting with our state senators and representatives.” Leftwich shares more during her chat with AACTE about her Washington Week experience.
29 Apr2022
By Leslie Ekpe
Congratulations to Anthony L. Webster, Holmes Scholar of the Month for April 2022.
Webster is a Ph.D. candidate at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He was raised in Greenville, MS, and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Jackson State University (JSU) and a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs at Eastern Michigan University.
25 Apr2022
By Michael Rose
Join AACTE in Washington, DC, June 6 – 8, for this year’s annual signature event, 2022 Washington Week, “Educating the Future: Policy and Advocacy as Levers of Change.” AACTE and ACSR state affiliate leaders, Holmes Scholars, and deans and faculty will join together in the nation’s capital to advocate for education and teacher preparation.
With legislative and other critical challenges facing educators and students throughout the country, this is the year to get involved and make your voice heard.
What’s new and different?
This year, AACTE combines the best programming from three separate events—the State Leaders Institute, Holmes Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill—into one reimagined mini-conference.
18 Apr2022
By Ashley Kang
This article originally appeared on Syracuse University School of Education website and is reprinted with permission.
Tiffany Hamm, a fourth-year science education doctoral student, formerly taught earth science in her hometown of Bronx, New York. She chose the School of Education to pursue a Ph.D. because she wanted to do more in the field. Making science accessible is key, she says, both in her pursuit of a doctorate and for the next generation.
“Bringing science back to the community in a tangible way can help students of color and students of underrepresented backgrounds gain interest,” Hamm says. “We need to keep showing different faces in science, keep diversifying the science field, and diversifying images of scientist and their contributions.”
11 Apr2022
By Michael Rose
Join AACTE June 6 – 8 in the nation’s capital for 2022 Washington Week. This annual, signature event is back in person, with state affiliate leaders, Holmes Scholars, deans, and educators joining together to advocate for education and teacher preparation.
With legislative and other critical challenges facing educators and students throughout the country, this is the year to get involved and make your voice heard. Join us for a reimagined event featuring keynote speakers, strand sessions, constituency sessions, and networking opportunities. Targeted sessions will include the following activities:
24 Mar2022
By Weade James
AACTE would like to congratulate newly elected officers of the Holmes Scholars Council. The Council members are elected by the general Holmes student body. As a service entity, the Council coordinates events to promote scholar engagement, and shares ideas and scholar needs with AACTE to ensure that our Holmes programming is relevant and impactful.
15 Mar2022
By Weade James
The AACTE Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition, sponsored by the Council for Academic Deans for Research Education Institutions (CADREI), Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU), Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA), and AACTE was held during the recent Holmes Preconference at the 74th AACTE Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The Holmes Program provides mentorship, professional development, and a supportive peer network to racially and ethnically diverse students who are pursuing graduate degrees in education. The purpose of the dissertation competition is to support Holmes Program participants’ dissertation research expenses, which are essential to the completion of their doctoral studies. These expenses vary and may include travel for ethnographic field work, specialized software, research assistance, transcription costs, and other research-related expenditures.
08 Mar2022
By Leslie Ekpe
Congratulations to Devon Carter, Holmes Scholar of the Month, for February 2022.
Carter is originally from Cleveland, OH and earned a basketball scholarship to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. As a two-time captain of the basketball team at Lehigh, he earned both a Bachelors of Arts (‘16) and, continuing his education while on the team, a Master of Science (‘18) in social psychology. Carter is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in special education at Lehigh.
24 Feb2022
By Weade James
The AACTE Holmes Program continues to grow with diverse scholars who are engaged in innovative and impactful research in the education field. AACTE is excited to welcome three new scholars from the University of North Texas and Lehigh University. Congratulations to these new scholars on being selected to join the Holmes Program: Zutella Holmes, Mohammad Bahadori Fallah, and Devon Carter.
