We are excited to welcome four outstanding scholars to the Holmes Community. Please join us in welcoming Jordana Simmons (Rowan University), Zhan Shi (Texas Christian University), Denise Mugabe (Texas Christian University), and Monica Manzur (Texas Christian University).
AACTE will host its annual Holmes Program Research and Dissertation Retreat in Boca Raton, FL on November 9 – 10. The event, co-sponsored by the PNC Foundation and Florida Atlantic University, is AACTE’s annual flagship event to advance research and scholarship of graduate students of color who are pursuing doctorate degrees in education.
AACTE is excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2022 Holmes Research and Dissertation Retreat! The event will take place November 9 -10, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on both days at the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
To improve data collection, scholar support and alumni relations, AACTE has instituted these new Holmes Program forms for institutions and scholars:
Congratulations to Anamaria Arteaga, the July 2022 Holmes Scholar of the Month. Arteaga is a Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. The Holmes Program continues to grow! We are excited to welcome four new Holmes Scholars from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Austin Peay State University. Learn more about the new scholars:
Adjoa Mensah is a doctoral student in Teaching and Learning with an emphasis on teacher education. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Western Ontario, a M.Ed. from Daemen College, and a M.A. in French from the University of Kent. Her research interest focuses on the effective integration of technology for diverse learners in K-8 classrooms.
AACTE’s Washington Week was a “a life-changing experience.” The event was a revelation that highlighted the courageous leadership we have within our nation. These leaders are devoted and determined to make sure education is not forgotten nor are educators overlooked. I have always had respect for the leaders that made the decision to go into education. I have even more appreciation for those who do not sweep the issues in education under the rug and tell it like it is.
Congratulations to Deependra Budhathoki, Holmes Scholar of the Month for May 2022.
Budhathoki is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He was raised in Nepal and earned a master’s in education in mathematics education and a master of philosophy in mathematics education from Kathmandu University School of Education. He currently serves as the president of the International Student Union at Ohio University. The International Student Union fosters a sense of community and inclusivity for international students on campus by serving as an umbrella organization for other international student organizations.
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.
Holmes Scholar Vivian Medina-Messner is passionate about having conversations that build community. Washington Week provides this opportunity, “[At] Washington Week educators can meet other educators and have great conversations about educational policies and about issues important to our communities and students.” Read below for the rest of AACTE’s conversation with Medina-Messner.
We’re getting close to kick off for AACTE’s Washington Week, June 6 – 8! Join us in the nation’s capital for the first, in-person Washington Week since 2019.
We are excited to share our lineup of exemplary speakers, including DoE Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten. They will cover critical topics in education and teacher preparation, including censorship, teacher shortage, and educator diversity. View the full schedule here.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
