AACTE Member Update: We Are in This Together

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Lynn M. Gangone

During this unprecedented time, AACTE’s number one concern is you, your loved ones, your colleagues, and your institutions. We will get through this together! While we all navigate the impact of the coronavirus, AACTE is working to provide you support through its COVID-19 Resource Hub and collaborations with key stakeholders from the field. Please take a few minutes to watch the video above and learn more.

New COVID-19 Resources for Members

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

By Meghan Grenda

AACTE cares deeply about our members and is thinking of everyone in our community during this uncertain time.  As such, AACTE is engaging in multiple efforts to support our members as we adapt to new normal in the time of COVID-19.

One resource we know will be of use is a listing of institutions of higher education and how their operating status has changed due to the pandemic. You may view the document that has aggregated data about colleges and universities that have closed or migrated to online instruction within the past few weeks.

Please note this resource is not complied by AACTE and AACTE does not endorse this information. The information contained in this document is open-source and not populated by AACTE staff or members.

AACTE Adjusts Events in Response to COVID-19

AACTE Responds to COVID19

By Linda Minor

At AACTE, we continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation related to the spread of COVID-19. We understand that concerns for health, safety, and the impact on meeting attendance, among other issues, are affecting our members. 

Keeping this in mind, AACTE has made the decision to move its  June meetings to later in the year:

Washington Week will now take place September 8 – 11.  The location remains the same: Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel.  Check aacte.org for the revised schedule of events. 

Leadership Academy has been rescheduled to October 3 – 8.  The location remains the same: Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel. Visit the aacte.org for the revised schedule of events. 

AACTE is committed to maintaining all appropriate sanitary, health, and safety measures, and encourages attendees to follow guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. 

Please note that due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the coronavirus, AACTE will not charge a cancellation fee if you decide not to attend an in-person event based on concerns around your health or travel.

AACTE Extends Membership Renewal Deadline

By Lynn M. Gangone

The AACTE national office team is thinking of everyone in our community during this uncertain time.  While we also are experiencing the upheaval resulting from this pandemic, our primary goal is to continue to serve all of our members. To that end, AACTE is engaging in a number of efforts to support our members at this time.

To empower you to continue to access critical support and resources, AACTE is extending the membership renewal deadline to April 30, 2020. We want to ensure members remain informed as matters related to COVID-19 continue to develop.

In Memoriam: William E. Gardner

By Katrina Norfleet

William Earl Gardner, a former AACTE president and dean of the College of Education at the University of Minnesota, passed away peacefully at the age of 91 on February 16 in St. Paul, MN. During his AACTE tenure, he greatly influenced the international program efforts and reshaped the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), along with his colleague, the late Dale Scannell.

Dr. Gardner earned three degrees from the University of Minnesota: B.S. and M.A. degrees in education and social sciences and a Ph.D. in education and American history. After teaching junior and senior high school social studies, he joined the University of Minnesota’s College of Education faculty, serving as department chair and associate dean before being named dean of the College in 1977.  In addition to his leadership role at AACTE, Dr. Gardner was a St. Louis Park School Board member and affiliated with numerous state, national, and international educational organizations. His many publications include scholarly articles, books, textbooks, and a social studies curriculum.

A celebration of life party for Dr. Gardner will be held June 6 at Bradshaw, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd., Stillwater, MN. Memorial contributions may be given to the William E. Gardner Scholarship Fund, University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development.

In Memoriam: Dale P. Scannell

By Katrina Norfleet

Former AACTE Board member Dale Paul Scannell died at the age of 90 on February 14 at Abington Hospital near his home in Flourtown, PA. Dr. Scannell made many contributions to the field of education preparation, including the development of the country‘s first integrated five-year program in education at the University of Kansas in 1981. He received the AACTE Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education in 1989.

Dr. Scannell earned his B.A., Masters and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Iowa. Rising quickly in the education field, he was appointed dean of Education at the University of Kansas in 1969 and continued in that role for 16 years. He then served for six years as dean of education at the University of Maryland in College Park, followed by posts at the University of South Carolina and at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). Throughout his tenure, he mentored many faculty, both men and women, and he created a special program at the University of Maryland to encourage women to enter administrative roles in the College of Education. He ended his professional career at age 70 after serving for 10 years as a consultant to the United Arab Emirates University, College of Education.

Robert Floden Named an AERA 2020 Fellow

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE Board member Robert E. Floden is one of 12 prominent scholars selected as a 2020 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellow. AERA Fellows are selected based on their notable and sustained research achievements. Floden, along with the other 2020 Fellows, will be inducted on April 18 during the 2020 AERA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Floden is dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University and a University Distinguished Professor of teacher education. He serves as co-editor of the Journal of Teacher Education, the official journal of AACTE. During its meeting last month, AACTE Board members elected Floden as the chair-elect and a member of the Executive Committee. He will begin his term as AACTE chair in 2021.

“We are delighted to honor these scholars for their contributions to education research and their dedication to the field,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “AERA Fellows exemplify the highest standards of excellence through accomplishment, professionalism, and commitment. We welcome the class of 2020 to these prestigious ranks.”

AERA is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. The 2020 Fellows were nominated by their peers, selected by the Fellows Committee, and approved by the AERA Council, the association’s elected governing body. They join 665 current AERA Fellows.

AACTE Introduces Newly Elected Holmes Council Members

By Weade James

AACTE is excited to announce and welcome the newly elected 2020-21 Holmes Council. The Council, selected by members of the AACTE Holmes Program, is comprised of current Holmes students and serves as the student voice of the program for AACTE. In my role as the AACTE director of development and research and an alumna of the Holmes Program, I look forward to collaborating with the new Holmes Council to implement initiatives that align with the organization’s strategic priorities.

AACTE Thanks 72nd Annual Meeting Participants

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE says “thank you” to the AACTE members, partners, and supporters who attended the 2020 Annual Meeting in Atlanta February 28-March 1! Your presence was vital to exploring this our theme, “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change” during AACTE’s 72^nd national conference.

Over the coming weeks, Ed Prep Matters will offer you a range of Annual Meeting coverage. Meanwhile, take a moment to view (and share!) conference photos and conversations on the AACTE Twitter feed using #AACTE20, and enjoy the following recap videos:

Highlights – Friday February 28

Call for Proposals, Reviewers for 2021 AACTE Annual Meeting

“Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions”

By Matthew Wales

Now through May 27, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 73rd Annual Meeting, to be held in Seattle, WA, February 26 – 28, 2021. We also invite applications by May 13 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.

The conference theme is “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:

Collectively, we are losing traction in our democracy and experiencing reversals in the civil and human rights that leaders such as Cesar Chavez, Delores Huerta, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harvey Milk all fought to advance. Children are being educated in an environment fraught with violence on our school campuses and in our communities. They are assaulted by guns, words, and legislation that create an unsafe, hateful, and fearful climate. We are living in a time when children are taken from their families, retained in deplorable circumstances, and denied access to basic needs and education. The term “all” seems to only mean some, and people who speak out against these injustices are attacked by words and actions.

Ann Larson at University of Louisville Becomes AACTE Board Chair

By AACTE

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) announced today Ann Larson, Ph.D., of the University of Louisville (UofL) (KY) as the new chair of its Board of Directors. During her one-year term, Larson will support AACTE and its President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone in implementing the Association’s new strategic plan, addressing challenges of recruiting qualified teacher candidates representing underrepresented and diverse backgrounds into the teaching profession and growing the Association’s membership.

“AACTE is resolute to represent and increase its membership of postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs, and is dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are profession-ready,” said Larson. “AACTE and its Board of Directors are committed to a set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and professional behaviors that characterize revolutionizing education, including shaping education policy and practices that advance learning for all students.”

America’s Colleges for Teacher Education Gather in Atlanta

AACTE Conference Addresses How to Disrupt Inequities in Education

By AACTE

Nearly 2,000 teacher educators kicked off the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis yesterday. The conference, themed “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change,” is being held February 28 – March 1. Attendees include deans, faculty, students, and administrators from undergraduate and graduate education programs, community colleges, and K-12 schools, as well as representatives from state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and foundations.

America’s educator preparation community is keenly aware of and uniquely positioned to change the systemic challenges occurring in PK-16 environments that serve the nation’s most vulnerable populations—students of color, students with disabilities, students from immigrant families, students from low-income families, and LGBTQ students. Under its 2020 theme, the AACTE conference offers attendees hundreds of concurrent sessions that explore how to redefine the meaning of success for all students and encourage them to become active learners, productive citizens, critical thinkers, and leaders in their communities and across the globe.

HBCU Teacher Education Topical Action Group to Convene at #AACTE20

By Terrance McNeil

As the AACTE 72nd Annual Meeting theme suggests, decades of societal inequities extending into and from our P-16 institutional environments have left us hungry for change. Persistent achievement gap disparities and teacher shortages trouble us and often make us wonder how we will achieve the changes we seek. In terms of teacher diversity, one solution that many have found are the Educator Preparation programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). While making up only 3% of the nation’s higher education institutions, HBCUs provide over 50% of the nation’s African American teachers.

Several research projects and partnerships on the district and institutional level are demonstrating the capacity for HBCUs to bring their unique positionality to bear in the broader conversation on teacher diversity. A recent project involving Virginia Commonwealth University and Tennessee State University bears the potential to help the academic community understand more about creating a culturally responsive teacher workforce. Similarly, the “Call Me Mister” program and the “Florida Fund for Minority Teachers” historically have involved HBCUs in recruiting African American teachers. Through a variety of works, HBCUs continue to improve on their capacity to influence the teacher diversity conversation.

This year’s HBCU Teacher Education Topical Action Group (TAG) Business Meeting, which will take place February 27 at 3:00 p.m, will bring together AACTE members with over two dozen HBCU affiliations. Participants need not be HBCU graduates or currently working at an HBCU. The meeting will feature conversations on HBCU-led research agendas, proposed partnerships, CAEP accreditation, and improving preservice teacher performance on the Praxis. We are excited to have Ereka Williams of Fayetteville State University, Kathy Pruner, director of Professional Educator Programs at ETS, Jennifer Young-Wallace, Association of Teacher Educators board members, and Clara Young of Tennessee State University as contributors to this year’s business meeting.

Win Prizes, Network with Colleagues at AACTE Gallery in Atlanta

By Meghan Grenda

We invite all attendees of the 72^nd Annual Meeting to visit the AACTE Gallery. This year, the Gallery will feature poster presentations, small group discussions to network with colleagues, multiple opportunities to win prizes, and even a chance to win a free registration for the 2021 Annual Meeting!

Poster Presentations
AACTE Holmes Scholars and National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP) members will present their research in the Gallery during the timeslots below:

• NACCTEP Poster Session: Friday, February 28 from 10:00 – 11: 00 a.m.
• Holmes Poster Session: Saturday, February 29 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Coffee and Conversations
The Gallery will feature small roundtable discussions where members can meet, learn from each other, and join the conversation on a variety of topics facilitated by the AACTE Topical Action Groups (TAGs). Below are just a few of the conversations taking place:

Recruiting Special Education Teachers Takes New Form at UNC Charlotte

By Jerrica Thurman

AACTE member institution University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) Cato College of Education is working to address the shortage of special education teachers through a new recruitment initiative.  Its department of special education and child development received a grant to produce a video to recruit future special educators to the university. Led by Christopher O’Brien, associate professor and special education undergraduate program director, the production features faculty, students, and alumni of the special education teacher preparation program.

The special education program at UNC Charlotte’s Cato College of Education prepares teacher candidates to