Final Opportunity to Register, Drive Change at Washington Week

By AACTE

Educator preparation advocates play a vital role in advancing the advocacy agenda and supporting those who will teach future generations. Don’t miss this final opportunity to join teacher educators, scholars, and other members from colleges and institutions on June 4 to 7 for AACTE’s 2023 Washington Week, emphasizing the crucial theme of “Investing in Education.”

Registration for AACTE’s leading legislative conference ends on May 31 — secure your spot today to join forces with change-makers in the educator preparation field.

NJACTE to Host Annual Day of Assessment

By Amy Kline

On Thursday, March 30, the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NJACTE) will be hosting our Annual Day of Assessment with the theme, “Authenticity and Improvement: Reimagining Assessment in a Changing Landscape.” The conference is free to attend and open to all AACTE affiliate members and their professional networks. Register now.

A Pre-Conference Session “8 Approaches to Transform Your Self Study into Meaningful Reflections” by our generous sponsor HelioCampus will begin at 1:00 p.m. The pre-conference session will be followed by the opening presentation “Assessment and Continuous Improvement: We’re Doing Everything Right, But Are We Doing the Right Things?” with panelists from The College of New Jersey and Rutgers University – New Brunswick.

NJACTE Officers Appointed to Task Force on Public School Staff Shortages

By Amy Kline

Stacey Leftwich (left) and Amy Kline (right) of the New Jersey Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (NJACTE).

Stacey Leftwich, president, and Amy Kline, treasurer/president-elect, of the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NJACTE) were appointed to Governor Phil Murphy’s newly established Task Force on Public School Staff Shortages. Created under Executive Order No. 309, the task force is part of Governor Murphy’s efforts to address ongoing school staff shortages and will be charged to develop short and long-term recommendations to increase the number of K-12 school staff — including teachers and support staff — in the State of New Jersey.

GACTE Works to Elevate the Teaching Profession throughout Georgia

By Joseph Peters and Cindi Chance

The Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE) has been looking at the teacher pipeline in our state and receiving input on ways to increase teacher recruitment and retention. Several state reports confirm the shortage in Georgia and GACTE’s goal was to get everyone on board to look for ways to help reduce shortages. GACTE convened an initial meeting where three main action items were identified including (1) Elevate Teacher Voice in the school and in policy and legislation; (2) Re-imagine induction and mentoring to increase the dignity and honor of the profession; and (3) Raise the profile of teachers in Georgia. A second meeting at Kennesaw State University, brought the collaborative together to turn general strategies from the first meeting into action items.

2022-23 AACTE State Affiliate Awardees Selected

By Jacqueline King

Congratulations to the AACTE state affiliate organizations from Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and Montana which were selected from among numerous excellent applicants for a 2022-23 State Affiliate Support Award. AACTE uses these awards to support state affiliate organizations in advancing the following priorities:

• Advocacy and Policy Leadership
• Enhancing Program Quality
• Partnership and Communication

Holmes Scholar Highlights Access to Government at Washington Week

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.

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.

Last Call for Washington Week

By Michael Rose and Weade James

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.

Addressing P-20 Education Censorship Washington Week

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:

1. The scope, tactics, and themes within education censorship policies
2. Which policies implicate IHE, and how faculty can organize to address them
3. How these policies and the moral panic surrounding them affect the work of teachers, and therefore teacher educators

Perfecting Your Advocacy Skills at Washington Week

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.

Stacey Leftwich says Washington Week ‘Prepares You to be a Change Agent’ Advocates 

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.

Register for AACTE Washington Week: In Person for Greater Impact

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.

Registration Opens Soon for AACTE’s Washington Week, June 6 – 8

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:

MACTE Testifies in Support of Funding to Increase a Diverse Teacher Workforce

By Laura Mogelson

I serve as the legislative liaison for the Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), a consortium of over 20 public and private institutions of higher education. We represent both urban and rural geographic regions and we range in size. In Minnesota, we are unique in that the governor is a democrat, the house is majority democrat, and the senate is majority republican.

Prior to the launch of the Minnesota legislative session, MACTE developed collaborative legislative priorities that guide our work with the legislature. This year our four main goals are 1) to maintain high quality teacher preparation standards and support initiatives that reflect the research base around teaching methodologies; 2) increase the diversity of the Minnesota teaching force through strategies to recruit, support, prepare, and retain teachers of color; 3) to improve the retention of teachers; and 4) to support high-quality research-based E-12 instructional practices. In my work as the liaison, I attend committee meetings and advocate our support (or opposition) to proposed legislation through written or oral testimony. I am often supported by our MACTE leadership, our faculty who are content area experts, and our teacher candidates.

2022 ACSR Business Meeting in Review

By Ward Cummings

“Building Capacity, Community, and Inclusive Leadership” was the theme of the ACSR Business meeting held this year at the AACTE Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Chapter leaders from around the country gathered to connect and to discuss the pressing issues impacting the education profession in their state. 

John Blackwell, in his last official act as chair of ACSR, led a discussion about the ways AACTE state affiliates have sought to build leadership capacity and the resources that have aided their efforts.  Afterwards, Robin Fuxa of Oklahoma State University and incoming ACSR chair-elect, continued the conversation with a panel discussion, which included the participation of Tara Haskins of Eastern Washington University, Adria Hoffman of Virginia Commonwealth University, Beth Kubitskey of University of Michigan (Flint), and Stacy Leftwich of Rowan University.

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.