31 Jul2018
By Deborah Koolbeck
I am thrilled to announce that AACTE’s contact lists for state policy makers in each state and the District of Columbia have been updated and posted in the AACTE Resource Library (accessible to AACTE members only!). In addition, links to these lists can be found on the AACTE Advocacy Center’s State Advocacy page and on AACTE’s State Policy and Legislation page.
These documents are an AACTE member benefit to support you in your state-level advocacy work. Use them to find key state policy makers–for example, legislators for authorizing and appropriating education funds, state department of education contacts, and even your governor’s education staffer.
31 Jul2018
By Kristin McCabe
East Carolina University (ECU) has been named the new institutional home of the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP), which provides university-based professional development and on-site instructional coaching for new teachers throughout the state.
The NC NTSP aims to boost the effectiveness and reduce attrition among early-career teachers in order to raise student achievement, especially in historically disadvantaged and underserved school districts.
Originally launched with federal Race to the Top grant funds in 2012, the program now operates with funding from the state legislature, which allows districts to enroll teachers in the program at a subsidized rate. Nine universities in the UNC System provide the instructional support in partnership with 53 school districts around the state.
22 Jun2018
By Kristin McCabe
Members of the Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education participate in a recent annual conference; at right, current chapter President Victoria Groves-Scott of the University of Central Arkansas addresses members.
The 47 state chapters of AACTE employ a wide variety of membership models, activity calendars, and strategic partnerships to meet the priorities of their members. While all chapters are based on the fundamental value of interinstitutional collaboration, these coalitions are not just about members talking to themselves or circling the wagons. They also provide an effective launching point for their individual and collective members to connect with external groups that lend important new perspectives and advantages.
The Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (ArACTE) offers an example of how connections forged outside its membership boost its capacity to focus on advocacy priorities as a group–and on common programmatic concerns at the campus level.
12 Jun2018
By Kristin McCabe, Jerry Stephens and Mahlet B. Tesfaye
Oregon teacher educators meet with U.S. Representative Kurt Schrader (second from left) during AACTE’s Day on the Hill.
Last week, AACTE members, chapter leaders, and partners convened for the Association’s annual Washington Week events in Arlington, Virginia, and on Capitol Hill. United under the theme “Your Voice Matters,” participants joined in one or more of the three signature events: the State Leaders Institute, the Holmes Summer Policy Institute, and Day on the Hill.
State Leaders Institute
04 Jun2018
By AACTE
(June 4, 2018, Washington, D.C.) – Teacher educators and other members from colleges and schools of education across the nation are convening June 3-6 for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2018 Washington Week. This national advocacy event for educator preparation, themed “Your Voice Matters,” is taking place at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, and on Capitol Hill.
“Washington Week is one of our premier programs, and AACTE is very proud to gather our colleagues and students from throughout the states to focus on policy and advocacy. I strongly encourage all of our members–administrators, faculty and staff—to attend and to make their voices heard,” said Dr. Lynn M. Gangone, president and CEO of AACTE. “Washington Week also showcases many of AACTE’s partnerships and highlights the importance of coalition and collaboration, particularly among education organizations here in Washington, to advocate for educator preparation at the federal and state levels.”
29 May2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) is currently recruiting participants for the 2018-19 fellowship year. EPFP is a 10-month professional development experience delivered in partnership by the Institute for Educational Leadership and 17 site partners.
What makes the Fellowship unique is its intentional focus on three pillars:
21 May2018
By Kristin McCabe
A new website aims to equip state education agencies to support principals for better serving students with disabilities. AACTE is among nearly two dozen organizations convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to develop the site’s content.
The resulting online guide, Supporting Inclusive Schools for the Success of Each Child: A Guide for States on Principal Leadership, outlines eight strategies for states to embed expectations for inclusive principal leadership in policy and practice:
18 May2018
By Brian P. Yusko
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
In the face of continuing criticism of teacher preparation, the Ohio Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (OACTE) has worked to advocate for sensible teacher preparation policy. Although advocacy was not something many in OACTE envisioned would factor into their higher education careers, we have come to believe that advocacy is not only important, but essential, to the continued health and evolution of teacher education work.
03 May2018
By Ena Shelley
I have attended the AACTE State Leaders Institute (SLI) for 6 years and have found it to be one of my best professional development experiences. I hope other state chapter leaders will join me June 3-4 at this year’s SLI, the first of three signature events that make up AACTE’s Washington Week.
Over the course of 2 days at SLI, we’ll have rich opportunities to learn from each other and to discuss legislative issues and advocacy strategies, ways to support the growth and vitality of state chapters, and effective measures to increase our impact on state policy.
27 Apr2018
By Zachary VanHouten
A new resource developed by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) offers a 50-state comparison of school leader certification and preparation programs, along with individual state profiles.
As more attention turns to the ways in which school leaders are prepared and certified, particularly in light of the impact school leaders have on student learning, states are evaluating and developing policies to strengthen and improve the quality of school leaders. ECS conducted the 50-state assessment of school leader policies and identified the following key takeaways:
23 Mar2018
By Randa Suleiman
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) partnered with AACTE to invite practitioners and administrators from PK-12 schools and educator preparation programs (EPPs) to provide a retrospective look at the influence of edTPA since consequential use began in fall 2013. The panel participants presented their views of the benefits and challenges of educative edTPA implementation in different policy contexts; how actionable evidence from edTPA has informed their programs, teaching, and scholarship; and connections across the full continuum of professional learning and development for teachers. The March 2 panel at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting in Baltimore featured two new teachers who have completed edTPA over the past 5 years, a PK-12 administrator, EPP and state leaders, and two faculty scholars.
19 Mar2018
By Shardae Proctor
AACTE Media Relations Intern Shardae Proctor, a communications major at Maryland’s Towson University, attended the AACTE Annual Meeting earlier this month. Ed Prep Matters asked her to report on what she learned at one of the Deeper Dive sessions.
Participants discuss research and strategies to bolster and diversify the teacher pipeline at the March 1 Deeper Dive session organized by the editors of the Journal of Teacher Education.
Across the country, many schools continue to struggle to staff their classrooms with qualified teachers and to diversify their workforce to more closely match student demographics. To explore the contributing factors and potential solutions to this challenge, the editors of AACTE’s Journal of Teacher Education organized a “Deeper Dive” session at the AACTE Annual Meeting March 1 titled “Filling the High-Quality Teacher Pipeline: Promising Research and Strategies.”
14 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Last month, the Oregon Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (OACTE) convened the second annual Oregon Education Summit, organized to unite as many stakeholder groups as possible around educator preparation and related topics. Held January 5 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, just 15 miles from the State Capitol in Salem, the gathering attracted representatives from every OACTE member institution as well as community colleges, legislators, PK-12 district staff, the state Department of Education and licensing agency, and nongovernmental agencies.
The summit was borne of the desire by OACTE to both claim a seat at the state table and access first-hand information – while establishing the organization and its members as willing collaborators on all aspects of education in the state. The first summit, held a year ago, was a success that organizers were eager to build on in Year 2. “Our first step is always a proactive one. We begin by asking, ‘How can we help?’” said OACTE President Leif Gustavson, who is dean of the College of Education at Pacific University. “Then we tend to get invited to the table. We are not an obstructionist organization, and we need to not think of others that way either. The summit gives us all an opportunity to meet face to face and realize the potential of what we can accomplish collectively.”
16 Jan2018
By Deborah Koolbeck
As you plan your session schedule for the AACTE Annual Meeting, don’t neglect your advocacy skill development! Please join me Friday, March 2, at 2:00 p.m. for “Putting Advocacy to Work.”
In this speed-dating-style session, I will run the clock while you circulate through your choice of introductory mini-sessions led by experts and professionals. There will be four time slots during this hour-long opportunity, each beginning with a few minutes of commentary by the leaders, and then opening for questions and discussion. Move from table to table to learn how to start off:
02 Jan2018
By Aaron Goldstein
In 2017, state policy makers – particularly state legislators and state education agencies – placed great emphasis on key policy levers affecting educator preparation.
AACTE’s State Policy Tracker, an online tool that is available free of charge to AACTE members, allows for real-time tracking of pertinent state legislation and regulations affecting educator preparation. (If you are not familiar with the State Policy Tracker, I invite you to watch an archived webinar here.) During 2017, this tool enabled us to track 285 bills, of which 43 were enacted, and 296 regulations, of which 193 were adopted.
