Ideas for your College of Education

AACTE Weekly News Briefs | December 16, 2008___________

. . . delivered to your inbox so you can enjoy up-to-date news on Colleges of Education, Teaching and the Classroom, Campaigns, Legislation, STEM Teacher Issues, International Teacher Issues, Grants, and Upcoming Events. Please click on linked headlines for full story.







AACTE ANNOUNCEMENTS



AACTE 61st ANNUAL MEETING & EXHIBITS

February 6 - 9, 2009
Hyatt Regency Chicago - Virtual Tour
Chicago, IL




REGISTER NOW!

Click here for more information on the 61st Annual Meeting & Exhibits as well as direct links for registration, hotel reservations, and answers to frequently asked questions.



AACTE Announces 2009 Annual Meeting Planner

Did you know that you can search an online database for ALL confirmed sessions as well as create your own customized itinerary for AACTE’s 61st Annual Meeting & Exhibits? You can do all that and more by using AACTE's exclusive Online Itinerary Planner!





NATIONAL NEWS

Education Secretary Nominee Will Reach Out to Unions, School Reform Groups

From the Washington Post

In seven years as chief executive officer of the Chicago school system, Arne Duncan earned a reputation as a leader who pushed for strong measures to improve schools but also reached out to the teachers union and the community. As President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be become the nation's next education secretary, he'll draw on that background to try and bridge the deep divides among education advocates, teachers unions and civil rights groups over how to fix America's schools.



How to Go Forward With 'No Child Left Behind'

From the Washington Post

President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to "fix the failures" of the No Child Left Behind law, which rates schools based on student performance on annual math and reading tests. With Congress poised to begin the debate anew, a student, a PTA president, a charter school advocate, a teachers union leader and a superintendent offer ideas about how to improve the law.



The Propaganda of International Comparisons

From Inside Higher Ed

The latest rhetorical trope in the bad news presentation of U.S. higher education is to say — even when home front improvements are acknowledged — “Wait a minute! But other countries are doing better!” and rush out a litter of population ratios from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that show the U.S. has “fallen” from 2nd to 9th or 3rd to 15th place in whatever indicator of access, participation and attainment is at issue.



Obama education advisor calls for more teacher collaboration

From Education Daily *login required*

American teachers spend an average of 400 more hours each year in the classroom with students than their counterparts in Japan, Singapore, and other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, yet American students' academic achievement lags behind their peers internationally. The difference is what teachers in these foreign nations do with their time out of the classroom, said Linda Darling-Hammond, speaking to teachers and school administrators at the National Staff Development Council Annual Conference on Dec. 8.





Tech trends every school leader should know

From eSchoolnews

A new generation of students with vastly different learning needs is redefining expectations for classroom instruction, and a growing emphasis on school accountability is changing the role of the school district IT leader. William Rust, research director for the IT research and consulting firm Gartner identified four key trends that school district chief technology officers (CTOs) should be aware of: accountability, the changing nature of learners, the accessibility of technology, and the "internal and external demands" that are now placed on ed-tech executives.



Teach For America Said Boon to D.C.

From Education Week

Teach For America’s expansion into preschool is having positive effects so far, at least in the District of Columbia, a study suggests. The findings are “remarkable,” writes Nicholas Zill, the author of the paper, who recently retired from his post as a vice president of the Rockville, Md.-based research organization.



Lobbying for Darling-Hammond

From Politico

The remaining Cabinet posts are all subject to quiet, intense lobbying, and a source sends over a letter sent by 40 deans of education schools backing Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford professor and head of Obama's education transition team, as secretary of education. To read the full letter, click on “Continue reading Lobbying for Darling-Hammond.”



NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY



New Annual Georgia Teacher Certification Test Results Reports Available Online for Educator Preparation Programs

From GaPSC and Pearson

Government and independent research supports that preparing, recruiting and retaining great teachers is key to student academic success, and no state has worked harder than Georgia to ensure that its classrooms are led by qualified educators. To support this goal, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) and Pearson announced that state educator preparation programs now have secure online access to annual Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators® (GACE®) test result reports for their program.



Liberty-YSU partnership to benefit students

From Vindy.com

Liberty Local Schools and Youngstown State University have formed a partnership to benefit students on the high school and collegiate levels. The partnership, known as a Professional Development School, is designed to give future teachers at YSU the classroom experience they need and Liberty students the college credit they want.



Teacher training program graduates to high school

The University of Chicago Chronicle

Responding to a national shortage of high school mathematics and science teachers, the Urban Education Institute will expand its teacher preparation program in 2009 to ready secondary math and biology teachers for urban classrooms.



KUPDS Alliance used to recruit high-quality teachers to USD 500

From the Kansas City Kansan

Founded in 1991, the KUPDS is a partnership between the University Of Kansas School Of Education and the seven public schools in three near-by districts to provide collaborative research, training and professional development opportunities for public school teachers, and university faculty and teacher education students with the ultimate goal of improving public school education for children.



Professionals targeted for teacher recruitment

From the Nashville Business Journal

If a new teacher recruitment program in Nashville’s troubled public schools comes off as planned, dozens of “career changers” will roll into the city’s hard-to-staff schools next year. The Nashville Teaching Fellows, a project co-sponsored by Metro Nashville Public Schools and a New York-based nonprofit, is looking to find 75 to 100 new teachers for the 2009-10 school year.





Other Announcements



ACE, VA to Convene Regional Meetings on New GI Bill Implementation

The American Council on Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will host three regional meetings to educate campus leaders about provisions of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 and solicit input on the implementation of payment systems.

These meetings are open to representatives of the higher education community on a first-come, first-served basis at the following locations:

January 6, 2009: Los Angeles, California
January 9, 2009: Washington, D.C.
January 14, 2009: Chicago, Illinois
· Further information and online registration is available.





Alyssa J. Mangino

Communications Manager

AACTE

1307 New York Ave., NW Suite 300

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 478-4596 -Direct

(202) 457-8095 -Fax

amangino@aacte.org