Teacher Education Update

AACTE Weekly News Briefs | March 10, 2009

. . . 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

Getting Ready: The Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Competition
The U.S. Department of Education intends to open a grant competition for the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants (Title II, Higher Education Opportunity Act) in the spring that could include up to $145 million in funds. Featuring presenters Richard Mellman and Kathy Price from the U.S. Department of Education, this webinar will closely review the legislative language that will provide the basis of the grant application so that participants become familiar with the many requirements of the grant. It will take place on Thursday, March 19 2009 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Click here to register for the webinar. This will lead you through creating an account which you can use for future meetings. Click here to use an existing account.

MetLife survey finds teachers more satisfied, better prepared
MetLife's latest Survey of the American Teacher , released on February 25, 2009, found that today's teachers are more satisfied and better prepared than in the past. More teachers feel respected in society today than previously and believe that their jobs offer a decent salary. Far more teachers today would recommend teaching as a career compared to 1984, and more principals report that the quality of new teachers is stronger. Further, the vast majority of teachers love to teach and feel well supported. AACTE issued a Media Release at the time of the survey's release.

Help Identify Postsecondary Education Options for Students With Intellectual Disabilities
The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts and TransCen, Inc. have received a federal grant to identify college programs or services that support students with intellectual disabilities. As an organizational member of the Executive Committee that guides this initiative's project activities, AACTE is asking its member institutions to fill out a short form on programs and services that your institution or others provide to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Click here to submit your information.

You Spoke...and AACTE Listened!
In a recent AACTE membership survey, an overwhelming majority of survey respondents indicated they prefer to receive AACTE news updates online. We will continue to bring you the latest news in our popular monthly Briefsnewsletter, but beginning with the March 2009 issue it will be available online only at www.aacte.org . Representatives will be notified by e-mail when each issue is posted. If you currently receive AACTE's weekly NewsBriefs e-mails, you will receive Briefs information at the same address. To confirm or update your e-mail address, please click here. To view the current or archived issues of Briefs on the web, click here

AACTE Announces Member News
Has your institution recently received a grant? Is a former student now recognized as a teacher of the year? Have you recently received a prestigious award? Well here is your chance to showcase your accomplishments! AACTE has developed a "Member News" section on our website where members are encouraged to submit news stories including the recognition of awards, grants, and other notable achievements. All submissions postings are subject to the discretion of AACTE staff. Please email your accomplishments to Alyssa Mangino at amangino@aacte.org .



AACTE IN THE NEWS

Leading Education Organizations Back National Commission on Educational Opportunity
From PR Newswire
The call by Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) to establish the National Commission on Education Opportunity to identify longstanding disparities in the allocation of educational opportunity resources is gaining momentum within the nation's education community. Joining the growing list of Commission endorsers are the Education Trust, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy and the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities.



NATIONAL NEWS

Stimulus Aid to Go Out in Phases, Guidelines Say
From Education Week
The eagerly awaited federal guidelines on some $100 billion in stimulus funding for education aim to pump money out quickly, while giving the U.S. Department of Education leverage to demand improvements from states and districts.

UDC Chief Wants to Cut Undergrad Major in Education
From the Washington Post
The University of the District of Columbia plans to shut down its struggling undergraduate education department, which, officials say, is out of touch with current thinking on how to train teachers and fails to graduate the vast majority of its students.

Stimulus Bill Spurs Focus on Teachers
From Education Week
The recently enacted economic-stimulus bill requires every state to take steps to improve teacher effectiveness, as well as to tackle one of the most pervasive problems in K-12 education: inequities in access to top teaching talent for poor and minority children.

Education Department to Distribute $44 Billion in Stimulus Funds in 30 to 45 Days
From the United States Department of Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that $44 billion in stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be available to states in the next 30 to 45 days.

Obama to unveil first piece of education plan
From the Associated Press
President Barack Obama is promising a "cradle-to-career" education for all Americans as well as stronger teacher standards and a reduced dropout rate. Obama plans to call on people not just to educate their children but also to educate themselves when he speaks Tuesday at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington. It is Obama's first major speech on education since taking office.

Stimulus to Help Retool Education, Duncan Says
From the Washington Post
To help struggling schools, the federal government will use stimulus funding to encourage states to expand school days, reward good teachers, fire bad ones and measure how students perform compared with peers in India and China, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said yesterday.

NCATE President Fleshes Out Plans to Update Process
From Education Week
In a wide-ranging speech delivered here last week, the president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, James G. Cibulka, laid out his most specific ideas yet for updating the group's accreditation process.



NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

35,000 college seniors apply to teach in low-achieving schools
From Mercury News
Facing the tightest job market in a generation, thousands of elite members of the class of 2009 are competing for a chance to head off to the nation's most troubled schools to work exhausting hours for as little as $27,000 a year. Instead of becoming doctors, economists or attorneys, they're hoping to join Teach For America, a Peace Corps-like program that aims to eliminate educational inequity. Applications have surged an astounding 42 percent for the coming school year.

Educator Loss in STEM Area Called Issue
From Education Week
Two University of Pennsylvania researchers are questioning a basic tenet of national efforts to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness: the idea that colleges and universities are producing too few mathematics and science teachers to meet the demand in the nation's classrooms.

Education advocates rally at Capitol for school funding
From AZcentral.com
Public-education advocates swarmed the state Capitol Wednesday, seizing on education cuts to demand that lawmakers do an about-face and increase school funding. They culminated their daylong stay at the Capitol with a late-afternoon rally that drew an estimated 2,500 protestors to the Capitol courtyard just as Gov. Jan Brewer was delivering her budget plan to lawmakers.

UC wins $1.5M grant for education program
From Bizjournals.com
The University of Cincinnati's College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services will use a U.S. Department of Education grant to launch a research-based teaching program in Utah. The three-year, $1.5 million grant will fund the Inspire Teaching Fellows Program, which aims to improve science instruction in elementary schools, and provide teachers with support systems and resources.

Student life merges with teacher life
From NC State University
As a part of the degree and licensure requirements for students pursuing careers in education, a professional semester is required to prepare them for the transition from student to teacher. However, despite what many people may think, the job is not as easy as it seems.



Other Announcements

Partnership for Global Learning Forum
From the Asia Society
In 2009, as new leadership comes to Washington D.C. The Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning is hosting its second annual national forum. Join teachers, leaders and policymakers from across K-16 education to share best practices, build partnerships, and advance policies to ensure that all students are prepared for work and citizenship in the global 21st century. The forum will take place from July 9-11, 2009 in Arlington, VA. Click here to register.

Great Teachers for our City Schools
The second annual Great Teachers for Our City Schools: A National Summit on Recruiting, Preparing and Retaining Quality Urban Teachers will begin at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 with a reception and dinner and end at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2009.

Early Bird Registration
Fee: $275
Deadline: Feb. 27, 2009
Regular Registration
Fee: $300
Deadline: March 27, 2009
To register, go to www.mscd.edu/~utp

Blogwatch: Grading the Graders
NCTQ started February off with a bang by declaring, in its 2008 State Teacher Policy Yearbook , that the vast majority of states are barely passing in their efforts to identify and retain effective teachers and "exit" their sub-par colleagues. Over at Advancing the Teaching Profession , Barnett Berry takes the NCTQ graders to task for failing to fully measure the types of skills, assessment systems, and evaluation models that 21st century teachers need to make our students competitive in a global marketplace.

Funding Opportunities at NSF
Are you looking for math and science funding opportunities? The National Science Foundation (NSF) wants to see what teacher education has been working on with regard to the preparation of STEM teachers.

NSF has two partnership programs of interest. The Math and Science Partnership Program (MSP Program) is run through NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE ) within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. This research and development effort seeks to build capacity and integrate the work of higher education with that of K-12 to strengthen and reform mathematics and science education. Partnerships need to consist of an IHE, at least one high needs school districts, and a non-profit organization to develop evidence-based outcomes that contribute to the understanding of how students effectively learn mathematics and science.

NSF's Division for Research and Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL ) within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, funds projects that: enhance content and pedagogical knowledge and practical teaching skills of pre-service STEM teachers, develop effective paths for induction into the STEM teaching profession by early career teachers, and develop engaging and effective strategies for continuing professional development of STEM teachers.

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