Teaching Education News....

AACTE Weekly News Briefs | April 21, 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

FREE Webinar April 23 to Discuss the Achievement Gap for Children in Foster Care
Register now for a free webinar this Thursday, April 23, on "Closing the Educational Achievement Gap for Children in Foster Care," sponsored by the Casey Family Programs. Tutor Connection has provided 1,240 student teachers from California State University-San Marcos to work directly with children in foster care to improve academic performance. Hear about the results for over 1,500 foster care youth who have participated in this program and learn more about the roles that Departments of Education can play in positively impacting this unique and often invisible population.

Diez, Stiggins, Popham to Address Assessment
A multiday AACTE web conference May 5-7 will focus on assessment preparation and assessment literacy for initial teacher candidates within the preservice program. Along with members of AACTE's Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability, Mary Diez, Rick Stiggins, and James Popham will present "What Every Teacher Educator Should Know About 21st-Century Assessment Strategies." Don't miss Stiggins' presentation on "Preparing Teachers to Use Assessment to Support Learning and Verify Learning Success" and Popham's insights on "Cracking the Preservice Assessment Barrier."

FREE Holocaust Institute for Teacher Educators
In cooperation with AACTE, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will host the third annual Holocaust Institute for Teacher Educators June 1-5. There is no registration fee for this institute, to be held at the museum in Washington, DC. Participants are responsible for travel, hotel, and other expenses.

Register Now for AACTE's Day on the Hill
AACTE's 2009 Day on the Hill will take place June 17-18 in Washington, DC. This is AACTE's premier advocacy event! Come to DC to meet with your members of Congress and to tell them about the good work you do. This year's theme is "Innovation and Reform in Teacher Preparation." For more information, please contact Mary Harrill-McClellan at mharrill@aacte.org.

New AACTE Leadership Academy
Two of AACTE's yearly professional development conferences, the Leadership Institute for Department Chairs and the New Deans Institute, will be combined in 2009 to create an exciting educational opportunity. With the goal of sustaining the teacher education profession by providing powerful learning and networking tools, AACTE's new Leadership Academy is an essential event for new deans, department chairs, and other educational administrators to attend. This event will take place June 28 - July 3 in St. Louis, Missouri. Click here to view the 2009 Leadership Academy brochure.

AACTE Wants YOU!
Time is running out to volunteer for exciting leadership opportunities at AACTE!
Share your expertise – Gain national visibility – Develop your network – Enhance the profession
Through Friday, May 1, we are accepting the following:
- Nominations and volunteer applications to serve on AACTE's Board of Directors and Standing Committees
- Session proposals for the 2010 Annual Meeting & Exhibits in Atlanta, Georgia

In addition, your chance to provide commentary on the 2010 resolutions is drawing to a close.
Take this opportunity for input on any or all of the 13 resolutions due to expire next February. By Friday, May 15, let us know your stance on the issues to be addressed:
- Accountability
- Global Diversity
- Government Relations
- Innovation and Technology
- Professional Development
To leave feedback online, visit the Briefs web page, or direct your comments to anyone serving on AACTE's standing committees.
Faculty, staff, and Institutional Representatives may respond to this call for comments on member resolutions. You are the strength of this member-driven association!


NATIONAL NEWS

NGA, CCSSO Launch Common Standards Drive
From Education Week (LOGIN REQUIRED)
After years of debating the idea of national content standards, representatives from 37 states were set to convene in Chicago April 17 in what organizers hoped would be a first, concrete step toward common guidelines in mathematics and English-language arts. The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers–the Washington-based groups that co-sponsored the meeting–want to build a prototype of high school graduation standards by summer, and grade-by-grade academic standards in math and language arts by the end of the year.

Education Standards Likely to See Toughening
From the New York Times
President Obama and his team have alternated praise for the goals of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law with criticism of its weaknesses, all the while keeping their own plans for the law a bit of a mystery. But clues are now emerging, and they suggest that the Obama administration will use a Congressional rewriting of the federal law later this year to toughen requirements on topics like teacher quality and academic standards and to intensify its focus on helping failing schools.

Researchers Examine Contracts' Effects on Policy Issues
From Education Week (LOGIN REQUIRED)
Does the existence of collective bargaining help or hinder attempts to establish performance-pay programs? Do salary schedules improve teachers' compensation or curb districts' ability to hire top talent? And can contracts serve as an avenue to define the features of high-quality mentoring programs? At a conference held March 26 by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based group that seeks to improve state and local policies affecting teachers, five scholars presented what are among the first studies to use primarily quantitative research methodologies to connect collectively bargained teacher contracts to various education policy outcomes.

A Nation at Risk: 25 Years Later
From Education Week
The April 20 issue of Education Week features commentary on the progress made by U.S. education in the 25 years since the landmark report A Nation at Risk.

Education Chief to Spend Billions to ‘Transform' U.S. Schools
From Bloomberg
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to spend a record $5 billion to transform U.S. schools by rewarding states for innovation, providing merit pay to teachers and creating a national scorecard to identify failing schools. Duncan, the former head of Chicago's public schools, said the retirement of 1 million teachers in the "next couple of years" gives the U.S. an opportunity to attract and retain a new generation of educators. Duncan also aims to remake the No Child Left Behind law to set national standards of performance while giving states and school districts more flexibility about how they meet those goals.

Education Researchers See Hopeful Signs of a More Receptive Administration
From the Chronicle of Higher Education (LOGIN REQUIRED)
A panel of leading education researchers today expressed optimism that President Obama's administration would be much more inclined to base education-policy decisions on the results of studies than they found his predecessor to be. But several members of the panel, assembled as part of the American Educational Research Association's annual conference, acknowledged that the new administration had sent mixed signals regarding how much priority it places on the work done by the organization's members. One disappointing sign cited by the panel was the Obama administration's failure to include money for education research in its economic-stimulus package.


NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Universities, Schools Get $3 Billion From Feds
From the San Francisco Chronicle
California got a windfall of more than $3 billion for its schools and universities from the federal stimulus package on Friday, becoming the first state to receive the infusion of cash meant to help stop a downward spiral in public education. The state's public schools will receive $2.6 billion - nearly $413 per pupil - and the University of California and California State University systems will split $537 million. Although the educators say they are pleased to get any money available, neither university officials nor school administrators believe the new cash will solve their troubles. The money is part of the federal government's $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to shore up schools in all states.

Now the Hard Part
From the Baltimore Sun (Editorial)
Candidate Barack Obama promised education would be a priority of his administration, and since taking office he has funneled $1.8 billion in federal stimulus money to Maryland schools to help avoid layoffs and program cuts. But now he faces a thornier problem: How to fix the federal No Child Left Behind law, which critics say focuses too much on punishing failing schools instead of providing the support they need to succeed.

Teaching Texas' Teachers-to-Be
From the Houston Chronicle
With the U.S. economy in a tailspin, programs that get aspiring teachers certified quickly are reporting a recent uptick in interest. Some of those signing up are out of work, while others, long curious about teaching, have decided now is the time to give it a try. Texas has 89 so-called alternative preparation programs, which allow college graduates – no matter what their major – to get a crash course in teaching elementary, middle or high school.


OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Call for Papers - JUSTEC 2009
The Japan-United States Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) is a professional organization of Japanese and American teacher educators. The group has held an annual meeting, the JUSTEC Seminar, every year for the past 20 years. The seminar is a forum for the exchange of research, best practice, and policy papers on teacher education issues of interest in both countries. Papers on a wide range of topics are presented, including teacher quality, pedagogy, issues of diversity, professional development of teachers, and technology, to name a few. This year's forum will take place September 17-20 at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The proposal submission deadline is May 15.

NCATE Seeks Field Comment on Proposed Redesign and Transformation Process
From NCATE
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is in the midst of a redesign and transformation initiative to provide a cost-effective, efficient, and collegial accreditation process for educator preparation. It will also give institutions the opportunity to engage in transformation initiatives as part of the work of accreditation. The concept of continuous improvement is a major strategy NCATE will use to drive the process. NCATE seeks comment on the proposed process from all stakeholders through this Friday, April 24.

NBPTS Seeks Reviewers for Library Media Standards
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is accepting applications for the committee responsible for reviewing and revising its Library Media standards. Please visit the NBPTS Standards Committees web page for information on the duties and responsibilities of a standards committee member and to begin the application process. The application is open through May 15, 5:00 p.m. EDT. For assistance or additional information, contact NBPTS at nominations@nbpts.org.

Opportunity for Future Educators to Teach in France
From The University of Akron
Applications are available for secondary education teacher candidates, with prior French language study, seeking licensure in social studies, language arts, science, math, Spanish, and physical education to participate in a teaching seminar and practicum in France – August to December 2009. Housing, airfare and living stipend are provided to participants through a grant from the U.S. Department of State.

AERA – ABS Graduate Student Education Research Workshop
The American Educational Research Association and the Association of Black Sociologists (ABS) announce a joint professional development training workshop for advanced graduate students who are examining an education research topic from a sociological perspective. This workshop will provide advanced graduate students with mentoring and guidance on their dissertations and give them insight into publishing their work. The workshop will be part of the 2009 ABS Conference in New Orleans, June 17-20. All workshop activities will be held the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, June 17.

Partnership for Global Learning Forum
From the Asia Society
The Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning will host its second annual national forum July 9-11 in Arlington, VA. Join teachers, leaders, and policy makers 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. Click here to register.

New Online Tool Aids Middle School Literacy Development
The Strategic Education Research Partnership has released Word Generation, a middle school language program developed under the direction of Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Catherine Snow. The free program focuses on academic vocabulary, i.e., words that students are likely to encounter in textbooks and on tests, but not in spoken language. In pilot tests in Boston Public Schools, both teachers and students have embraced the program enthusiastically, with many students reporting that it is the most interesting part of their day.

U.S. Department of Education Invites Comments on the HEOA Title II Reporting Forms on Teacher Quality and Preparation
The U.S. Department of Education recently released the draft institutional and state report card forms required of the accountability provisions in Title II of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). The public may comment on these forms by June 8. Title II of HEOA requires institutions of higher education that prepare teachers to provide annual reports on how these teacher candidates perform on certification/licensure exams; goals that the institution has set for preparing teachers in key shortage areas; assurances for how institutions are preparing all candidates to be successful in the classroom; and descriptions of how preparation programs are structured. AACTE encourages its members to respond to this call for comment.

Peer Reviewers Wanted for U.S. Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Competition
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) is seeking peer reviewers for the upcoming Teacher Quality Partnership grant competition. The Teacher Quality Partnership Program is authorized under the Higher Education Act, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2008. OII is seeking persons with teaching and leadership experience at the early childhood, elementary, middle, high school, and college/university levels to serve as application reviewers for this grant competition.

Kristin K. McCabe, Editor
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
1307 New York Ave., NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
(207) 899-1309
kmccabe@aacte.org