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AACTE Weekly News Briefs | September 15, 2009
. . . delivered to your inbox so you can enjoy up-to-date news on colleges of education, teaching and the classroom, legislation, STEM teacher issues, grants, and upcoming events. Please click on linked headlines for full story.

AACTE ANNOUNCEMENTS

AACTE Partners With Southern Poverty Law Center on Its 'Teaching Diverse Students Initiative'
AACTE has partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center in the development and dissemination of the "Teaching Diverse Students Initiative" (TDSI). The TDSI is comprised of research-based online tools to help teachers and teacher educators improve the instruction of racially and ethnically diverse students. A number of AACTE member institutions participated in a pilot test of the project from 2008 to 2009 and helped evaluate and refine the tools.

AACTE Cosponsors September 16 Event on Universal Design for Learning
AACTE is a cosponsor of a unique event in Washington, DC, this Wednesday called Creating Great Public Schools for ALL Using Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Education Practices. Hosted by the National Education Association and the Including Samuel Project at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire.

2010 AACTE Awards Entry Deadline: October 2
Don't miss the chance to gain national recognition for your program! Submit your application for the 2010 AACTE Best Practice Awards by October 2.

Early Bird Registration Open for 62nd Annual Meeting & Exhibits
Come to Atlanta for AACTE's 2010 Annual Meeting & Exhibits! Register by October 30 and save $70.

NATIONAL NEWS

Duncan Urges Colleges to Help Underperforming Schools More
From The Chronicle of Higher Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged universities on Thursday to get more involved in helping to improve underperforming schools, by forming partnerships with local school districts, establishing charter schools, and improving teacher education. In a keynote address at an education forum presented by the University of Chicago, Mr. Duncan pointed to that institution's charter schools as an example and praised the university for not being an "ivory tower in the middle of the city."

States Scramble for Reform to Get Stimulus Money
From the Associated Press
Three cash-strapped states may find themselves left at the starting line in the competition for more than $4 billion in education stimulus funding if they don't amend laws that prevent student test results from being tied to teacher evaluations. California, Wisconsin and Nevada each have laws that ban tying test scores to teacher reviews.

Tricky Road Ahead for Innovation Fund
From Education Week (LOGIN REQUIRED)
Federal education officials will face a variety of obstacles in running a $650 million innovation fund, from an expected flood of applications and concern about favoritism in picking winners, to skepticism about the government's ability to drive innovative change in education.

New Campaign Questions Reliance on Testing
From USA Today
As Congress gears up to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, a new and unlikely campaign aims to shift the USA's education conversation away from one-day tests and toward a larger one, focused on "powerful learning and highly effective teaching."

Growth Model
From Education Week
Long criticized for the short duration of its training, Teach For America has invested heavily in the professional development of its teacher corps. The program is now attracting attention for the rapidity with which it refines its professional-development system and its commitment to helping its recruits exhibit effective teaching practices.

Speech to Students Puts Politics Aside
From The Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama urged students to buckle down and excel in a Sept. 8 speech most notable for the absence of controversy after critics had warned it would be used to mobilize young people to the Democrats' agenda.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Singapore's Obsession Holds Lessons for Us All
From The Miami Herald
When school officials from across the world come here to learn why Singapore's students score so well on international science and math tests, it doesn't take them long to discover the secret – a national obsession with education.

Eligibility in BEd Colleges Raised
From The Times of India
The National Council of Teacher's Education (NCTE) has recently issued a notification to increase the percentage required for admission to BEd colleges, from 45 per cent to 50 per cent. This move, however, has come as a blow to BEd colleges in the state that are already struggling with 40 per cent of seats still vacant as students show dismal interest.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

12,000 Teacher Reports, but What to Do?
From The New York Times
As school starts, many principals report finding so many problems with internal teacher-effectiveness reports they didn't show them to teachers. There are no plans to release them to parents.

Breaking New Ground in Teacher Education: A Conversation with Teacher Educator Nancy Bacharach
From “Public School Insights” (Blog from the Learning First Alliance)
AACTE member St. Cloud State University's “co-teaching” model of student teaching prepares new teachers for the challenges of the job while keeping master teachers in the classroom. The best part? The model also benefits children right away. Four years of research show that students in co-taught classrooms outperform students in classrooms using other models of student teaching. They even outperform students taught by a single experienced teacher.

Making the Grade: New Math Standards for Teachers
From The Boston Globe
This year, Massachusetts' prospective elementary school teachers are, for the first time, required to pass a math test. The pass rate on the new test was only 27 percent the first time it was given. But elementary school teachers must know sophisticated and complex mathematics, not just be able to do third-grade calculations.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Title II (HEOA) Reporting Forms Approved (LOGIN REQUIRED)
The U.S. Department of Education and Westat recently announced the approval of the new Title II data collection forms by the Office of Management and Budget. The Department and Westat will move ahead in implementing the new data collection and will keep the Title II community informed of its progress. The new data collection number is 1840-0744 (expires 9/30/2012). The approved forms are available to users of Westat's Sharepoint web site under the Title II Documents tab. AACTE will continue to keep members apprised of developments in Title II reporting.

PBS Special Airing Tonight: 'The Principal Story'
Tuesday, September 15 (check local listings)
“The Principal Story” tells two stories, painting a dramatic portrait of the challenges facing America's public schools – and of the great difference a dedicated principal can make. The documentary follows two principals over the course of a school year, discovering each one's unique styles yet similar passions. “The Principal Story” takes the viewer along for an emotional ride that reveals what effective educational leadership looks like in the 21st century.

Call for Manuscripts: Issues in Teacher Education
Issues in Teacher Education is a peer-reviewed journal published twice yearly by the California Council on Teacher Education. Issues in Teacher Education publishes original manuscripts focusing on topics, concerns, and methodologies for improving the quality of teacher education. Submissions range from 500 to 5,000 words, with the average printed article around 3,000 words. For further information, please go to www.ite.chapman.edu.

Reminder: Free Webinar on "Screening for Reading Problems in an RTI Framework"
Thursday, September 17, 2 p.m. EDT
The RTI Action Network presents "Screening for Reading Problems in an RTI Framework" with Evelyn Johnson and Juli Pool of Boise State University. This free webinar is designed to help practitioners understand the benefits and limitations of a variety of instruments so that practitioners may become more critical consumers of screening measures as they move forward with RTI implementation.

Reminder: Second Closing Date for TQP Grant Competition
The U.S. Department of Education has announced a second closing date for the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant program competition: October 6, 2009. This date was set up to accommodate applicants affected by the technical amendments that Congress passed in July. Two amendments impacted the TQP grant program – extending the 12-month teacher residency program to 18 months and allowing 5th-year initial licensing programs to participate in the prebaccalaureate activity. However, all eligible partnerships may apply in this round of the competition.


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