Teacher Education News

AACTE Weekly News Briefs | October 6, 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

Secretary Duncan to Speak at AACTE Annual Meeting & Exhibits
AACTE is pleased to announce that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will address the Welcoming Session at the Association’s 2010 Annual Meeting & Exhibits. Early bird registration ends October 30.

AACTE Wants to Know How Stimulus Dollars Are Affecting Your Programs
AACTE is collecting information on how stimulus dollars are affecting educator preparation programs and how member institutions are leveraging the funds to improve teacher quality. We want to hear from you ...

If stimulus money has gone to your program, let us know what impact you anticipate.
If your state is including your program in its Race to the Top proposal, tell us how your program will be contributing to the innovation and reform efforts.
If you plan to apply for the Innovation fund, describe how you anticipate using it.
AACTE Encourages You to Submit Comments on Draft Common Core State Standards
Deadline: October 21
The National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers convened a state-led effort to develop common core academic standards for college and career readiness. The draft standards in mathematics and English language arts are now available for public review and comment.

A 3-Week Virtual Conference for Early Childhood Educators: Free for AACTE Members
October 26–November 14
AACTE is cosponsoring a virtual conference to exploring how strengths-based approaches to early childhood education (ECE) can support preschool teachers and other ECE professionals. This conference is entirely online, so you can attend as your schedule permits. As a cosponsor, AACTE has arranged for you to register for free. Please log in to the Members Only section of our web site to find your access code.

AACTE to Cosponsor Webinar on Sustainability in K-12 Schools
November 5, 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST
AACTE is among the associations joining the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development in sponsoring a webinar on an important trend in K-12 schools: education for sustainability. Educators will present case studies and share resources on how they are successfully using sustainability as an integrative theme in diverse elementary, middle, and high schools across the country. For registration information, contact green.and.sustainability.leaders@gmail.com.

NATIONAL NEWS

Leaders Honored With the 22nd Annual McGraw Prize in Education
From McGraw-Hill (Press Release)
The 2009 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education honors Sarita Brown (Excelencia in Education), Linda Darling-Hammond (Stanford University) and Joseph Renzulli (University of Connecticut) for their guiding work in accelerating educational success among Latinos, teacher training, and gifted and talented enrichment, respectively.

Report Finds Achievement Gap Continuing to Narrow
From Education Week
Achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students on state tests have narrowed in many instances over the past decade—continuing a trend that appears to have been bolstered in the 1990s by the standards-based-reform movement, concludes a wide-ranging new analysis from the Center on Education Policy.

NEA Moves to Help Poor Schools With Best Teachers
From USA Today
Testifying Tuesday before the House education committee, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said the union, which represents about 3.2 million teachers and other workers, will ask local affiliates to draw up memoranda of understanding with local school districts that would "waive any contract language that prohibits staffing high-needs schools with great teachers."

'Race to Top' Said to Lack Key Science
From Education Week
With recently published draft guidelines for federal economic-stimulus money and Title I aid, critics contend there’s no evidence to support the policies touted.

Lesson Plans: What Makes a Teacher Qualified?
From National Public Radio
American schools have been trying for decades to improve teacher quality, with mixed results. Over the next year, NPR will explore those efforts, and look at the latest crop of teachers entering the profession.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Untraditionally Trained Teachers Getting Mixed Reviews
From the Indianapolis Star
Is it a good thing that more of Indiana's children are being taught by educators who have not undergone traditional training? Generally, education leaders think it is. Others question whether the teachers, especially those who have had only fast-track five-week training courses, are equipped to handle situations that require detailed knowledge of child psychology or to work with special cases, such as a child who struggles to read.

State of Texas Education Research Center to Develop New Educator Preparation Model
From Media Newswire (Press Release)
The State of Texas Education Research Center at Texas A&M has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish the Texas A&M Educator Preparation Collaborative for Enhancing College and Career Readiness in Texas Schools. The purpose of the collaborative is to develop and pilot a research-based model designed to prepare P-16 education professionals to assist students in meeting college and career readiness standards and skilled workforce expectations. An important component of the project is the development of a self-assessment tool for all teacher education institutions in the state.

An Education Problem Looms
From the Los Angeles Times
As thousands of laid off California teachers sit out the school year, educators are worried about the long-term effect of losing so many teachers. Some instructors are considering leaving the state or even the profession, and if history is any indication, fewer young people will pursue careers in teaching.

Iowa Poised to Bend Teaching Rules
From The Des Moines Register
Iowa's rigid rules are about to bend for qualified teachers from other states, especially newcomers who took unconventional paths to the classroom. State officials who oversee teacher licensing want to tweak the rules so educators who lack transcripts from traditional teacher colleges can prove they are qualified in other ways.

D.C. Launches Rigorous Teacher Evaluation System
From The Washington Post
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has launched a rigorous evaluation system that will make some District teachers among the first in the nation to have their job security tied to standardized test scores.

Grant Gets Young Readers Off on Right Foot
From The News Journal (DE)
Carol Vukelich, director of Delaware Center for Teacher Education at the University of Delaware, was happy to learn recently that the center will receive more than $3.6 million in an Early Reading First grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help train teachers at three early-learning centers with high populations of low-income children. The grant is part of more than $108.8 million the Education Department announced it will deliver to 28 similar early-education facilities in 18 states and Washington, D.C.

Most of Oregon's 2,400 New Teachers Unable to Find Jobs This Fall
From The Oregonian
Most of the estimated 2,400 newly minted teachers who graduated from Oregon colleges of education this year were unable to get hired anywhere in Oregon, proving that a job often billed as recession-proof is not. Education deans and others who monitor the job market say this was the state's worst hiring season for new teachers in at least a generation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS/INFORMATION

Online Roadmap Shows Federal Funding for Data Systems
The Data Quality Campaign has compiled an online "roadmap for states" that identifies federal funding sources that can be used for data-related activities. Synopses of each source are provided along with helpful tips for each one and links to the relevant legislation.

U.S. Department of Education Announces Recipients of $43 Million in Teacher Quality Partnership Grants
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced this year’s first round of TQP grant recipients. AACTE congratulates the grantees and looks forward to seeing the impact of these grants on the preparation programs and the P-12 schools and students they serve. The closing date for the second round of the competition is October 6, and the DOE will announce the additional recipients later this year. Secretary Duncan also announced he will participate in three teacher education events this month:

On October 9, he will speak to students studying to be teachers at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education.
On October 20, he will host a virtual town hall meeting with teachers from throughout the nation on the Department's monthly television program "Education News You Can Use."
On October 22, he will deliver a major address on teacher preparation at Teachers College, Columbia University (NY).
AERA Announces Fellowships and Grant Opportunities
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) seeks applications for the following fellowships by December 15: AERA-AIR (A2) Fellows Program, AERA-ETS Fellowship Program in Measurement, and Minority Fellowship Program in Education Research. In addition, the AERA Grants Program seeks applications by January 6, 2010.

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, foreign language, ESL, and physical education to participate in a teaching seminar and practicum in France, August to December 2010. Housing, airfare, and living stipend are provided to participants through a grant from the U.S. Department of State.




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