GLOBAL
The Guardian. How PhD-educated teachers help state school pupils get into highly selective-universities In 2014, after several years of placing PhD students in schools to deliver programmes of academic enrichment to small groups of pupils, the charity decided to go further and create a route for post-doctoral researchers who wanted to work in schools full-time and become qualified teachers.
Times Higher Education. Mexico’s brain drain leaves universities struggling to fill research posts “Most of these schools are for-profit businesses where teachers are paid little, so quality teachers are hard to hire: very few have university degrees.”
ReliefWeb. Republic of Congo: Don Bosco Vocational Training Center launches new improvement plan to introduce new course and increase teacher training The overall goal of the project is to improve the training of 21 teachers and increase student enrollment by 3,000 over the next three years.
St. Lucia News. OECS (Organ. Of Eastern Caribbean States) states to re-engineer teacher education Chief Education Officers, Directors of Education, principals and deans of the national colleges, teacher educators, curriculum officers and teachers all collaborated to identify actions which should be taken to enhance teacher education and professional development and essentially teacher quality.
TES. University gives £500 to everyone signing up for teacher training course Bath Spa University says the payments are a ‘thank you’ for those choosing to become a teacher
UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat. Why Colorado’s teacher shortage bills fall short Colorado already has roughly two dozen “alternative pathways,” training other than traditional university educator-preparation programs, often for teachers who are already in the classroom with temporary credentials. Doing away with licensure doesn’t seem to be a magic bullet. Many charter schools hire unlicensed teachers but still have a hard time filling certain positions.
EducationNext. Rating Teacher-Preparation Programs: Can value-added make useful distinctions? It’s not helpful to rank a state’s programs by teachers’ value-added. With rare exceptions, the true differences between programs are so small that rankings would consist mostly of noise.
EducationWeek.
1) Connecticut legislature seeks boost for minority teachers The legislation approved this week could help by creating new ways to obtain teacher certification and improve coordination with state agencies to identify candidates, Commissioner Dianna Wentzell said.
2) I Was a Doctor. Now I’m a Teacher. Why Don’t I Get the Same Level of Respect? During the early years of the Great Recession, after 14 years in medicine, I hung up my stethoscope and began training to become a teacher.
Hechinger Report. 20 judgments a teacher makes in 1 minute and 28 seconds Loewenberg Ball makes the argument that teacher training ought to address these constant judgment calls directly… She called upon education researchers to develop a “repertoire” of teaching practices that could help counter racist habits.
The Sentinel. Secure Schools: University adapts teacher training to meet post-Parkland concerns Like other colleges, Shippensburg University can’t train its students to a specific protocol as each school district will have its own set of policies and procedures. It does, however, train them to ask appropriate questions to be able to see the overall safety picture at a school as early as during the interview for a teaching position.
NEW YORK STATE
NYS FY 2019 Executive Budget
1) Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program The recently passed 2019 Budget included a new Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program that would forgive up to $5,000 in student loans for teachers who teach in “shortage subject areas” or in “hard-to-staff districts,” or for applicants who are economically disadvantaged
2) New Report on Teacher Diversity … require the State Education Department… to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by June 1, 2019. The report will include information and data on teacher diversity, barriers to diversity in teacher preparation programs, efforts teacher preparation programs are taking to recruit and retain diverse student populations, and recommendations on practices and policies that may improve teacher diversity.
NYSED.
Open Comment Periods
1) Public Comment Period on Proposed Every Student Succeeds Act Regulations The public comment period on proposed regulations to prepare for implementation of New York’s approved Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan begins today, Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced. The public comment period continues through July 9.
2) Teacher Certification in Health Education (P) The proposed regulations will create a new Transitional K Certificate for certain New York State licensed health professionals (physician; physician assistant; nurse practitioner, or registered professional nurse) allowing them to teach health education in schools. The comment period on the proposed regulations closes May 27. Address data, views or arguments to: NYSED Office of Higher Education, [email protected].
3) To Allow Individual Evaluation for Certain Certificate Titles in the Classroom Teaching Service To help address the reported teacher shortages in New York State, SED is proposing to reinstate individual evaluation for the following certificate titles: Early Childhood Education (Birth-Grade 2), Childhood Education (Grades 1-6), Generalist in Middle Childhood Education (Grades 5-9), English Language Arts (Grades 5-9 and Grades 7-12), and Literacy (Birth-Grade 6 and Grades 5-12). The 60-day comment period on the proposed regulations closes on June 24, 2018. Address data, views or arguments to: Rebecca Coyle, NYSED, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]
NYSED Office of Higher Education. New Assistant Commissioner Dr. Anael Alston (Teachers College; MA 2010, EdD 2011)
NYSED Regents. May meetings
Motion for Action
1) Proposed Amendment to Section 100.2(kk)(1) of the Commissioner’s Regulations Relating to Reports of Incidents of Harassment, Bullying and/or Discrimination Pursuant to the Dignity for All Students Act A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Emergency Adoption will be published in the State Register on May 23, starting the 60-day public comment period which will end July 23.
2) Proposed Amendment of Section 80-5.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Employment of Substitute Teachers Who Do Not Hold a Valid Teaching Certificate and Are Not Working Towards Certification-(Emergency Action). …proposed amendment to allow districts to continue to be provided with the flexibility needed to address their hiring needs and employ substitute teachers who demonstrate competency in the classroom for more than 40 days beyond the current sunset date of June 30, 2018 and through the new sunset date of June 30, 2020.
3) Proposed Addition of a New Section 80-3.16 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to Allow Individuals Completing a Program Accredited by the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA) to Obtain an Initial Certificate in Speech This proposal would provide another option for qualified candidates both out of state and in New York to gain certification to teach students with speech and language disabilities
Consent Agenda
1) Proposed Amendment to Section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Graduate Admission Examination Requirements to Implement Chapter 454 of the Laws of 2017 …remove the requirement for certified teachers and school administrators who already hold a graduate degree to take either the GRE or a substantially equivalent admission examination…
2) Proposed Amendment to Section 80-1.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Safety Nets for Teacher Certification Examinations Candidates must continue to take advantage of safety nets before their applicable expiration date(s)… however, they do not have to complete all additional requirements for certification on or before June 30, 2018.
3) Proposed Amendment to Subpart 4-2 of the Rules of the Board of Regents and Section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Continuous Accreditation Requirement for Educator Preparation Providers …will allow institutions that are currently accredited by NCATE, TEAC, or CAEP to apply for accreditation through an accrediting association that is seeking recognition from the CHEA or USDE, but has not yet achieved recognition status, and still meet the “continuous accreditation requirement” …
Rockefeller Institute for Government. The State of the New York Teacher Workforce The future effects of the declining supply of prospective teachers may be exacerbated by their specializations. When compared to the current teacher workforce, few recent graduates of teacher education programs are prepared to teach the core subjects of mathematics, science, English, and social studies as well as such subjects as career and technical training, music, and art.
NEW YORK CITY
Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation AAQEP Transition Workshop Interchurch Center 475 Riverside Drive, Fri. June 15
NYTimes. A Teacher’s Job [OpEd] …concern is expressed that grouping children of different abilities in the same school is too taxing for educators. As a public-school teacher, I am offended by this. Teaching multiple ability levels in a classroom is an integral part of any teacher’s education and training. Plain and simple, it’s our job.
Teachers College.
1) William Fong (MA 2011, Elementary Inclusive Program) teacher at Central Park East II Elementary School, wins 2018 Empire State Excellence in Teaching Award.
2) Widening TC’s Doors: Alumnus William Epps, Pastor of Los Angeles’ historic Second Baptist Church, makes a generous scholarship gift “I don’t know if Teachers College is aware of the influence and impact they had on shaping education for African Americans all across the South during the days of segregation and discrimination in civil rights …They trained teachers, they trained guidance counselors, they trained principals and assistant principals – you name it.”
