Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Nov. 15 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE). Call for papers & proposals 2022 Winter Conference  Teaching and Learning for an Inclusive, Interconnected World [deadline 15 January]

British Columbia News. Legislative changes to support First Nations jurisdiction over education   First Nations participating in the education jurisdiction initiative in B.C. will soon be able to certify and regulate teachers who work in schools under their jurisdiction… Supporting First Nations control over First Nations education, including greater control over teacher certification and regulation, will lead to improved outcomes for students.

National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). More Than Money: The U.K. Approach to Attracting and Keeping Teachers   While the strategy does include financial incentives like loan forgiveness and bonuses for teacher candidates training to teach in-demand subjects or in high-need districts, these are only one component of a multi-pronged approach. Key among the provisions is the creation of an early career framework that requires two years of structured supports, including mentoring, for new teachers…

The Independent (Uganda). Universities, colleges disregard changes in teacher education policy   Effective this year, the Ministry of Education and Sports through the 2019 National Teacher Policy, phased out lower qualifications for teachers in favour of degree programmes. According to the policy direction, the ministry also stipulated that the teacher degree programme will be running for four years instead of the normal three… Makerere has also established collaboration with Uganda National Teacher Institute-UNITE which is currently being prepared to handle issues of teacher education to see how the transition period can be handled.

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Early Bird Registration Deadline for #AACTE22  Register by midnight on November 22 to take advantage of discounted early bird rates [login required].

Chalkbeat. Illinois wants to diversify teacher ranks. Will a pilot program help?    The state board of education announced on Thursday that 24 Illinois colleges and universities have volunteered to develop plans to recruit and retain future teachers of color. The pilot will help the board create best practices for 54 of the state’s teacher prep programs to develop plans the following year.

Columbia Daily Tribune. The profession that prepares people for all other professions is diminishing. Help is on the way.   The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education this week launched TeachMo.org, calling it a “digitally powered recruitment platform” to identify and cultivate new teachers. It’s a collaboration with TEACH, a national, not-for-profit organization. The plan also will include $50 million over the next three years for retention and recruitment.

Education Week.
1) ‘More Than a Demographic’: The Important Work of Cultivating Native TeachersFor nearly two decades, the Sapsik’ʷałá teacher education program has worked with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes to create a career pathway to address the tremendous gap in Native teacher representation in the classroom… Sapsik’ʷałá students pay nothing to be in the program, but they agree to work for two years in schools with a high percentage of Native students after graduating.
2) What New Teachers Need: Any new job is hard. But the stakes are too high to let new teachers flounder   …some data suggest that most teacher-preparation programs fail to adequately prepare future teachers to lead classrooms. An examination of 1,100 college-based teacher-preparation programs by the National Council on Teacher Quality evaluated 4 out of 5 as mediocre at best. Insufficient student-teaching experience is a commonly identified weakness of teacher-preparation programs.

Hechinger Report. Retraining an entire state’s elementary teachers in the science of reading: North Carolina passed a law to make every school replicate how reading is taught in its most successful classrooms   Whether educators can effectively teach reading often depends on how they were taught in college. It’s more important than the curriculum they use, said Shawn Clemons, the director of accountability at Hickory Public Schools. “Institutions of higher education don’t always teach the students how to teach reading,” Clemons said.

Indian Country Today. Supporting Arizona’s Indigenous students through the pandemic and beyond: Arizona Department of Education targets federal recovery dollars to support Native American students   University of Arizona… Indigenous Teacher Education Program’s collective vision and dedication center on Indigenous cultures, histories, Indigenous knowledge systems and values, and ensuring that they are better equipped to teach Native students.

LA School Report. California aims to come from behind in making sure children learn to read, but some see new push as political   Senate Bill 488, now law, would aim to make sure that doesn’t happen to new teachers entering the field. The legislation requires colleges and universities to meet higher standards for ensuring that new teachers can teach “foundational reading skills” and have strategies for supporting English learners. The state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing will certify teacher preparation programs, and candidates for elementary and special education teaching positions will have to pass a new literacy assessment, beginning July 2025. 

National Academy of Education. Evaluating and Improving Teacher Preparation Programs. A Tale of Two Cities: State Evaluation Systems of Teacher Preparation Programs   … this landscape analysis report presents information and data about state evaluation standards for teacher preparation programs and providers. 

NEA News. What is Quality Teaching and How is It Supported?: An NEA policy forum explores what it takes to create a force of “profession-ready” teachers.  Changes in teacher preparation and ongoing professional development are critical in creating “profession ready” educators… New funding from the American Rescue Plan must be targeted to preparing and recruiting more teachers, especially teachers of color.

Washington Post. Charlottesville labeled 86 percent of students as gifted. Will learning improve?   Renzulli and Reis, the University of Connecticut scholars who created the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, said in a joint statement that Charlottesville “has taken an important step.” They said they hope the model “will be implemented with fidelity by hiring teachers who are trained in our approach.”

NEW YORK STATE
Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. Statement by Lola W. Brabham, The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities President, on the signing of S.5666/A.7490 and S.6600/A.7491 into law“Governor Hochul’s action paves the way for more New Yorkers to pursue their passion for teaching by obtaining graduate degrees in education and school leadership. CICU member campuses are proud to educate nearly 60 percent of all future teachers and school leaders who earn bachelor’s and graduate degrees in New York…we thank the bills’ sponsors, Assemblymember Deborah Glick and Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, for their unwavering commitment to independent higher education in New York.”

Governor Hochul. NEW LEGISLATION: Admission Requirements for Graduate-Level Teacher and Educational Leader Programs
1) S5666/A7490 has been signed by Governor Kathy Hochul  Relates to the maximum percentage of students that can be exempted from the admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs   Increases the percentage of students from any incoming class who can be exempted from the admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs from no more than fifteen percent to fifty percent.
2) S6600/A7491A has been signed by Governor Kathy Hochul  Relates to SUNY admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs   Relates to SUNY admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs; removes the requirement for a minimum score on the graduate record examination or similar examination.

NYSED Board of Regents. November meeting agenda
Higher Education Committee
* Proposed Amendment to Section 80-1.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Definition of a Year of Experience for Permanent or Professional Certification  “the Department is proposing to revise the definition to provide a single definition of a year of experience for Permanent or Professional certification, which would be defined as: a minimum of 180 days in a 12-month period of full-time satisfactory experience, or its equivalent, in an educational setting acceptable to the Department.”
* 2022-2023 Non-State Aid Budget and Legislative Priorities: New Non-State Aid Budget Priorities – Higher Education    Improving the Teacher & School Building Leader Certification Process – In addition to other noted efforts, increase staffing levels in the Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) to improve the current teacher and school building leader certification review process timeframes.
* Educator Certification Reform

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College.
1) College Celebrates New Faculty Appointments
*Limarys Caraballo is joining the English Education program as an Associate Professor in the Department of Arts and Humanities… Her work seeks to build upon youth’s critical epistemologies to transform and reimagine teacher preparation…Caraballo is also a Teacher Opportunity Corps faculty advisor in the Office of Teacher Education.
* Mary Mendenhall, who previously served as Associate Professor of Practice at the College, has been named an Associate Professor in the International & Comparative Education program. A recognized leader in the research, training and support of teachers in refugee camps and under-represented nations, Mendenhall has gained acclaim in international circles for “Teachers for Teachers”
2) New Research and Applications for Teaching Reading Workshop; January 7, 2022 – February 20, 2022 (12 Clock Hours CTLE)

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Nov. 8 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
The Hindu. Nod for teacher education centres: Calicut varsity to file appeal   The University of Calicut will file an appeal within a week with the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) over the lose of recognition of 11 teacher education centres directly run by it.

Times of India. ITEP to expand the horizons for teachers. National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has announced the introduction of Integrated Teacher Education programme (IITEP) from the academic year 2021-22.

UNESCO. Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education   Teacher education needs to be rethought to align with educational priorities and orient better towards future challenges and prospects.  The weak qualification of many teachers in various regions of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, calls for urgent measures.  There is no one-size-fits-all model for this change.  Collaboration of the various actors connected to teacher education – for example, public authorities, researchers, teachers’ associations, community leaders, etc.  –  offer possibilities for creating new spaces for learning and innovation. 

Washington Post. Prince George’s County teacher wins $1 million global educator prize   Keishia Thorpe, who teaches 12th-grade English at the International High School at Langley Park, in the Prince George’s County public school system, received the Global Teacher Prize at the Paris headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization… Thorpe was born and raised in Jamaica by her grandmother… She graduated from Howard in 2003 as a pre-law and English student… while tutoring at night during college at a D.C. charter school, Thorpe said, she realized the inequity in the U.S. public education system and decided to skip law school and go into teaching instead.

UNITED STATES
Education Week. English Teachers Must Be Anti-Racist, National Group Says   The council’s standards for educators preparing to be English/language arts teachers in grades 7-12 were released on Tuesday after last being updated in 2012. They were developed by an NCTE committee that is comprised of educators in both K-12 and higher education, and will be used in teacher education programs to determine the coursework for teacher candidates.

El Paso Herald-Post. UTEP Receives $5 Million to Promote Computer Science through Training K-12 Teachers   Teacher education students enrolled at UTEP’s College of Education will be required to pass at least one computer science education course. The Center will collaborate with the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education to create a new Bachelor of Science in Education program for CS teacher preparation.

Fox2Now. Missouri teacher shortage: State launches online recruitment and training platform   The state is investing $50 million over the next three years in TeachMO.org and other recruitment projects, such as the Teacher Education Recruitment and Retention Grants and the Pathways to Teaching Careers Program.

Honolulu Civil Beat. Are You a Laid-Off Hotel Worker? Hawaii’s Education Department Wants You   The state Department of Education is struggling to fill critical positions ranging from custodians and food service managers to substitute teachers and tutors. Meanwhile, thousands of hotel workers who were laid off during the pandemic need jobs. The DOE and the Unite Here Local 5 union see a potential match and have joined forces to try to fill some of those public school vacancies with unemployed hospitality workers.

Inside Higher Ed. Making Transfer Work for Rural Students and Communities   Strategies to encourage return migration include work-based experiences, job placements and financial incentives. For example, in the rural area southeast of Raleigh, N.C., Johnston Community College, Johnston County Public Schools and North Carolina State University have built several connections to the region into their teacher education program. These include summer internships and teaching practicum in the county, guaranteed job interviews and a $10,000 incentive to return.

Lohud. Child care workers are in short supply, forcing parents to quit their jobs, too  …finding qualified teachers is a lot more of a struggle. To work as a head teacher, a candidate must have certification and experience, which often results in an expectation of higher pay.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). NCTE Standards for the Initial Preparation of Teachers of English Language Arts 7–12 (Initial Licensure) Approved by the NCTE Executive Committee 2021

New York Times.
1) How Public Preschool Can Help, and How to Make Sure It Doesn’t Hurt: Congress is considering universal pre-K and subsidies for child care“The quality literature is pretty clear that credentials matter, yes, but what really matters is these moment-to-moment interactions,” said Bruce Fuller, a sociologist at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Education… The bill says that states must use the subsidies to pay child care workers and pre-K teachers “a living wage” (though it does not specify what that is), and one that is equivalent to that of an elementary teacher with the same degree. 
2) Substitute Teachers Never Got Much Respect, but Now They Are in Demand   Oregon once had 8,290 licensed substitute teachers, but by Sept. 18, that number had been cut in half. To create a bigger pool, the state, in an Oct. 1 emergency order, created a new license. These substitutes no longer need to pass several tests, or have a bachelor’s degree. They simply need to be at least 18 years old, sponsored by a participating district or charter school, and have “good moral character” with the “mental and physical health necessary” to teach… Missouri once required 60 college credits, the equivalent of an associate degree. Now, substitutes just need to complete a 20-hour online course on professionalism, diversity and classroom management.

Washington Post. As numbers of multilingual students rises, finding teachers for them becomes a priority: A Towson University program prepares educators to teach the fastest-growing population in the nation’s public schools   The program, ELEVATE, is a Towson University College of Education initiative to train teachers through partnerships with six schools in the Anne Arundel County public school district selected because of their high number of ESL students.

NEW YORK STATE
Albany Times Union. Letter: Make teacher education more accessible [Opinion by G. Weinstein]   I’m a proud faculty member at Western Governors University Teachers College, the nation’s largest college of education, which is accredited, nonprofit, completely online and pioneered the competency-based model. WGU has graduated more than 16,700 students across the country since the start of the pandemic. Think of how many more teachers we can produce if other institutions follow suit.

NYSED.
1) New York State My Brother’s Keeper Community Network Reaches 31 Member Communities   …since 2016, NYSED has awarded $18.45 million in Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II) grants to 23 colleges and universities [including Teachers College]. The TOC II statewide enrollment as of February 2021 was 594, with TOC II institutions reporting 442 graduates of the program. 
2) New York State Teacher of the Year, 2023   applications due Feb. 1, 2022

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. NYC delays its massive academic recovery program for students with disabilities   There are signs that education officials are worried about finding enough staff who are willing to work overtime for it. Schools are now allowed to hire educators who are not certified in special education for the program, a break from the city’s original plan…

Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC).  November 2021: Educator Resources. *Special Announcements *Action Center *Educator Grant Opportunities *Induction Highlights

 

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Nov. 1 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
OneIndia. Gender neutral teacher training manual: Rectify anomalies says NCPCR.  The new manual for teachers aims to educate and sensitise them towards the LGBTQ+ community and different gender orientations. It highlights practices and strategies to make schools sensitive and inclusive for transgender and gender non-conforming children.

Teachers Task Force.
1) 13th International Policy Dialogue Forum [1-3 December; Kigali, Rwanda and on-line]
2) Qualified teachers urgently needed – What TIMSS data reveal about teacher training and student learningThe Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international assessment of student achievement, can shed light on teacher quality. 

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Board of Directors Election Now Open through Nov. 30. [sign-in required]

Chalkbeat. First 8 Memphis gives $1M to NEXT Memphis to strengthen early education   NEXT Memphis is a shared services child care initiative housed at Porter Leath that provides high-quality education and health services for children, including advice from early childhood experts, training and support for teachers, and business assistance for child care centers. 

Daily Citizen. Dodge County schools work to solve substitute teacher shortage.  A traditional sub must be licensed through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a teacher or a substitute teacher. Anyone without a license must possess an associate’s degree or higher and participate in 8 hours of substitute teacher training.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This program is raising wages, quality in the child care workforce. Here’s how it works   In Tarrant County, where only 21% of licensed child care providers are part of a quality rating and improvement system, the apprenticeship program facilitated by Camp Fire … Lyn Lucas, the senior vice president of Early Education and Program Evaluation for Camp Fire First. “Apprenticeships have long been the answer to industry shortages in all kinds of industries, and right now we know that we have a serious shortage of quality early education teachers.”

NEAToday.
1) ‘Grow Your Own’ Programs Produce Pathways for ESPs: Recruiting education support professionals to pursue teaching certification creates career growth and educator diversity in school communities.   The programs are designed to harvest promising teacher candidates from local communities and school systems to not only offer a career path for education support professionals (ESPs) but to create a more diverse teaching force that reflects the student population.
2) Substitute Teacher Shortage Causes More School Disruptions  Some districts are raising pay for subs, others are loosening requirements for substitute teachers… In its emergency licensing order, Oregon is allowing people with just a high school diploma now to be substitutes with some training

NYTimes.
1) Republicans Pounce on Schools as a Wedge Issue to Unite the Party  “It’s going to be incumbent on Democrats to have a compelling response,” said Mr. Garin, who worked as a pollster for Mr. McAuliffe during his 2013 campaign for governor. “They also need to be prepared to assert the value of public education in terms of a place where there’s a common curriculum and common set of values that most voters agree are the right ones for public schools.”
2) California Tries to Close the Gap in Math, but Sets Off a Backlash: Proposed guidelines in the state would de-emphasize calculus, reject the idea that some children are naturally gifted and build a connection to social justice. Critics say math shouldn’t .   Divya Chhabra, a middle school math teacher in Dublin, Calif., said the state should focus more on the quality of instruction by finding or training more certified, experienced teachers.

Washington Post. Youngkin pledged more parental control of education, but changes may prove difficult   To grant parents radically increased say in what or how teachers teach, Youngkin would have to overhaul the structure of American public-school education in Virginia, which is now determined by state standards and elected school boards that represent all residents of a district, not just parents.

NEW YORK STATE
Commisssion on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). Support Future Teachers and Urge Gov. Hochul to Sign Graduate Admissions Reform   These two bills will remove arbitrary barriers that disproportionately affect students of color who want to be teachers.  With this legislation New York can increase teacher diversity and remove a discriminatory barrier to graduate admissions.

NYS Legislature.
1) Senate Bill S5666 has been delivered to Governor Hochul   Relates to the maximum percentage of students that can be exempted from the admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs
2) Senate Bill S6600 has been delivered to Governor Hochul  Relates to SUNY admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. There aren’t enough men teaching elementary school. Here’s how we can change that — and why we must.   I enrolled in an elementary education program after a teacher friend of mine inspired me with her words: “There’s not enough of you in education, especially in elementary schools. We need people like you!”… This past May, I wrapped up my first semester as an adjunct professor at the City College of New York’s Childhood Education Department, where out of 19 students studying to teach grades 1-6, only two were male. This semester, I have one male student out of 15.

Pix11 News. Lawmakers work to slash class size at NYC schools   It would require the city purchasing or leasing new educational space or adding access to buildings as well as hiring about 13,000 new teachers.

Teachers College. The Peace Corps Celebrates Top-Enrolling Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program Institutions [incl. Jaffe Peace Corps Fellows Program at Teachers College]  First established in 1985 at Teachers College at Columbia University, the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program has grown to include more than 120 higher education partners in 38 states and the District of Columbia.