GLOBAL
The Standard (Kenya). Rethink new entry qualification for primary education teachers Prospective teachers must now have a mean grade C in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination. Further, they should have a C plain in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, and in any of the humanities. Previously, the minimum entry requirement was simply a C. The upgrading of the Certificate of Primary to diploma in primary teacher education may have created the need to also upgrade the threshold to the diploma programme.
The Star (Bangladesh). British Council’s training programme of primary teachers end with graduation ceremony The graduation ceremony of the second group of primary teachers under the Training of Master Trainers in English (TMTE) project was held today at Primary Teacher’s Training Institutes in Dhaka, Gazipur, Sherpur, Jashore, Barishal, and Gopalganj… These teachers are the second group of Bangladeshi primary teachers, who started their 14-week professional development journey on October 24, 2021.
UNESCO. 2022 National SDG 4 Benchmarks: Fulfilling Our Neglected Commitment …national benchmarks on a selected set of seven SDG 4 indicators: early childhood education attendance; out-of-school rates; completion rates; gender gaps in completion rates; minimum proficiency rates in reading and mathematics; trained teachers; and public education expenditure.
UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) APSU Now Offers First Registered Apprenticeship Program for Teaching in the Country …the Tennessee Department of Education announced it has pioneered a new way to develop teacher pipelines, and is the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a permanent Grow Your Own model, with Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University’s Teacher Residency program becoming the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country.
2) GSoLEN and AACTE Webinar On Teaching Diverse Learners – Session 2 [Feb. 9, noon EST]
American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA). National Educator Shortage Summit The National Educator Shortage Summit is an interactive event that convenes focused groups of PK-12 and higher education stakeholders to address the challenges of the national shortage of educators and the educator pipeline to share ways to replicate practices via a national strategy. [Feb. 7-8, Kissimmee, FL]
Chalkbeat.
1) Amid soaring mental health needs, Newark schools ramp up services with help from partners Graduate students are helping fill the need for more school psychologists in Newark. Each week, trainees in the school psychology program at Fairleigh Dickinson University provide counseling to students at four Newark schools…The program’s purpose is twofold: Expand the district’s capacity to support students who have experienced trauma, and create a pipeline of incoming school psychologists trained to work in high-needs schools.
2) Indiana Teacher of the Year sparks creativity with after-school robotics How did you decide to switch careers to become a teacher? I received an email asking for people with degrees or careers in STEM fields to transition to teaching through the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship. Purdue’s program was called STEM Goes Rural.
3) Students who were part of Tennessee pre-K program continue to trail peers who weren’t, study shows Tennessee also requires that each pre-K classroom be capped at 20 students and staffed by a state-licensed teacher endorsed for early childhood education. The teachers are paid at public school teacher rates, and each room must also have an educational assistant.
InsideHigherEd. When Education Programs Bite the Dust: Oklahoma City University is closing two of its education programs amid declining enrollment—and projected teacher shortages. With enrollments dwindling, Oklahoma City University is phasing out its early childhood and elementary teacher preparation programs. Just three students remain in the combined programs.
LPI. Educator Learning to Enact the Science of Learning and Development This report synthesizes research on how to support educators in developing those capacities both in preservice and in-service contexts. It addresses both the “what” of teacher and leader preparation—the content educators need to learn about children and how to support their development and learning—and the “how”—the strategies for educator learning that can produce deep understanding; useful skills; and the capacity to reflect, learn, and continue to improve.
National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education (NCSPE). Cohen and Mikaelian on Privatization Here, There, and Everywhere …highlights anticompetitive behavior on the part of some charter schools, such as requiring teachers to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep teaching strategies and lesson plans in-house. In these types of environments, the lines between serving students and enhancing a school’s market position are blurred.
NBC2. Estero couple sentenced for stealing content from Florida teacher certification exams According to court documents, the Jaspers, who were both certified Florida teachers stole content and conspired with others to steal content from the Florida Teacher Certification Exams and Florida Education Leadership Exam. Prosecutors said they included the stolen content from both exams in their company’s test preparation material and services. It was sold through their business, NavaEd, LLC for personal profit.
NEA News. Meet The Educators Whose Student Debt Has Been Forgiven NEA members have fought hard for fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. With the new PSLF waiver, announced in October, many are finally seeing relief. In the three months since Education Secretary Miguel Cardona introduced a temporary waiver to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, roughly 38,000 borrowers have received $2.4 billion in student debt forgiveness.
NYTimes.
1) Back to School, but Still Learning Online: Federal stimulus dollars are dedicated to helping students recover from virtual schooling. Many districts are spending some of that money on virtual tutoring. …research has shown to be most effective: a paid, trained tutor who has a consistent personal relationship with a student; sessions during the school day, so that students do not skip lessons; and at least three sessions per week.
2) The Fight for Substitute Teachers: Schools deploy creative measures to staff classrooms. At least two states, Missouri and Oregon, removed their degree requirements for would-be hires, to try to attract more substitutes. In Kansas, the education board got rid of the college degree requirement for substitutes for the remainder of the school year. In Salem, Ohio, anyone who passes a background check can temporarily become a licensed substitute teacher. In New Mexico, the governor is now a licensed substitute teacher.
The Atlantic. America Is Desperate for Substitute Teachers About half of all school-board members and administrators surveyed by EdWeek Research Center in December 2019 and January 2020 said their districts don’t offer subs any professional development. In the districts that do, only 11 percent of respondents said they offer classroom-management training, and only 8 percent cover effective teaching strategies.
U.S. Dept. of Education. Secretary Cardona Lays Out Vision for Education in America Investing in, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse educator workforce, including special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and bilingual educators so education jobs are ones that people from all backgrounds want to pursue…
WashingtonPost. Youngkin summons higher education leaders to help promote his plan for ‘lab school’ partnerships Under current law, only colleges or universities with teacher education programs are permitted to create lab schools with localities. Youngkin’s office said there are currently no such schools in Virginia.
NEW YORK STATE
Written Testimony of Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa, New York State Education Department. Joint Legislative Elementary and Secondary Education Budget Hearing- January 26, 2022 …the Executive Budget proposes creating a temporary professional permit allowing applicants to be employed as teachers… This proposal would also create a new type of certificate, which adds another layer of complication to the certification process and will surely lead to increased questions from applicants…increase the workload of the Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) staff and take them away from other activities…In 2021, OTI staff disapproved over 29,100 teacher certification applications, as these applicants did not meet certification requirements.
NYSED. State Education Department Proposes Changes to Teacher Certification Requirements to Reduce Barriers to Certification While Maintaining Rigorous Standards: edTPA Requirement Would be Replaced with a Teacher Performance Assessment in New York State-Registe… Public comment on the proposal will be accepted through February 28, 2022 via [email protected](link sends e-mail. ) It is anticipated the proposed amendment will be presented to the Board of Regents for adoption at the April 2022 meeting.
NYS Register. Proposed Rule Making: General Education Core in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements Proposed Amendment to Sections 52.21 and 80-3.7 to remove the General Education Core in the Liberal Arts and Sciences requirement for registered teacher preparation programs and the Individual Evaluation Pathway to teacher certification. Data, views or arguments may be submitted through Feb. 28, 2022 to: Petra Maxwell, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-2238, email: [email protected]
NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) Building a teacher pipeline: A Brooklyn high school’s new program hopes to train tomorrow’s educators The goal is to eventually have the students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree in education that will enable them to be paraprofessionals while they also attend Brooklyn College to work toward their teaching credentials.
2) NYC to open new school for students with dyslexia, Banks says The group has been in continuous talks with the education department and has been working to line up partners to help provide teacher training…
