Month: April 2022

GLOBAL
Concordia University of Edmonton. CUE welcomes Dr. Brent Bradford as Dean of Education.  The office of the Vice-President Academic & Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Brent Bradford has been named as the new Dean of Education. He will assume this new role on June 1, 2022.

Humana People to People India (HPPI). Necessary Teacher Training (NeTT) Programme in Ranchi, Jharkhand   HPPI’s Necessary Teacher Training (NeTT) Program aims to develop self-motivated teachers who can adopt a children-centric pedagogy in the classrooms. The program is aligned with the vision presented in the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2009 and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The Independent. Seychelles hunts for Ugandan teachers to revamp its education sector   The government of Seychelles is currently looking for teachers from Uganda as part of its bid to revamp the sector and remove instructors who do not possess the approved teaching qualifications. The sought after teachers in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, and design technology must have a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from a recognized institution or university, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and a working experience of at least three years.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Deadline Extended for Nominations to AACTE Board and Advisory Committees   AACTE is extending the nomination deadline to serve on the AACTE Board of Directors or a programmatic advisory committee to May 15.
2) Perspectives of Faculty, Teacher Candidates, and Teachers on EPP Entrance Exams   The AACTE Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) is examining how cut scores are being set for these assessments and its impact on aspiring teachers and the teacher-of-color pipeline… Four key themes emerged from the focus groups: Test Preparation; Cost of Test; Relevance of Test; Stress of Testing

Brooklyn Public Library. Books Unbanned. Brooklyn Public Library is adding our voice to those fighting for the rights of teens nationwide to read what they like, discover themselves, and form their own opinions. Inspired by the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement, BPL’s Books Unbanned initiative is a response to an increasingly coordinated and effective effort to remove books tackling a wide range of topics from library shelves.

Chalkbeat.
1) Colorado refugee women earn early childhood degrees, bring special skills to the classroom   The Village Institute aims to serve refugee families from a holistic approach, providing housing, language resources, childcare, job readiness, and mental health services, all under one roof. That includes a pipeline where refugee women, including Gasimba and Harriet Kwitegetse, can go through education and certification courses to help advance their careers. In this case, the training put Gasimba and Kwitegetse directly back into serving other refugee families by leading a preschool class. 
2) What people say when they hear I’m becoming a teacher: I’m an education major. Here’s what draws me to a profession many are leaving.   In my IUPUI classes, I’ve learned about educational inequities, past and present; the importance of choosing books with diverse authors and stories; and the benefits of building strong relationships with students and their families. These lessons reinforced my decision to earn a college degree and helped me understand what it means to be an educator in the 21st century.

Education Week.
1) 3 Counterintuitive Findings About Motivation That Teachers Can Use   At the annual American Educational Research Association conference here, global and national motivation experts from education, business, and other fields discussed what instructional approaches and student characteristics make the biggest difference in academic drive.
2) Nation’s Top Teachers Bask in White House Spotlight   Jill Biden, who teaches English at a community college in Virginia, urged people to go into teaching to make a difference. “We need more teachers,” she said, emphasizing each word. “I can’t promise that it will be an easy job—right? But I can promise that it will fill your life with meaning and purpose and joy.”

Hechinger Report.
1) ‘More than a warm body’: Schools try long-term solutions to substitute teacher shortage   … Central Falls School District in Rhode Island…  launched a teaching fellowship program to provide yearlong contracts to about 30 aspiring teachers who are placed in its six schools. They can earn a higher daily rate than traditional substitutes, or put the extra amount toward health benefits. The district also provides individual coaching for the fellows and pays them a stipend to attend after-school training… Seattle Public Schools has also tried to use substitute teaching as a way to both fill immediate needs and train future teachers… teachers-in-training take night and weekend classes at local colleges or universities to study for their certification and a guaranteed teaching placement in the city’s schools. In the meantime, they serve as substitutes…
2) The child care worker shortage is reaching crisis proportions nationally. Could Milwaukee provide the answer?   To spark interest in early childhood careers among a younger generation, the dual enrollment initiative was created as a partnership between local high schools, MATC, the state Department of Workforce Development and Next Door, a Milwaukee-based early childhood provider and nonprofit… Nationwide, apprenticeship models have become a popular route for early educators, especially as a way to get more people through training and into classrooms while earning an income.
3) What do classroom conversations about race, identity and history really look like?: Young people and educators in Alabama, Texas, Washington and Virginia talk about how they are navigating issues ensnared in the culture wars   By the time she becomes a teacher, Gloria Zelaya hopes, the furor over teaching history will have died down… Zelaya is scheduled to graduate from George Wythe in June. She’s planning to study early childhood education at a local community college with the goal of returning to the Richmond public school system. “If this is going on right now, what happens in four years when I’m a teacher?” said Zelaya of the crackdown on teaching “divisive” topics. “Will I not be able to teach what I was taught? It hits on different levels.”

JD Supra. Latest Developments from the Connecticut General Assembly: The Education Committee Has Spoken    Here is a summary of these bills (which now await action by the full General Assembly)… PRESERVICE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS: H.B. No. 5286 (“An Act Concerning The Development Of A New Preservice Performance Assessment For Teacher Preparation Programs”) would cease the state-wide implementation of the preservice performance assessment “edTPA” on July 1, 2024 and instead create a new state-wide preservice performance assessment for teacher preparation programs offered in our state’s institutions of higher education. 

NCTQ. In gratitude – A final message from Kate Walsh   At the end of this week, I will be stepping down as NCTQ President… Without discounting the work NCTQ has done with states’ teacher policies, much of it forged by my former colleague Sandi Jacobs, I believe our work on teacher preparation will ultimately serve as NCTQ’s greatest contribution. 

New York Times. A College Fights ‘Leftist Academics’ by Expanding Into Charter Schools: Hillsdale College is building a national charter school network. Tennessee invited the college to start 50 of them, using public funds.   …in a speech last year to Hillsdale supporters in Tennessee, Dr. Arnn outlined his vision for expansion — including plans for a new master’s program to train teachers in classical education, a home-school division, online students and education centers.

Texas Tribune.
1) Amid a teacher shortage, some Texas educators are losing their licenses for quitting during the school year: The policy sidelines educators, often for two school years, at a time when districts are already struggling to keep teachers in the classrooms.   Teachers who opt to leave in the middle of a school year can be reported to the state, and the State Board for Educator Certification can either suspend or revoke a teacher’s certification. In most cases, teachers receive a one-year suspension of their certification.
2) Facing a teacher shortage, Texas considers a more rigorous teacher certification exam: Two states have dropped the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment, and three others passed on it or want it gone.   On Friday, the 11-member State Board for Educator Certification will vote on whether to adopt the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment, also known as the edTPA exam… If approved, the move would mean ditching the old Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities exam, a test of 100 multiple choice questions that has been in use since 2002.

Washington Post. Pandemic erased a decade of progress for public pre-K programs, report finds   …only five states — Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi and Rhode Island — had programs that met all 10 benchmarks for minimum quality standards to support preschool quality, including college-educated teachers with specialized early childhood training, small classes that support individualization… Florida requires little more than a high school diploma for teachers.

WWBT.  Virginia schools look to fill over a thousand teacher vacancies   Schools are filling these open positions by hiring individuals who carry provisional licenses, according to Hoffman. The licenses allow individuals to start teaching without completing teacher preparation programs, according to Hoffman. They must obtain full licensure requirements before the provisional license expires. However, these individuals have significant attrition rates, according to Hoffman. “Recruiting pools of people and making it easier for them to enter doesn’t actually solve the crisis,” Hoffman said. “I equate it to filling a leaky bucket.”

NEW YORK STATE
New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Secures Student Debt Relief for Thousands of New Yorkers  New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured student debt relief for thousands of New York borrowers whose federal loans were allegedly mismanaged by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA)… PHEAA is required to audit thousands of accounts to identify errors that may have caused borrowers to miss out on benefits, such as income-driven repayment (IDR) plans or debt forgiveness for eligible borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. 

NYSED Office of Higher Education. Educator Preparation Newsletter April 2022.
*Board Of Regents April Items: Residency Programs and Certificate; Teacher Performance Assessment; General Education Core in Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirement
* Distance Education Flexibility
* Supporting Effective Educator Development (Seed) Program Award Application

NYS Register: Open Public Comments accepted until May 2, 2022.
Submit comments to:  Dr. William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518)473-3781, email: [email protected]
* Changes to Content Core Requirement in Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification for Candidates Who Are Seeking an Additional Science Certificate
* Establishment of a NEW Literacy (All Grades) Certificate 

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College. TC Provost Stephanie J. Rowley to Become Dean of University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development Rowley also reinforced the College’s commitment to teacher education with the appointment of a new Vice Dean for Teacher Education, Celia Oyler, and by cultivating strong partnerships with local and state schools.

 

UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat. Why the star of ‘Abbott Elementary’ surprised this Philadelphia teacher   What do you say to people thinking about becoming a teacher? Do it. We need you. Especially our teachers of color. Especially our Black teachers of color, because our young boys need them so much. Even if you feel like you’re not the best speaker or don’t know everything — it’s okay. Just showing up shows that you care. 

LPI. Teacher Salaries: A Key Factor in Recruitment and Retention   Recent teacher surveys highlight that in addition to the stresses of COVID-19—such as longer working hours, concerns about contracting the virus, and juggling child care responsibilities—teacher salaries also contribute to shortages. This should come as no surprise, since U.S. teachers generally earn only about 80% of what other college-educated workers earn on a weekly basis. 

NYTimes.
1) In Several States, Teachers Get Their Biggest Raise in Decades: Budget surpluses have enabled states to pass bills giving teachers a bigger paycheck, but not everyone is certain that will help improve schooling.   “There are various things a state can do to attract more people to the profession, and keep people in who are already there,” Thomas Bailey, an economist and the president of Teachers College at Columbia University, said. “Those changes are long overdue.”
2) Marion Joseph, Citizen Warrior on Reading Instruction, Dies at 95: Arguing for phonics as a learning tool and getting results, she exerted influence on educational policy in California and beyond.   Ms. Joseph had no formal training in education but immersed herself in the methodology of teaching literacy after she was invited to an open house in 1989 at the elementary school attended by her grandson, Isaac.

Philadelphia Enquirer. ‘The strongest talent is already in our schools’: Paraprofessionals get help making the leap to teacher   The Camden Education Fund has enrolled 15 paraprofessionals in the Camden school district in an accelerated program to obtain their teaching credentials.

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat.
1) Newark will recruit retired teachers as staff shortages persist   The district, which is short more than 100 teachers, also applied to participate in another state program meant to ease the school-staffing crunch, according to the announcement. The new program, created by a state law passed last year, allows approved districts to hire would-be teachers who failed to meet one of the requirements for certification, such as a minimum grade point average in college or a passing score on a required test.
2) New York officials vote to scrap edTPA teacher certification exam   Prospective teachers in New York state will no longer have to take the controversial edTPA, a national assessment that some have criticized as being a barrier to diversifying and growing the teacher workforce. New York’s Board of Regents, the state’s education policymaking body, voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the multi-part exam as a requirement for earning a teaching certificate. The change goes into effect April 27.

Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). Statement from Commission on Independent Colleges & Universities President, Lola W. Brabham, on FY 2023 Enacted State Budget

NYSED Board of Regents April meeting agenda
2022-2023 Enacted Budget Update
Higher Education
*Proposed Amendments
Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements
Supplementary Presentation: Proposed Residency Program Registration Requirements and Residency Certificate Changes
*Consent Agenda
Relating to the General Education Core in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirement for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Teacher Certification
Relating to the Requirements for the Reissuance of an Initial Certificate
Relating to the Teacher Performance Assessment Requirement for Certification and Establishing a Teacher Performance Assessment Requirement for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs

NYSED Office of Teaching Initiatives.
* edTPA Certification Requirement
* Elimination of the General Core in Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirement for Certification 
* Revised Definition of a Year of Experience   “…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.

NYS Register. Proposed Establishment of a NEW Literacy (All Grades) Certificate  The proposal was posted in the March 2 NYS Register. See pp. 11-13. The memo describing the proposal to the Regents is here. The proposed new certification would phase out the two existing literacy certificates and would allow literacy teachers to teach the full range of grade levels and give school districts more flexibility in placing teachers in the grade levels with the highest staffing needs. Submit comments to:  William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518)473-3781, email: [email protected]. Public comment is open until May 2, 2022.  

University at Buffalo. U.S. Department of Education highlights UB’s Teacher Residency Program as model for nation   Launched in 2019, the UB Teacher Residency Program enables individuals interested in a career in education to earn New York State initial teacher certification through a paid residency. The one-year program combines coursework with experience educating alongside a mentor teacher for an entire school year in Buffalo Public Schools.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. Here are education highlights from New York’s state budget   NYC schools get $56 million less than proposed.  Unlike previous years, it was clear from the governor’s proposal in January that school districts would receive an influx of cash following commitments last year to boost Foundation Aid, which gives districts the most flexibility, including the ability to hire more teachers or create new programs.

Columbia News. President Bollinger to Step Down in 2023   During his two-decade-long tenure, Columbia has flourished as a center of academic excellence that is redefining what it means to be a great research university in the 21st century… Board of Trustees co-chairs Lisa Carnoy and Jonathan Lavine shared their thoughts on Bollinger’s legacy: “… But at heart he is an educator, and every new building project, academic initiative, and fundraising campaign that he undertook was in service of creating a world-class environment for learning and teaching.”

New York Post. Gov. Hochul promises to extend Mayor Adams’ control of NYC schools

Teachers College Transition Announcement about Erica N. Walker.  … Professor Erica Walker has been named Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, effective January 2023… As Clifford Brewster Upton Professor of Mathematical Education, Director of the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban & Minority Education (IUME) since 2018, and immediate past Chair of the Department of Mathematics, Science & Technology (MST), Professor Walker has infused TC with an unbridled passion for collaborative, impactful research and equity in education.

GLOBAL
India.com. Teachers Who Did Not Pass TET Not Entitled To Continue in Service, Rules Madras High Court   The Madras High Court on Thursday said that teachers who did not pass the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) cannot continue in service.

The Guardian.  Education union criticises ‘badly flawed’ evidence behind academy drive: National Education Union found ‘no compelling reason’ for all schools in England to join academy trusts    The Department for Education (DfE) roundly rejected the NEU’s criticisms. “We want all schools to be part of a strong academy trust so they can benefit from the trust’s support in everything from teacher training, curriculum, financial planning and inclusivity towards children with additional needs, to excellent behaviour and attendance cultures.”

University of Toronto. ‘Preparing students to tackle world crises’: Here are the 2022 OISE Teaching Excellence Award winners   Award for Excellence in Initial Teacher Education Winner: Andrew B. Campbell, Sessional Lecturer, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

UNITED STATES
AERA Division K. Fireside Chat. Mentoring Within and Across Differences: Mentors Supporting Mentees and Future Graduate Student Mentors “Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz Is an Award-Winning Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her Research Focuses on Racial Literacy in Teacher Education…”  [San Diego, April 23, 2:30pm]

Chalkbeat.
1) Colorado needs preschool teachers. Will these incentives work?   …hundreds of students across Colorado taking advantage of a new state program that pays for two introductory early childhood courses — a stepping stone to teaching in the field. The initiative, funded with $4 million in federal COVID aid, is part of a state effort to mint more early childhood teachers before the state’s universal preschool launch in 2023, and help the industry recover from staff shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.
2) How a Grammy-nominated Chicago teacher is using music to help students heal   I was supposed to major in physics, but one month before I went off to college, I realized that I had spent my later years of high school entering people’s lives with my own piano improvisations. The music — created out of my pain and trauma — built connection and allowed healing to happen. I thought: Wouldn’t it be neat to become a teacher and teach students to heal those around them by also connecting with sound?… Here I am, 13 years in, teaching music and choir in Chicago.

EdSurge.  Our Nation’s Teachers Are Hustling to Survive: Nearly 1 in 5 American public school teachers work a second job outside of the classroom.   Americans like to think that the surest path to success runs through university campuses. That upward mobility begins in higher education and breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty requires an entrance fee of a college degree. Many people, including aspiring teachers, internalize this and make steep sacrifices to attend college. Sometimes, that looks like a 19-year-old taking out hefty student loans and choosing a career path with a poor return-on-investment.

InsideHigherEd. Tenure Awarded at University of San Francisco: Cheryl Jones-Walker, teacher education

Learning Policy Institute. Testimony to U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee by Linda Darling-Hammond on Social and Emotional Learning and Whole Child Approaches in K–12 Education   Embedding SEL in comprehensive approaches to teacher preparation is important because it enables them to understand students well, develop productive relationships and curriculum in their classrooms, and feel competent and confident so they communicate a sense of efficacy to their students. In addition, teachers and principals who are better prepared feel more efficacious, experience less stress in their jobs, and are more likely to stay in the profession, providing students with the stability they need.

NEA News. Missing: Future Teachers in Colleges of Education In a sign that the teacher shortage may worsen, a new study shows the declining numbers of college students in fields of education.   A lot of it, frankly, has to do with money. “The fact is teachers aren’t paid adequately—and everybody knows it and everybody talks about it,” says Cameo Kendrick, chair of the NEA Aspiring Educators.

San Francisco Chronicle. California math wars get ugly: Accusations of racism and harassment ignite battle between Stanford and Cal profs   The very public feud has its roots in what has become a bitter battle over how to teach math to K-12 students in California, and specifically whether to offer Algebra 1 in middle schools… That debate boiled over Tuesday after a math teacher at San Francisco’s Lowell High School who opposes Boaler’s approach posted on Twitter a contract that seemed to show the professor made $5,000 an hour to train teachers in the Oxnard school district.

Washington Post.
1) Biden extends federal student loan payment pause through Aug. 31  The moratorium was continued for a sixth time in the past two years
2) What the student loan payment pause has meant to Black women   Student loans have shaped much of Elliott-O’Connor’s adult life. They gave her a chance at an education that her family could not afford. They kept her working as an educator with the promise of public service debt forgiveness when she was ready to strike out on her own. 

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED
1) Board of Regents April meeting agenda [Monday 4/11 Tuesday, 4/12]
Higher Education
*Proposed Amendments
Proposed… Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements
Supplementary Presentation: Proposed Residency Program Registration Requirements and Residency Certificate Changes
*Consent Agenda
Proposed Amendment…Relating to the General Education Core in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirement for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Teacher Certification
Proposed Amendment Relating to the Requirements for the Reissuance of an Initial Certificate
Proposed Amendment… Relating to the Teacher Performance Assessment Requirement for Certification and Establishing a Teacher Performance Assessment Requirement for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs
2) News and Notes. …the Board of Regents unanimously re-elected Dr. Lester W. Young, Jr. and Josephine Victoria Finn to the posts of Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, respectively… Regents Susan W. Mittler and Ruth B. Turner were re-elected to the Board of Regents. We also welcomed Regent Shino Tanikawa of Manhattan, who was elected to the Board of Regents by the New York State Legislature.
3) NYSED, NYSUT Applaud 51 Teachers Who Achieved ‘Gold Standard’ National Board Certification.  Four of the 51 hold MA degrees from Teachers College: Molly Goodell Secondary Inclusive Education 2014, Yesenia Moreno Bilingual/Bicultural Education 2013, Vincent Pham TESOL (&TR@TC) 2017; Jessica VanScoy Education Policy 2018. TC Doctoral Student Jose Vilson, NBPTS Board of Directors, provided closing remarks.

Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB). Meeting Minutes Thursday, February 17, 2022

NEW YORK CITY
Columbia News. The Evolution of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education at Teachers College   According to national and state metrics, there exists a severe shortage of teachers of D/HH students, and our program’s graduates are in high demand. Our student teachers and graduates partner with culturally and linguistically diverse families to help them achieve their goals for their D/HH children, including learning to speak and/or sign the language(s) of the home.

Dance Magazine. Jody Gottfried Arnhold Has Devoted Her Career–And Philanthropy–to Bringing Dance to Everyone   “I came to New York after college to dance, and I needed a job, which led me to being a classroom teacher… I have a goal: dance for every child. And that means dance education in every public school. I started by creating the Dance Education Laboratory and that led to working with the Department of Education to educate teachers, and then there weren’t enough teachers, so Hunter College started the Masters of Dance Education. And then we needed the leadership, so the Teachers College doctoral program. I don’t know what will be next.”

Gothamist. Lawmakers postpone decision on mayoral control of NYC schools   Legislators said they have decided to separate mayoral control of the city’s public school’s from the budgetary process, and will take up the issue before the legislative session ends in June. That leaves some uncertainty around a policy that has been in place for two decades.

K-12 Dive. NYC Board of Ed to pay teachers hundreds of millions in damages for biased licensing exam   The state-mandated exam, the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test, was required for all public school teachers in the city from 1993 to 2014… Teachers who failed were still allowed in the classroom, but the BOE paid them reduced salaries and denied them benefits, plaintiffs said. Now, the agreement filed on March 14 requires the BOE to stop appealing judgments awarding approximately $660 million in damages to former Black and Latino teachers…

NYDailyNews. Teacher diversity, compensation top list of education priorities for NYC adults: survey   The most popular policy proposal among adults for improving city schools was to “increase hiring and salaries of diverse teachers and staff.” Similarly, when asked what could be done to address school segregation and “ensure one’s background does not determine their learning outcomes,” people chose “teacher diversity” second most-frequently — right after equitably distributing resources.

Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC).  Induction and Beyond, April 2022: Educator Resources *Special Announcements *Grant Opportunities *Induction Highlights *Raising Consciousness *Curriculum Planning Tools *More…

GLOBAL
AsiaOne. Amit Sevak Named Next President and CEO of ETS   ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.

Etorno Inteligente. Duchess Of Cambridge Lauds Shortwood Teachers’ College   Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have extended commendation to Shortwood Teachers’ College for its commitment to excellence in education. In their visit to the institution located in Kingston on Wednesday (March 23), The Duke and Duchess met briefly with researchers and members of the early-childhood faculty…Discussions focused on the administration of early-childhood education in Jamaica.

Reuters. Mexican armed forces knew about attack on 43 students, report says   Evidence obtained by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), an independent panel tasked with investigating the notorious case, revealed that Navy and Army officials kept secret that the students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College were under real-time surveillance by the state leading up to and during their abduction.

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Honoring Women Leadership in Educator Preparation   As another Women’s History Month comes to an end, AACTE wants to acknowledge the achievements of women-identified leaders in educator preparation.

Chalkbeat.
1)  Congress rejected Biden’s bid to double Title I. Now he’s asking again.   Meanwhile, the administration is calling for increases in spending on English learners, community schools, and teacher residency and grow-your-own preparation programs.
2) Hiccups and hard lessons: What it takes to bring big new tutoring programs to America’s classrooms   …Arkansas’ tutoring effort. The state has some 570 tutors in the pipeline, more than its goal, though 350 are still completing training and background checks… In New Mexico… paraprofessionals and classroom assistants want these jobs, since the fellowship offers benefits and a stipend they can use toward a degree in education… In Chicago, the district recruited tutors before it finalized which companies would train them and provide them with tutoring materials.

Chicago Tribune. Editorial: Proposed ‘culturally responsive’ teaching standards should be put on hold   Under the proposed changes, called Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, teachers-in-training would learn more about “systems of oppression” and be expected to “understand that there are systems in our society that create and reinforce inequities, thereby creating oppressive conditions. Educators work actively against these systems in their everyday roles in educational institutions.”

Council for Exceptional Children. Webinars: Combatting Shortages of Educators Serving Students With Disabilities [Sessions begin April 14] The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the CEEDAR Center have collaborated with national partners and practitioners to produce a 12-part webinar series focused on evidence-based strategies to strengthen and diversify the special education workforce.

Deans for Impact. Why tutoring programs could strengthen and diversify teacher preparation   It’s a win-win: teacher-candidates need clinically rich field experiences in order to earn licensure, and students — especially the most vulnerable — need holistic and individualized academic and social-emotional support to recover from the pandemic’s disruption. Legislation to create this type of tutoring program has earned bipartisan support at the state and federal levels.

Education Commission of the States.
1) Governors’ Top Education Priorities in 2022 State of the State Addresses    … we summarized all of the education-related mentions and proposals in governors’ addresses, and we identified six top trends: *K-12 funding *Workforce development and CTE *Teacher staffing…
2) Webinar: Building a Strong Teacher Workforce Through Apprenticeships [April 20, 3pm EDT] The apprenticeship model, which includes teacher residencies, offers an affordable and high-quality path to teacher licensure through tailored support, experience and financial compensation. 

EducationWeek.
1) Fewer People Are Getting Teacher Degrees. Prep Programs Sound the Alarm   The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education released its second comprehensive report of the state of teacher preparation on Tuesday afternoon, noting the many challenges facing the teaching profession—and some of the ways colleges are adapting. The report uses the most-recent federal data, which are from the 2018-19 school year, providing a benchmark on the status of teacher preparation before the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.
2) Math Anxiety Weakens How Students Study. Here’s What Teachers Can Do   As students prepare for a math test, Beilock said it’s important for teachers to explicitly describe what makes study methods effective or not.

InsideHigherEd. Biden Seeks Big Increase for Pell   President Biden proposed a $2,175 increase in the maximum Pell Grant Monday in his budget proposal to Congress for fiscal 2023. That would bring the maximum annual Pell award to $8,670… The budget proposal would permit 6,657,000 low-income students to receive Pell Grants, in 2022-23, up from 6,133,000 this year.

NJ Spotlight News. NJ Senate OKs bill to remove this test for aspiring teachers   Opponents of the test say it duplicates assessments already in place and lengthens the time before a teacher can be certified. A similar bill is up for a vote in the Assembly.

NYTimes.
1) In Race for Tuition-Free College, New Mexico Stakes a Claim   State residents qualify unless they already benefit from another state financial aid program, such as an initiative to cover tuition for aspiring teachers.
2) Ways to Read, Write, Teach and Learn Poetry With The New York Times    Here are 30 ideas for helping your students appreciate poetry — and experiment with it themselves.

Pathways Alliance. Webinar: Increasing Access and Affordability to High Quality Teacher Pathways Through Apprenticeships [April 6 4pm] Speakers from Deans for Impact, Bank Street College’s Prepared To Teach, AACTE, Dallas College and InnovateEDU will discuss their experience with and knowledge of federally Registered Apprenticeship programs that can access funding to support aspiring teachers. 

Teachers College. TC’s Michelle Knight-Manuel Named Dean at the University of Denver Education School   “I am so proud of her achievement,” Rowley said, “and cannot wait to see all that she accomplishes in preparing our future teachers, counselors, school leaders and other vital education professionals as the terrific new dean of the Morgridge College of Education.”

The Racquet Press. Student Association meets with School of Education Dean Marcie Wycoff-Horn to address concerns raised by education students   … addressed concerns such as the timeline to graduate, transportation and placement, the iPad program, and edTPA.  Dean Wycoff-Horn said that the SOE must abide by the rules laid out by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in the Wisconsin Teacher Preparation law. SOE only has a fifty-mile radius to place students in K-12 classrooms, and every education student is required by law to have these field and student teaching experiences. 

U.S. Department of Education.
1) Roundtable: Strengthening Partnerships Between States, School Districts, and Higher Education to Increase the Number of Teacher Candidates Prepared to Enter the Classroom and Provide Immediate Support to Schools [April 7, 3pm EDT]  During this roundtable we will: Discuss the U.S. Department of Education’s call to action for states, institutions of higher education, and school districts to commit to using American
Rescue Plan and other federal relief funds to help address teacher shortages…
2) The U.S. Department of Education Announces Partnerships Across States, School Districts, and Colleges of Education to Meet Secretary Cardona’s Call to Action to Address the Teacher Shortage   To support the President’s call, today Secretary Cardona is calling on state policymakers, higher education leaders, and school districts to use pandemic relief and recovery funds to increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession as early as possible. He is also calling on teacher preparation programs and school districts to work together in innovative ways to address the teacher shortage… Secretary Cardona is calling on governors, state school chiefs, and state policymakers to commit to: *Establish teaching as a Registered Apprenticeship. *Invest in evidence-based teacher residency programs. *Establish or expand loan forgiveness or service scholarship programs. *Increase teacher compensation.

Washington Post. Student loan servicer misled borrowers about relief program, CFPB says   The bureau hit the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company with $1 million in penalties, accusing it of making deceptive statements about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which cancels outstanding federal student debt held by public servants such as teachers or members of the military after 10 years of on-time payments.

NEW YORK STATE
NYS Board of Regents. Statement From Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr., the Board of Regents and State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa on the Passing of Regent Beverly L. Ouderkirk   Regent Beverly Ouderkirk opened doors that were once closed to students countless times over in her more than 50 years in public education. The North Country educational community, and all of New York, benefitted from Regent Ouderkirk’s tenacity, drive, and passion for helping students and educators succeed.

New York State Education Department.  Office Of Higher Education, Educator Preparation Newsletter: March 2022

1) Graduate Program Admissions Requirements. The Department proposed a regulatory amendment to align the Commissioner’s regulations with recent changes to Education Law section 210-a regarding admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs. The changes removed the statutory requirement that candidates must have a minimum score on the graduate record examination or a substantially equivalent admission examination, as determined by an institution of higher education. In addition, the changes increased the percentage of candidates from any incoming class in a program who may be exempted from the admission requirements from 15% to 50%…
2) U.S. Department Of Education Webinar On Strengthening Partnerships To Increase The Number Of Teacher Candidates   The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is hosting a webinar on Thursday, April 7 from 3:00-4:00 PM on “Strengthening Partnerships Between States, School Districts, and Higher Education to Increase the Number of Teacher Candidates Prepared to Enter the Classroom and Provide Immediate Support to  Schools.”…  

New York Times. New York Blew Its Budget Deadline. Here’s Why.   The April 1 deadline had seemed achievable, with ample federal funds allowing Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, to propose a record $216.3 billion in spending. Her first executive budget was aimed at jump-starting the state’s pandemic recovery through investments in education … And on Thursday afternoon, both houses adjourned until Monday, guaranteeing a late budget.

NEW YORK CITY
Gothamist. NYC Schools Chancellor says students need more phonics in order to read   Chancellor David Banks is calling for an overhaul of how children learn to read in the city’s public schools, saying the approach many schools use isn’t working. In an interview with Gothamist, Banks said he wants to move toward what experts call “the science of reading” which focuses on the rigorous teaching of phonics. 

Teachers College.
1) Teachers College Names Professor of Education Celia Oyler Vice Dean for Teacher Education   Oyler will provide strategic leadership and advocacy for teacher education practice, policy, and research at the College and oversee activities and initiatives of the Office of Teacher Education and other centers and offices which support teacher education.
2) TC NEXT and the Office of Teacher Education are proud to present their annual Career Fair.   This virtual event will begin with a Principal & Administrator panel Wed. April 6 from 4:00-5:00 PM, and then will segue into a virtual Career Fair from 5:30-7:30 PM.