Author: Dwight Manning

GLOBAL
British Educational Research Association (BERA). Initial teacher education: Are we missing something?   Initial teacher education (ITE) has increasingly come under public and political scrutiny in several countries due to a growing focus on competitive international rankings… Furthermore, good teacher preparation is considered essential to stem the rising tide of teacher attrition, a situation that has reached a crisis point in several countries.

Daily Post Nigeria. 40 per cent IGR policy: FG bows to pressure, suspends action  The union lamented that the government was initiating a policy to turn Colleges of Education into revenue-generating centres when the critical stakeholders in the education sector were clamouring for increased funding of teacher education, provision of scholarships and bursaries for education students.

Edugraph (India). National Council for Teacher Education allows maternity and childcare leave to students   The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has allowed students of its approved colleges to avail themselves of maternity and childcare leave during the course of their study… It has relaxed the duration under the norms and standard of all teacher education programmes.

Irish Times. Primary principals warn education system is on ‘verge of breaking’ as teacher supply issues bite: Move to deliver smaller classes may have ‘intensified’ staff shortage problem, Department of Education secretary general says   …hundreds of additional places have been provided in teacher education programmes, while a bursary is being launched next year to ease the financial burden of graduates completing the two-year postgraduate qualification to teach.

UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat. New MSU Denver program aims to train more male educators of color   …a program called Call Me MISTER, which stands for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models and helps train men of color, especially Black men, to become educators. The program began at several South Carolina colleges and universities in 2000, and its goal is to increase the pool of teachers from diverse backgrounds, which has long been a challenge for K-12 education — less than 2% of all teachers nationwide are Black men, for example.

EdWeek. The Surprising Benefits of Gratitude Everyone Should Know About

Hechinger Report. How a disgraced method of diagnosing learning disabilities persists in our nation’s schools: A ‘discrepancy model’ that relies on IQ tests to identify dyslexic students lingers on, despite decades of critique  Many schools feel pressure, both covert and overt, to not identify children with dyslexia because there aren’t enough specialists or teachers trained to work with them.

Honolulu Civic Beat. Teaching Kids To Read In Hawaii Is Going Back To Basics: But some think Hawaii can be doing more to improve literacy at a young age.   The DOE is “certainly concerned” about these results, said Petra Schatz, the comprehensive literacy state development program manager at the Department of Education… The National Council on Teacher Quality has also received backlash regarding its review methods of teacher preparation programs. In 2021, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education said NCTQ placed too much emphasis on colleges’ course catalogs and syllabuses and failed to take into account faculty feedback in its evaluation. 

NYTimes.
1) By the Numbers: How Schools Struggled During the Pandemic   In the 2020-21 year, more than a quarter of schools employed uncertified teachers and 24 percent had no counselors… The pandemic amplified the need for highly qualified teachers and health professionals in schools.
2) How Millions of Borrowers Got $127 Billion in Student Loans Canceled: The Biden administration may have been blocked from canceling debt for tens of millions of borrowers by the Supreme Court, but it has still managed to eliminate billions in education debt.   Public Service Loan Forgiveness Debts canceled: $51 billion for 715,000 borrowers In 2007, Congress passed a law intended to entice more college graduates into public service careers: Those who worked for government agencies or nonprofit organizations would, after 10 years of monthly loan payments, have their remaining federal student loan balance eliminated.

Pearson. edTPA® Community Newsletter November 2023

Philadelphia Tribune. ‘Students need mirror images of themselves’: Philly conference to address Black male teacher shortage   State Sen. Vincent Hughes… sponsored Senate Bill 300, the Educator Pipeline Support Grant Program…Under the proposal, aspiring teachers completing their student-teaching requirement would be awarded $10,000, plus an additional $5,000 for completing their student-teacher experience at a school with staffing shortages. Student mentors would receive a $1,000 stipend, if the legislation passes.

Shore News Network. NJEA Seeking to Eliminate Basic Skills Test for New Jersey Teacher Certification   Prospective teachers in New Jersey must currently pass the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test in Reading, Writing, and Math or present SAT, ACT, or GRE scores in the top third percentile of the year taken. The NJEA argues that this requirement poses an unnecessary barrier to entering the teaching profession. The association urges the public to contact Governor Murphy’s office to support the passing of S1553, a bill aimed at abolishing this testing requirement.

US Dept. of Education.
1) Biden-Harris Administration Launches “Being Bilingual is a Superpower” to Promote Multilingual Education for a Diverse Workforce   The new initiative under the Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) seeks to promote research-based bilingual educational opportunities and language instruction in early learning education settings and beyond… To underscore the need for bilingual and multilingual education, OELA announced last year nearly $120 million in investments to eligible institutions of higher education and public or private entities with relevant experience and capacity to support educators of English learner students. 
2) Biden-Harris Administration Premiers Public Service Announcement Elevating the Teaching Profession   The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with TEACH.org and One Million Teachers of Color, has launched “Teachers: Leaders Shaping Lives,” a campaign to elevate the teaching profession and promote educator diversity by inspiring more talented people – especially those from underrepresented communities – to become teachers.

US Dept. of Labor. US Department of Labor Kicks Off 9th Annual National Apprenticeship Week   …Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This week, we commend our partners — in industry associations, labor organizations, education and academia, workforce development, community-based organizations and in federal, state and local governments — for committing to make the long-term investments needed to ensure a pipeline of talent for the good-paying, quality jobs being created across the nation.” 

Washington Post. Top trending misinformation tactics everyone can learn to spot   By teaching students how misinformation is made and why it spreads, and giving them a few basic fact-checking skills, a growing number of people will be able to critically examine viral claims in their feeds and prevent themselves and people they know from being misled.

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. Here’s how NY Regents exams, high school grad requirements could change   Among its 12 recommendations is a move to further increase the number of assessment options beyond the Regents exams… and enshrining instruction in culturally responsive-sustaining education practices in teacher preparation programs.

Hechinger Report. To solve teacher shortages, let’s open pathways for immigrants so they can become educators and role models: We urgently need new bilingual teachers. Here are some ways to make it happen   … UndocuEdu, produced a report in 2021 titled “The State of Undocumented Educators in New York” that outlines the challenges undocumented educators face navigating teacher education programs. One suggestion in the report is to eliminate testing fees for NYS certification exams for those in financial need. Another recommendation is for policymakers to create municipal or state exceptions so that our city’s schools can hire educators who have training and certification but lack a work permit.
State legislators and advocates in New York are already discussing the creation of municipal work permits for recently arrived asylum-seekers.

NYSED Board of Regents November meetings
Proposed Amendment: Proposed Amendment …Relating to Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Media Arts Course Flexibility for the Individual Arts Assessment Pathway (IAAP) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways to High School Graduation   Media arts is the only arts discipline that does not have a classroom teacher certification title… The Department proposes to amend section 100.5 of the Commissioner’s regulations to provide local discretion on how to distribute credit for media arts courses within a CTE or IAAP sequence when these courses are taught by a visual arts certified teacher or an appropriately certified CTE teacher… The proposed rule also amends the CTE pathway provision in section 100.5(d)(6) of the Commissioner’s regulations to provide that faculty for approved CTE programs can also have state certification in “special” subjects in addition to appropriate academic and technical subjects. These amendments will permit students pursuing an IAAP or NYSED-approved CTE program to earn either arts or CTE credit for specific media arts courses regardless of whether the teacher is certified as a CTE teacher or a visual arts teacher
Consent Agenda:
1) Amendment… Relating to the Requirements for Certification as a School Counselor through Individual Evaluation   amendment provides two additional options for candidates to satisfy the practicum and internship requirement. The first option would allow a candidate who completed a preparation program leading to Provisional and Permanent School Counselor certification … to be considered as having met the practicum and internship requirement for an Initial School Counselor certificate. The second option would consider the practicum and internship requirement as met for candidates who completed a master’s or higher degree program in school counseling accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) from an institution of higher education (IHE) that is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency…
2) Amendment… Relating to Flexibilities for the Supplementary Certificate and Supplementary Bilingual Education Extension Requirements in Response to the Influx of Recently Arrived and Asylum Seeking Students   the Department proposes to amend the Supplementary certificate requirements to provide flexibility for certified teachers who apply for the Supplementary English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certificate, and for teachers who hold a valid Initial, Professional, or Permanent ESOL certificate and apply for a Supplementary certificate in another area, between September 12, 2023, and August 31, 2024… also proposes to amend the Supplementary Bilingual Education extension requirements to create flexibility for certified teachers and certified pupil personnel services professionals who apply for such extension between September 12, 2023, and August 31, 2024…

NYSED News.
1) Jeffrey Matteson Appointed State Education Department Senior Deputy Commissioner for Education Policy   Dr. Matteson’s career spans 35 years as an educator, beginning as a social studies teacher and assuming roles as a principal, superintendent, and most recently as District Superintendent of the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)… Dr. Matteson holds a… B.A. in Social Studies from SUNY Cortland, and an A.A. in Liberal Arts from SUNY Morrisville.
2) New York State Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures Presents Recommendations    The Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations are: 10. Require all New York State teacher preparation programs to provide instruction in culturally responsive-sustaining education (CRSE) practices and pedagogy. 11. Require that professional development plans include culturally responsive-sustaining education practices and pedagogy… 

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. NYC’s new algebra curriculum mandate divides educators   Traditionally, high schools and secondary math educators have had wide latitude to select or create their curriculum. For some teachers, especially experienced ones, that freedom can be helpful and spark innovation. Banks, however, argues that as a citywide policy, curricular autonomy has produced mediocre and inequitable results.

City & State NY. ‘Of course’ NYC schools Chancellor David Banks is concerned about the challenge of educating asylum-seeking children   Is there a plan to hire more bilingual or English language learning staff?   … let’s say if you’re a teacher, you’re social studies, but you have an ENL license, in the past, there were no incentives for you to shift your license, because you were starting all over again. Now, the state has essentially said, you can shift your license, not lose your tenure or anything like that. So we’re watching that and seeing how many people are shifting.

Teachers College.
1) Environmental Justice Needs Inclusive Science Education: Recognizing the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities, experts at TC chart a path toward justice through education research and practice  “We are in a really powerful position to make a difference,” says Mahfood, who focuses on curriculum and teacher education. For the scholars who are preparing STEM educators, TC is fostering a generation of teachers who combat their internal biases… Mensah also sees TC as a place to prepare teachers to think about science differently by offering them “a critical lens about the world and about how we teach science” …
2) Here’s How Indigenous Curriculum Can Help Students Thrive   Through her research of urban, Indigenous youth, postdoctoral fellow Rachel Talbert offers insight for educators to facilitate more honest, inclusive social studies curriculum
3) Majority of U.S. Voters Support Inclusive Education and Teacher Agency, TC Poll Shows: Conducted on behalf of the Black Education Research Center, the poll suggests that attacks against education lack broad support.   As the U.S. grapples with waves of book bans and anti-inclusive education policies, a representative poll of 1,000 U.S. voters, conducted by Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies on behalf of the Black Education Research Center (BERC), revealed that an overwhelming majority support teacher agency and inclusive curriculum.

GLOBAL
Addis Standard. In-depth: Is Ethiopia’s education system under a serious threat?   …it is crucial to concentrate on improving the teacher training program at the foundational level. “The government is inadvertently creating a problem; it’s like the cobra effect, where the solution itself becomes a problem. It would be more effective to start from the ground up and focus on enhancing teacher training institutions,” added Eskinder.

International Council on Education for Teaching. WEBINAR: Future proofing education systems: learning from the legacy of the Covid-19   Teachers and teacher educators are invited to take part in this webinar that will focus on the impact of the pandemic on learners’ capabilities and teachers’ learning and sense of Self. It will focus on giving Voice to and documenting teachers’ ideas for improving teaching and learning, and support for teachers, in a post pandemic world. [Wed, 15 Nov 13:00 – 16:00 EST; 18:00 – 21:00 GMT]

Tomorrow People Organization. Welcome to 19th Education and Development Conference  EDC2024 covers topics ranging from education technology, teaching and learning, education ethics, curriculum, language and science education as well as case studies from across the globe [March 5th – 7th, 2024 – Bangkok, THAILAND]

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) In California: Teacher Shortage and Opioid Crisis Bills Become Law   Some bills signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom this week impacting K-12 include: * SB 765 (Portantino): Teachers: retired teacher compensation: This law allows California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) members to return to an education position more expeditiously and raises the income cap from 50 percent to 70 percent. * AB 1127 (Reyes): Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program: This bill’s language was incorporated into statute with the Education Trailer Bill (SB 114 [Ch. 48, Stats. 2023]), and it reestablishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, addressing California’s growing need for bilingual teachers in languages such as Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, and Arabic. 
2) Inspiring Partnerships: Multimillion-Dollar Global Competition Sparks Learning Innovation   Georgia State University is a partner in the initiative which just launched — through November 10… “One of the most exciting things about the Tools Competition is the diversity of teams as well as the diversity of judges, administrators, and researchers who have helped grow the competition,” Shapiro said. “So, the teams, judges, and researchers span academic, industry, and nonprofit sectors, and have expertise ranging from learning analytics, entrepreneurship, teacher education, math education, and computer science.”
3) WEBINAR Shortage to Surplus: 5 Shifts to Address the National Educator Shortage   This white paper moves beyond surface-level responses to examine deeper, systemic issues that contribute to mismatches between educator supply and demand. Five comprehensive shifts are presented in contrast to traditional calls to action. A discussion of each shift contains high-level recommendations, along with examples of actions that different stakeholder groups can take to address the educator shortage. [Nov. 9 2-3pm ET]

American Institutes for Research (AIR) & American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Take a Seat at the Table: The Role of Educator Preparation Programs in Teacher Apprenticeship Program  Educator preparation programs (EPPs) have an opportunity to strengthen existing district partnerships and lead the way in co-designing teacher Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs), including the launch, operation, and continuous improvement of programs. [WEBINAR on YouTube]

Brookings. 3 myths about teacher agency and why they hold back scaling education innovations   Myth 1: Teacher training automatically leads to teacher change A prevalent misconception is that, once trained and with only limited follow-up, educators will automatically translate what they’ve experienced in their training modules into new classroom practices that won’t soon fade or get washed out by the system. However, adult learning, behavior change, and teacher development are complex, iterative processes. 

Chalkbeat.
1) Detroit student who fought for ‘right to literacy’ is still in the fight   This class action lawsuit wasn’t just for current students. It was for the students before us. And the students after that… We need to use this as a precedent to create a student-to-teacher pipeline that is sustainable.  
2) Smaller class sizes in Colorado’s latest draft of universal preschool rules   Training requirements for preschool staff are a bit different in the new draft, with employees only required to have completed four hours of training on some topics next year, down from eight in the previous draft rules. The new draft institutes the 8-hour training requirement in either 2025 or 2026 — either the third or fourth year of the program — depending on the training topic. 

Education Week.
1) Many States Are Limiting How Schools Can Teach About Race. Most Voters Disagree   A strong majority of voters want Black studies curriculum and the history of racism and slavery and its legacy taught in K-12 public schools, according to new polling data from the Black Education Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University… “People really want us to teach the truth, especially the truth in history,” said Sonya Douglass, professor of education leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University, and founding director of BERC.
2) Math Teachers and Math Ed. Professors Don’t See Eye to Eye on Best Practices   This insistence on fluency with basic operations… one of the several differences of opinion in ideas about best practices and philosophies of math education that surfaced in recent EdWeek Research Center surveys of both K-12 math teachers and postsecondary educators… When college students enter their student teaching placements, they often hear from mentor teachers that the methods they learned in their education programs won’t actually work in the classroom, said Julie Booth, a professor in Temple University’s College of Education…
3) Need Teachers? This State Is Looking to Its High Schoolers   West Virginia needs more teachers…The Mountain State is in its second year of implementing a grow-your-own program designed to get more high school students on the path toward becoming a teacher. And although it will take a few more years to see results in the teacher pipeline, the state is seeing a lot of interest from teenagers.
4) Teacher Prep Often Treats Classroom Management as an Afterthought: 5 evidence-based ways to improve new teachers’ skills   1. Understand how students’ personal and cultural needs dictate how a classroom is managed (culture). 2. Implement practical instructional methods to develop preservice teachers in classroom management (methods). 3. Identify practical strategies for preservice teachers to create a safe, supportive classroom environment (practice). 4. Create positive teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-parent relationships (relationships). 5. Respond to student misbehavior in an authentic classroom environment (partnerships).
5) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff  [November 9, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (11 a.m. – 3 p.m. PT) | FREE EVENT]
6) Why Governors Are Exerting More Control Over Schools   The Buckeye State strips the 19-member State Board of Education…limiting the board to decisions on teacher disciplinary and licensure cases… “In the contemporary era of really intense polarization and partisan polarization, it’s seductive for a governor to tap into something that’s got a lot of energy and enthusiasm from some voters,” like education, said Jeffrey Henig, a political science and education professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. “But it’s also a high-risk proposition.”

Fox News.
1) Georgia lawmaker proposes paying teachers $10K to carry guns in school: ‘Better than no options’   Before teachers could carry a firearm, school systems would have to approve a gun-training program under the bill. In addition, it would be up to local school boards to decide if they want their teachers to participate in the program. 
2) Pittsburgh public schools approve measure to instruct teachers on ‘White supremacy’ in math classes: The Board voted to shell out $50,000 for the ‘antiracist math’ workshops   The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board has voted to hire a consulting group that educates teachers on how to replace “White supremacy culture practices” in math instruction with methods that center on the “wellness of students of color.”

National Center for Grow Your Own. WEBINAR: The Role of State Apprenticeship Agencies with K-12 Teacher Registered Apprenticeships  For states, districts, and educator preparation providers looking to launch registered apprenticeship programs for aspiring K-12 teachers, come and learn from state apprenticeship agency directors. [Nov 16, 2023 02:00 PM Eastern Time]

NPR. This teacher shortage solution has gone viral. But does it work?   Grow Your Own programs have been celebrated as a way to ease teacher shortages, increase retention, make degrees more accessible and diversify an overwhelmingly white workforce. But researchers say there isn’t much data to show that these programs consistently do any of that.

NYTimes. Ohio Lawsuit Punches Back in Battle Over How to Teach Reading: A nonprofit group is trying to stop a new state law requiring “the science of reading,” underscoring how money and ideology influence the national debate.   Reading Recovery is an intervention program aimed at helping first graders in the bottom 20 percent of their class. The nonprofit partners with universities to train teachers and school district leaders in its methods…Ohio State, which is not involved in the lawsuit, said that while the university was home to the training center for school districts, its undergraduate education program does not use Reading Recovery to train its future teachers

Prepared to Teach.  Recruitment Campaign Guidance   This document is a suggestive guide to help inform how to significantly expand teacher candidate pools, with an express focus on increasing the numbers of aspiring teachers who reflect the backgrounds of the students they serve and who are likely to stay in the profession.

The Education Trust. Tool for Representational Balance in Books   … a framework for closely reviewing the books that make up curricular units so they may better understand how people, groups, and topics are represented. We have adapted this tool for general use by anyone, including students, parents, teachers, and community members interested in understanding what representation looks like across materials given to students. 

Washington Post.
1) Home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education: A district-by-district look at home schooling’s explosive growth, which a Post analysis finds has far outpaced the rate at private and public schools   Celebrated by home education advocates, the rise has also led critics of weak regulation to sound alarms… Many of America’s new home-schooled children have entered a world where no government official will ever check on what, or how well, they are being taught… “Many of these parents don’t have any understanding of education,” she said. “The price will be very big to us, and to society. But that won’t show up for a few years.”
2) Newest way to woo workers: Child care at airports, schools and poultry plants: Businesses are increasingly taking on the national child-care crisis themselves “We’re losing too many educators in America,” said Caire, chief executive of One City Schools. “So few people are coming into this field as it is. And now we’re losing them at the top and in between because of issues like child care… Micron Technology, a semiconductor company based in Boise, Idaho… building an on-site child-care center near an upcoming manufacturing plant in central New York. But first, the company is investing $500,000 to train care providers and early-childhood teachers in the area. By the time the factory opens in three years, the company hopes to have enough teachers in place to provide child care to 9,000 employees.
3) The Post examined home schooling’s surge in the U.S. Here’s what we found.   Online classes are now used by nearly 60 percent of home-school families… The Post-Schar School poll, conducted this summer, also found that about half of home-school parents saying their children would receive at least some instruction from a teacher or tutor this year…

NEW YORK STATE
Fox News. New York GOP lawmakers accuse state education board of pushing antisemitic material to kids: NYSED has a history of sharing ‘anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist material,’ according to GOP lawmakers   In a letter to Education Department (NYSED) Chancellor Lester Young Jr. and Commissioner Betty Rosa, Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and the GOP delegation from New York called out a video and training materials linked from a government website designed to help educators teach children about the war in Israel following Hamas’ deadly terror attacks.

New York State Association for Teacher Education (NYSATE) & New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NYACTE). Updates from NYSED: Potential Revisions of Teacher Certification Regulations   … information on potential revisions to current teacher certification regulations. These include revisions to certification requirements for teaching assistants, classroom teachers, and school and district leaders and changes to transitional certification titles. [via ZOOM: Nov 8, 2023 10:00 AM in Eastern Time]

NYSED Office of Higher Education. Educator Preparation Newsletter, October 2023
1) Board of Regent Items Office of College and University Evaluation Overview and Update
2) New York State Selected for Hunt Institute’s The Path Forward to Transform Literacy Instruction   … developing a plan for embedding evidence-based reading instructional practices into teacher preparation programs ensuring that all NY State students learn to read.
3) “Something Terrible Happened To Joey” Childhood Trauma Film Screening   Educators can use the Study Guide to think through and discuss difficult issues surrounding trauma.

NYSED Professional Standards and Practices Board. September Meeting Minutes

The New Yorker. The $1.8 Billion Lawsuit Over a Teacher Test: In the nineties, New York began requiring aspiring educators to take an exam. Thousands of people later claimed that the test was racially biased.  …in 1991, a new law went into effect that meant that Wilds-Bethea, along with other teachers across the city, had to pass yet another test: the National Teacher Examination, or N.T.E… In 1993, the state began phasing out the N.T.E. and introduced an alternative exam, the Liberal Arts and Science Test, or LAST… New York has cycled through at least four licensure exams since the late nineteen-eighties, always eventually dropping them. But it’s not clear that any of these changes have actually improved students’ education. 

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College Center for Educational Equity. Preparing for Civic Responsibility in Our Digital Age: Guideposts for Educators to Ensure Media Literacy for Every Student   When we take seriously the notion that a central purpose of schooling is to prepare future generations to exercise their civic responsibilities, then, in a digital world, media literacy must be a high priority in all schools. We provide this media literacy education outcomes framework as a response to that need.

Teachers College Center on History and Education & The New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools. Celebrating Black & Latina Women’s Educational Activism  This new curriculum resource for New York City teachers brings together engaging historical sources with classroom-friendly texts and videos for New York City teachers and their students to learn about how New Yorkers have fought for educational justice and against racism and ableism in our schools.  [Monday, November 13 · 4pm EST Smith Learning Theater, Russell Building, 4th Floor, 525 W 120th Street New York, NY 10027]

GLOBAL
Daily Post Nigeria. Teast empowers educators from all backgrounds to discover teaching jobs abroad   *Tips for Non-native English Speakers Seeking Teaching Roles. Certification is Key: Having a TEFL or TESOL certification can significantly boost your chances. It shows potential employers that you’ve been trained to teach English as a foreign language.

New York Times.
1) Jamaica Fears Brain Drain as Teachers Leave for U.S. Schools …the exodus of Jamaican teachers reflected positive aspects of the country’s education system, like its 14 institutions dedicated to training teachers. Instead of poaching teachers directly, Ms. Williams suggested that countries like the United States could ease some of the pressure on Jamaica’s schools by providing scholarships to train new teachers in Jamaica, who could go on to take jobs in American schools.
2) What Most American Schools Do Wrong   Finland and Estonia have professionalized education systems—they often require master’s degrees for teachers, training them in evidence-based education practices and methods for interpreting ongoing research in the field. And teachers are entrusted with a great deal of autonomy. Whereas American kindergarten has become more like first grade, with more emphasis on spelling, writing and math, Finland and Estonia make learning fun with a play-based curriculum.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Unlock Big Savings: Register Early for AACTE’s 2024 Annual Meeting. “Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession into the Future”  Register by Nov. 1 for Best Rates. [Feb. 16-18 Aurora/Denver, CO]
2) Using ATLAS to Help Preservice Teachers to See Structures of Teaching   Accomplished Teaching Learning and Schools (ATLAS) is a resource of the NBPTS. The subscription-based site contains curated teaching videos, along with supporting commentary and instructional materials, submitted as part of teaching evaluations such as the edTPA, and National Board Certification. 

DisabilityScoop. Schools Nationwide Report Shortage of Special Educators   The federal government is working to tackle the shortage of special education staff, with the U.S. Department of Education recently announcing a $35 million investment aimed at strengthening the workforce of special education teachers, administrators, related services providers, those at early intervention programs and university faculty preparing these specialists.

EdResearch in Action. Increasing Teacher Preparedness Through Effective Student Teaching  Mentors are often not well compensated or trained and are not provided time outside the regular demands of the role, which can make teachers reluctant to serve… Teachers who experience high alignment between their student teaching placements and current job are more effective and more likely to stay in the profession…

EdWeek.
1) These Researchers Are Seeking Consensus in the Reading and Math Wars   What teachers do or don’t learn from professors in their preparation programs and other respected voices in the field has consequences for their classroom practice—and ultimately for the students they teach…
2) What Is the Orton-Gillingham Method for Teaching Reading?   … efforts in many states to legislate mandatory support for teacher training and instruction in these approaches. As part of this legislation, some states provide lists of approved providers of evidence-based reading methods. 
Orton-Gillingham is among them, according to the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education, which trains teachers in the approach, which was once used primarily with children who have dyslexia but is now being used more broadly.

Hechinger Report. AI might disrupt math and computer science classes – in a good way: AI can serve as a tutor, help teachers plan math lessons, or write a variety of math problems geared toward different levels of instruction   Teachers can also ask ChatGPT to recommend different levels of math problems for students with different mastery of the concept, she said. This is particularly helpful for teachers who are new to the profession or have students with diverse needs — special education or English language learners, Sun said. 

Miami Herald. Who’s teaching our kids? These 4 charts break down K-12 teachers by education level, race, and more   1. More than half of school teachers have earned a master’s, making teachers among the most well-educated professionals…

One Million Teachers of Color (1MToC). Webinar: The Essentials for Long-term Impact in Educator Diversity  Webinar attendees will have the opportunity to hear from district and CMO leaders in the “Driving Toward Diversity” cohort who took concrete steps to meaningfully advance educator diversity. [November 15th  – 1:00 p.m. ET]

U.S. Dept. of Education OSEP. U.S. Department of Education Awards More Than $35 Million to Develop Personnel in Support of Children with Disabilities incl. 5-year awards to Teachers College: $1.25M for Preparation of Early Intervention and Special Education Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs (TC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program); PLUS $1.17M for Preparation of Related Services Personnel Service Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs (TC Communication and Speech Disorders Program).

Wall Street Journal. ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is an Oklahoma Story, but Educators There Might Not Teach It: Movie about murders of Osage people prompts renewed discussion of state law   Teachers found to have run afoul of the law could lose their teaching licenses, and their schools could face accreditation penalties.

Word in Black. School Districts Push for Black Studies   Made up of a coalition of organizations, including the Black Education Research Center at Columbia University, Black Edfluencers United, and others. These groups are responsible for the curation of the first-ever interdisciplinary Black Studies curriculum for New York City public schools. Led by Dr. Sonya Douglass, founding director of the Black Education Research Collective, the program started this year in K-12 schools. During the livestream premiere of the curriculum, she sat down with Michele Verdiner, principal at Teachers College Community School, to explain why it’s necessary for students in NYC and nationwide. 

NEW YORK STATE
Fox News. New York GOP lawmakers accuse state education board of pushing antisemitic material to kids: NYSED has a history of sharing ‘anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist material,’ according to GOP lawmakers   In a letter to Education Department (NYSED) Chancellor Lester Young Jr. and Commissioner Betty Rosa, Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and the GOP delegation from New York called out a video and training materials linked from a government website designed to help educators teach children about the war in Israel following Hamas’ deadly terror attacks.

Lohud | Westchester County. NYS Education Commissioner Rosa supports added power to suspend accused teachers   With state lawmakers demanding reform, state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa says she’d support legislation giving her department added powers to suspend the teaching licenses of educators accused of sexual misconduct and violence.  

NYSED. New York State Selected for Hunt Institute’s the Path Forward to Transform Literacy Instruction: Literacy Academy Collective and New York State Education Department to Convene Team In Partnership with SUNY, CUNY, NYC Public Schools   …New York State has been chosen to participate in the third cohort of Hunt Institute’s The Path Forward for Teacher Preparation and Licensure in Early Literacy. In coordination with the New York State Education Department (NYSED), Literacy Academy Collective (LAC) has been tapped to convene the NY State Path Forward cohort team, with the aim to transform early literacy instruction in New York State by embedding the science of reading into educator preparation…

NYTimes. Corporal Punishment in Private Schools Is Outlawed in New York: The measure was proposed in response to a New York Times investigation that revealed widespread use of such punishment in Hasidic Jewish private schools.   Under state law, private schools must provide an education that is at least on par with what is offered in public schools. But the investigators described visiting schools and finding deficiencies in course planning and teacher training. In some cases, officials reported seeing no instruction at all in core subjects like English, math, history and science.

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College. Teaching with Purpose: Meet Newark’s Teacher of the Year, Juanita Greene   Greene’s “aha!” moment began in Charlottesville, Virginia, during her first summer teaching eighth grade math, an internship opportunity she secured through her undergraduate work at the University of Virginia… She would later go on to pursue her master’s degree in the Mathematics Education program at Teachers College. “Teachers College gave me the confidence to feel like I could have a deeper understanding of high school math. It had a better sense of what goes into the curriculum, and I learned from so many other educators along the way. 

The74Million.  To Get STEM Education to Every Student, Train All New Teachers in Computing: City University of NY program teaches future educators to use computing concepts in a broad range of subjects, at all grade levels.   Nearly one-third of the new teachers hired by the district each year graduate from CUNY… Fewer than half of CUNY’s education faculty have participated in the program to date, and its practices are only just beginning to become embedded in CUNY’s teacher education programs. As a result, most aspiring educators-in-training at CUNY do not yet receive instruction and coaching in equitable computing education practices.

GLOBAL
International Society for Music Education (ISME). 36th ISME World Conference, “Advocacy for Sustainability in Music Education.” To ensure that all our existing members and new members can submit their work easily through our submission portal our deadline has now been extended to 13th October 11:59 PM PST.

Phys.Org. (Cambridge Univ.) Experts call for more evidence as medical and teacher education embrace simulation technologies   In a recent trial in Germany, AI was used to ‘mark’ and feedback on the work of trainee teachers who were learning to assess students for potential learning difficulties and was found to improve their diagnostic reasoning. Virtual classrooms have also been used to help teachers practice how they talk with students and cultivate oracy, which is a focus of the Labor Party’s latest education plans.

Premium Times (Nigeria). Jigawa is 32,000 short of teachers, NUT raises alarm: The governor said he has employed 1,000 teachers as part of his administration’s efforts to address the teachers gap in the state.   The Chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Jigawa State, Abdulkadir Yunusa, on Thursday, said the state has a shortfall of 32,000 classroom teachers… There are many models of teaching and innovation in the teaching line, but the level of your education doesn’t qualify you to be a teacher, teachers need constant upgrades and orientation on how to teach in the classrooms,” Mr Yunusa said while appealing to the government to prioritise teachers’ recruitment and development.

The Presidency Republic of Ghana. “Teachers’ Capacity Enhanced With Skills, Improved Welfare Incentives”   President Akufo-Addo   President Akufo-Addo also added that just as the “Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), have trained 75,000 teachers in Teaching and Learning in a Digital Age” at a time when the use and knowledge of technological products and tools is a pre-requisite to 21st century teaching and learning.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Cal Lutheran Receives $1.2M Federal Grant to Support Educators of Deaf/Hard of Hearing   The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Cal Lutheran a $1,241,679 grant to support the Graduate School of Education’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Credential Program. The five-year grant will fund Access Teach: Closing the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Educator Gap, a project to support 60 graduate-level students who will leave the program as credentialed teachers of high-need deaf and hard-of-hearing students in public schools. In addition to tuition, financial aid, textbooks, and instructional materials, the project will provide mentoring and other support to recruit and retain students.
2) In Montana: Schools Turn to Virtual Teachers to Combat Shortage   The reliance on virtual teachers is just one symptom of an unprecedented nationwide crisis of rebuilding the teacher pipeline and retaining those in the field. Data from the National Teacher and Principal Survey show Montana schools are struggling to fill nearly 60 percent of open jobs. Schools nationwide are increasing class sizes, canceling courses, hiring underqualified staff, and turning to virtual learning to cope with the crisis.
3) Lunch with Lynn – Empowering Advocacy The October Lunch with Lynn conversation will focus on AACTE’s advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels. [Via ZOOM Oct 25, 2023 01:00 ET]

Deans for Impact. Request for Proposals NCTR National Symposium for Educator Preparation, Policy, and Leadership 2024. Wednesday, April 17, 2024 – Friday, April 19, 2024 at The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago. [Deadline: Monday, October 16, 2023 at 5pm]

EdWeek.
1) How to Talk About the Israel-Hamas War: Resources for Educators   To help educators explain the conflict and guide students in how to talk about emotionally charged, violent events like this in measured, respectful ways, Education Week has collected several resources. 
2) Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer Has a Message for Teachers: Move to a State That Has Your Back   In Texas, where 1 in 3 teachers do not have a teaching certificate, lawmakers are focused on ripping more books off school shelves than any other state in the country—except Florida. Meanwhile, in Michigan, we are using every tool available to recruit, train, and retain educators. We established a fellowship offering college students scholarships up to $30,000 over three years to become certified teachers. We pay student-teachers $9,600 a semester. We are helping pay back teachers’ student loans—up to $400 a month.
3) Teachers From Online-Only Prep Programs Hinder Student Achievement, Report Finds   Texas teachers entering the classroom from the state’s fully virtual teacher-preparation programs negatively impact their students’ achievement, according to a policy brief released recently by the Center for Research in Leadership at Texas Tech University…. And teachers prepared by online-only programs are 2.5 times more likely to leave the classroom in the first several years of teaching than teachers trained in traditional face-to-face programs.
4) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff  FREE EVENT [November 9, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET (11 a.m. – 3 p.m. PT)]
5) We Asked Educators How They Define the ‘Science of Reading.’ Here’s What They Said   “The term ‘science of reading’ isn’t one that researchers use very much,” said Mark Seidenberg, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison… Exactly how much training educators need in cognitive science and psychology research is an open question. In the long term, schools of education could incorporate more courses in these subjects for students, said Seidenberg. But in the shorter term, he called on curriculum providers to bake research into their materials from the beginning.
6) What Teachers Should Know Before Using AI With English Learners   … Lalitha Vasudevan, vice dean for digital innovation and managing director of the Teachers College Digital Futures Institute, at Teachers College, Columbia University… what teachers want to avoid is relying too much on AI tools for instruction… This is especially important to consider who students acquiring the English language. “While there is great value in incorporating these tools to really strengthen students’ confidence, students’ fluency, students’ ability to engage in conversation using these tools, we shouldn’t let go of what is gained when we do work on a piece of writing,” Vasudevan said. “We work things out in our thinking through writing.”

Harvard Graduate School of Education. Introducing the Black Teacher Archive, an open-access digital portal that opens a new lens on the history of education, on Black history, and on American history.

Hechinger Report. Teacher Voice: White teachers need more skills and specific training to handle tough questions about race   As pivotal long-term efforts to recruit and retain more teachers of color take root, there remains an immediate need for our teacher training programs to prepare white teachers to truly support our students in all areas of their growth and development.

InsideHigherEd. Ed Department: Mass Loan Cancellation Is Off the Table   Abernathy was clear that ED wouldn’t be reopening the regulations governing the new income-driven repayment plan or the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which were updated and finalized in the past year. 

NYTimes. Who Runs the Best U.S. Schools? It May Be the Defense Department.   … teachers typically have 10 to 15 years of experience… strict structure is something Cicely Abron, an eighth-grade math teacher, rarely experienced in nearly 20 years in public education… she cannot supplement curriculum and must work off an approved list. She receives detailed feedback from coaches and administrators who observe her class. Collaboration with other teachers is required and built into her weekly schedule.

Texas A&M Today. Texas A&M Wins Federal Grant To Tackle Teacher Shortage In Texas: The School of Education and Human Development will lead research to support future educators.   Texas A&M University will address the demand for teachers in Texas with the help of a $3 million Hispanic Serving Institution capacity-building grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Through the five-year grant, the School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) will lead the development and assessment of a pilot program to recruit, mentor and retain students who want to major in education…

U.S. Department of Education. Biden-Harris Administration Announces an Additional $9 Billion in Student Debt Relief    The Biden-Harris administration announced today that an additional 125,000 Americans have been approved for $9 billion in debt relief through fixes the U.S. Department of Education has made to income-driven repayment (IDR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)… The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing it has approved: * $5.2 billion in additional debt relief for 53,000 borrowers under Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.

Washington Post. Call for 2024 nominations: 41st annual Washington Post Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards [now open through January 29, 2024]

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. New York to rethink how teacher prep programs approach literacy instruction   The Hunt Institute, a nonprofit affiliated with Duke University, is leading the effort… Improving teacher preparation programs could bolster New York City’s curriculum overhaul, as some educators have noted they did not receive rigorous instruction on how to teach children to read. An analysis of 38 teacher preparation programs across New York released this year by the National Council on Teacher Quality found that the state’s programs generally ranked well below others across the country when it comes to reading instruction. 

NYSED Board of Regents. October Meetings Agenda:10/16-17

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College.
1) Applications now accepted for the Advanced Certificate in Literacy, available through the TC Reading Specialist Program  Dr. Susan Masullo, Director. 15 points/credit hours
2) Exploring AI in K-12 Education: Empowering Educators to Take the Lead. By TC’s Digital Futures Institute  Our first kick-off workshop for Teachers Supporting Teacher 2023-2024 school year we will focus on, “Empowering K-12 Educators: AI in Education and Beyond.” This workshop is designed to equip K-12 educators with the essential knowledge and skills to navigate the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) [Saturday, October 21 · 10am – 12pm EDT Russell Hall 4th Fl – Smith Learning Theater 525 West 120th Street New York, NY 10027]
3) Human Resources: Vice Dean for Teacher Education and School & Community Partnerships   Reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the College, the Vice Dean for Teacher Education and School and Community Partnerships will provide collaborative, imaginative, strategic leadership and advocacy for teacher education practice, policy, and research at the College…. Establish and maintain productive partnerships with our community, including P-12 partners, particularly our college partnership with NYC Community School District #4, NYC Public Schools, New York State Education Department, AAQEP and/or other accreditation agencies as needed, professional organizations and associations, and our many clinical placement sites…

GLOBAL
The Guardian.
1) Australian students shun education degrees as fears grow over ‘unprecedented’ teacher shortage: University application first preferences dropped almost 20% this year, compared with 2023   The data, provided to Guardian Australia from the Universities Admissions Centre, showed education degrees received just 1,935 first preferences this year, a 19.24% decline compared with 2023 and the lowest rate since at least 2016, when public records became available. Overall, education was ranked seventh out of 11 major areas of study.
2) France’s schools are in crisis – and it has nothing to do with pupils’ dress   To plug staffing gaps, the government launched a scheme in 2022 to recruit “contract” teachers (as opposed to the standard tenure system, under which they count as fonctionnaires or civil servants). They were given four days’ training, despite often having no previous teaching experience. Predictably many quit within six months, owing to lack of adequate training or supervision.

The Hindu. It’s a long wait for students to get graduation certificates from Teacher Education University: Delay jeopardising opportunities of students wanting to study abroad or take up jobs    “The degree certificates must bear the signature of the Governor-Chancellor. And the Governor signs around 600 certificates a day. We expect that within the next few weeks everything will be set right. If it is urgent then we ask the students to come immediately and issue the certificates. By second or third week of October, we will give all the certificates,” the official said. 

UNESCO.
1) Halfway to 2030, how far are we from achieving SDG 4?   Sub-Saharan Africa has made the greatest improvement since 2015, but the region still has the lowest percentage of trained teachers across all levels of education.  If countries were on track with their targets, there would be more than 1.7 million trained teachers teaching children in primary school today.
2) Postwar recovery of the Tigray education system: challenges and support needed   Before the war, Tigray [Ethiopia] had: about 40,000 classrooms across almost 2,500 schools; two teacher training colleges; 30,000 different electronic devices, including computers, printers, plasma TVs, and heavy-duty photocopying machines; and 300,000 pieces of laboratory equipment and teaching aids. Unfortunately, much of this has been destroyed or looted, leaving the difficult task of rehabilitation, maintenance, and reconstruction. 

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Take a Seat at the Table: The Role of EPPS in Teacher Apprenticeship Programs   Educator preparation programs (EPPs) have an opportunity to strengthen existing district partnerships and lead the way in co-designing teacher Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs). [Oct 11, 2023 02:00 PM E.T.]

AACTE/ACSR. Fall 2023 Virtual State Leaders Institute   This year, the half-day, virtual workshop features presentations on major policy issues impacting educator preparation and a new track on association leadership.  [November 1, 12:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. E.T.]

AERA. Call for Applications: Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop   This workshop is designed to build the talent pool of undergraduate students who plan to pursue doctorate degrees in education research or in disciplines and fields that examine education and learning from early childhood to workforce participation. [Wednesday, April 10 – Saturday, April 13, 2024, during the AERA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia]

Chalkbeat.
1) Newark teacher pathway program brings community support to aspiring educators   …observers say programs like those at Gateway U could help aspiring educators who face financial struggles or other barriers land certified teaching roles… Gateway U’s teacher program includes two pathways: one for students who have college degrees and one for school staff who need academic support to earn bachelor’s degrees. In order to become a teacher in the Garden State, future educators must earn a bachelor’s degree, complete a teacher preparation program, pass certification exams, and complete student-teaching requirements.
2) Philip’s Academy Charter receives award for teacher diversity. Here’s how the Newark school did it.    Ashley Daniels knew she liked kids and had enjoyed working as a camp counselor. But, before applying for a job at Philip’s Academy Charter School, she had never worked in education… One step the school is taking to diversify its faculty is investing in young, less-experienced teachers like Daniels. Since being hired in 2018, she has worked as a student aide, teacher associate, and now as a full-time teacher while she earns a master’s in education. 

Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE). Teacher Education Conference  [Oct. 8-10 San Marcos, TX]

EdWeek. What’s Keeping People From Becoming Teachers? An Eye-Popping To-Do List, for One   Do prospective teachers eye those job responsibilities and say, “no thanks, I’ll find another line of work?” Ninety percent of educators surveyed by the Ed Week Research Center say yes… The survey of 1,301 principals, teachers, and district leaders was conducted in June and July.

Fox News. Indiana gun law allowing teachers to carry firearms stirs up debate among experts   At least seven school corporations in Indiana are in the process of setting up secret “armed response teams” that train staff on the use of deadly force and allow teachers access to firearms locked up in biometric safes.

Hechinger Report.
1) Educators must be on the frontline of social activism: Teacher training should emphasize the power of civic engagement   Teaching is inherently activist. Colleges, schools of education and alternative teacher preparation programs prepare people to engage in activism through teaching and learning. This is not what some politicians would call “indoctrination”; instead, these efforts embrace the potential for educators to be true change agents and justice warriors.
2) Teachers struggle to teach the Holocaust without running afoul of new ‘divisive concepts’ rules: In New Hampshire, laws restricting K-12 instruction on ‘divisive concepts’ yet requiring students be taught about the Holocaust are colliding in the classroom   Educators who run afoul of this provision can face sanctions, including loss of their teaching licenses. 
3) Why it matters that Americans are comparatively bad at math: Employers, experts raise new alarms about competitiveness and national security   Ten years after graduating, math majors out-earn graduates in other fields by about 17 percent… That premium would be even higher if it wasn’t for the fact that 16 percent of math majors become teachers.

InsideHigherEd. A Tenure Critic May Cut Faculty—by Ending Their Programs: Dickinson State University in North Dakota could lose its undergraduate degree offerings in English, math, music and other areas.    …cutting undergraduate degrees in English, math, political science, communication, music, theater, chemistry, environmental science and computer technology management, including the teaching tracks for those subjects, such as math education.

National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP). Fall Institute. Deep Dive: Sharpening Our Advocacy Skills to Promote Community College Teacher Education [FREE. The discussion board will open on Monday, October 16th and the live session will take place on Friday, October 20th at 1 pm MST.]

One Million Teachers of Color Campaign (1MToC)  Mobilizing Toward a Diverse Educator Workforce [WEBINAR: Oct 18, 2023 01:00 PM in E.T.]

Scientific American. Two Thirds of American Kids Can’t Read Fluently: Phonics may be a popular way to teach reading, but it fails too many children   Research offers sound ideas for alternative methods of teaching reading—methods we must explore for the health of our children, our nation and our scientific integrity. Phonics should not have monopolistic power. Even if phonics were effective, it would be important to study alternatives, since they might be faster, cheaper or otherwise more appealing. But given the rates of failure that have plagued phonics for generations, alternatives are not only desirable. They are vital. 

The 74. Montana is Struggling to Retain New Teachers; Experts Cite Waning Ed Graduates   More than half of newly licensed teachers in Montana leave the state or the profession within the first three years on the job and 86% of education graduates decide to leave the state or don’t pursue teaching… One reason the Learning Policy Institute cited was financial. Montana is dead last in starting teacher salaries, which average $36,480.

U.S. Dept. of Education. UPDATED PSLF HELP TOOL  For the first time since the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program began, borrowers can now sign & submit their PSLF form entirely digitally & track its status throughout the process.

Wall Street Journal. Suicide Ignites Debate Over Protecting Teachers   Just five years ago South Korean teachers were more likely than their counterparts in many other wealthy countries to say their profession was valued in society, said Aaron Pallas, professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University… A group of college students training to become teachers blamed the government for structural issues and called the suicide a case of “social manslaughter.”

Washington Post. [Academic rate] Home schooling today is less religious and more diverse, poll finds   In the 1980s and 1990s, activists who viewed home schooling as a form of religious liberty persuaded officials in many states to eliminate or minimize testing of their children’s academic progress and to do away with basic qualifications for parents who wished to be home educators. Today, there may be more openness to oversight.

NEW YORK STATE
New York State Education Department.
1) NYSED Announces Rochester Music Teacher Named 2024 New York State Teacher of the Year Congratulations to Zachary Arenz, a music teacher at Flower City School Number 54 in Rochester… He holds several music [SUNY Fredonia] and arts certificates, as well as a certificate in therapeutic crisis intervention for schools
2) Office of Higher Education September Newsletter
A. Board of Regents September Items: Computer Science Certification, Supplementary Certificate and Supplementary Bilingual Education Extension, School Counselor Certification, Science of Reading
B. Virtual Implementation of Teaching and Learning (Vital) Educator Program: VITAL educators will participate in professional development modules and additional train-the-trainer activities to facilitate their ability to train others on virtual instructional design, curriculum, and practice.

NEW YORK CITY
ABC7NY. NYC educational program offers apprenticeship, work experience for high school students   Hundreds of students are in this unique career-training program. Parents are on board as the kids move straight from high school into jobs in computers making $60,000 to $100,000 a year and this is also expanding to programs in teaching, nursing, and radiology.

Chalkbeat. How to shrink class sizes in NYC? A working group shares its recommendations   The city will also need enough teachers to staff newly opened classes. Education Department officials have estimated that the city’s teaching force, currently at around 76,000, will need to grow by 9,000 by the time the law takes full effect. Suggestions for boosting teacher hiring include easing the process for paraprofessionals and teacher aides to earn their teacher license… 

Gothamist. An NYC student’s yearslong struggle to get proper instruction for dyslexia   … most public school teachers throughout the city, were not trained in how to teach students with dyslexia…

Teachers College.
1) Countering Hate-Fueled Violence, TC’s Amra Sabic-El-Rayess Embarks on New Initiative to Share Unifying Stories: With a new innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the TC professor builds out her comprehensive vision for resilience    Her latest project will create a digital library of unifying stories of resilience told by and for educators that can be integrated into curricula as a resource in violence and hate prevention. 
2) It’s Time To Teach The Truth: A Report on American Attitudes Towards K-12 Education   Please join us at Teachers College on October 5 at 6 PM as the Black Education Research Center (BERC) releases findings from a new national poll capturing Americans’ outlooks on teaching and learning in K-12 public schools in the current political moment. [Oct. 6. 6:00-7:30 PM. Milbank Chapel, 525 W. 120th Street New York, New York 10027]

GLOBAL
Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE). ATEE WINTER CONFERENCE Teacher Professional Development in Times of Global and Glocal Transformations: International Perspectives and Challenges [26-28 October, 2023 University of Minho, Braga, Portugal]

International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET). Future proofing education systems: learning from the legacy of the Covid-19 Network with teachers /teacher educators worldwide: benchmarking knowledge & experiences about post-covid innovations in teaching & learning [Teacher Voice Webinar: Wednesday, 15 November, 18:00 GMT/UK time]

New York Times. In Ukraine, Mathematics Offers Strength in Numbers: Mathematicians gathered in Kyiv and Warsaw to inaugurate a new center and “open, or reopen, Ukrainian science for the world.”   The program is named in memory of Yulia Zdanovska, a talented mathematician and computer scientist, and a teacher with Teach for Ukraine, who was killed in March 2022 at the age of 21 during Russian shelling in her home city of Kharkiv. 

Teachers College Advancing Literacy. International Workshop Series: Explore Ways Your Writing Conferences Can Foster Student Agency (Virtual & FREE)   Join us for a series of free, 1 hour virtual workshops, offered by the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and designed to support educators in international schools, including schools teaching IB programmes. [FREE 14-21 Sep, 2023 – K-8]

UNITED STATES
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
1) 2024 Annual Meeting Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession Into the Future. Early Bird Registration Now Open. [Feb. 16-18 Aurora/Denver, CO]
2) K-State College of Education, Hutchinson Community College Develop Teacher Pathway Program for Area  Kansas State University’s College of Education and Hutchinson Community College have begun a partnership that paves a seamless pathway for area students to earn a bachelor’s degree in education online while remaining in their home communities. This pathway program begins in high school, where students chart their journeys to becoming teachers and take dual credit courses through Hutchinson Community College. 

CNN. Doubling up on classrooms, using online teachers and turning to support staff: How schools are dealing with the ongoing teacher shortage  As states lower the certification standards to become a teacher, education experts worry these tactics could delay students’ recovery from pandemic learning loss. … More states are now “fast-tracking” the teacher certification process. At least 23 states have lowered certification standards for new teachers to get them into classrooms more quickly…

EdWeek.
1) A Majority of New Teachers Aren’t Prepared to Teach With Technology. What’s the Fix?   Many university professors haven’t been classroom teachers for years, Conan Simpson said. While they may try to keep up their skills, they haven’t had firsthand experience with using the latest tech in the classroom. Teacher-preparation programs could get at that problem by hiring technology coaches, the same way school districts do, she suggested. What’s more, many preparation programs used to offer at least one technology course but jettisoned it in favor of integrating tech into every class…
2) How Many Teachers Work in Their Hometown? Here’s the Latest Data   This summer, 10 states joined a new compact promising that they would automatically grant teaching licenses to teachers moving into their state if they have a bachelor’s degree, had completed a state-approved teacher-licensure program in another state, and have a full teaching license…
3) Teachers Work 50-Plus Hours a Week—And Other Findings From a New Survey on Teacher Pay   Past research has found that when comparing weekly wages, teachers earn an average of about 24 percent less than other college-educated workers.
4) Teachers, You Don’t Need to Choose Sides in the Reading Wars   Instead of choosing sides, teachers can: Choose explicit phonics instruction AND content-rich curriculum: Too often, the reading wars are framed as a debate between whether and how to teach phonics. But this framing is inaccurate and misleading. A rich instructional program aligned to the “science of reading” includes both code-breaking and meaning-making. It includes knowledge-building and strategy instruction… 
5) What Teachers Need to Know About AI, But Don’t: Students must be critical AI users. 3 steps for teachers to prepare   2. Preservice teacher training needs a revamp. Some researchers and educators I talked to said schools of education are not exactly known for being ahead of the curve on preparing prospective teachers to integrate emerging technologies into instruction.

Hechinger Report.
1) Our students need up-to-date approaches to math education for a quickly changing world: Data science and statistical reasoning must be part of what all students learn  …statistical reasoning and data fluency are becoming indispensable in the 21st century, regardless of profession. Digital technologies are changing everything from fitness training to personal investing. But many students are missing out on this essential learning because so many teachers feel ill-equipped to teach these topics, simply run out of time or bow to the perceived preferences of colleges.
2) The ‘science of reading’ swept reforms into classrooms nationwide. What about math?: Supporters say teaching practices supported by quantitative research could help students, but they are still coming into focus   Math is “a creative, artistic, playful, reasoning-rich activity. And it’s very different than algorithms,” said Nick Wasserman, a professor of math education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Supporters argue mastering math facts unlocks creative problem-solving by freeing up working memory — and that inquiry, creativity and collaboration are still all crucial to student success.

InsideHigherEd. Despite National Pushback, West Virginia Will Cut Faculty, Programs   During WVU’s official appeal process, the university withdrew some proposed faculty cuts and program eliminations, such as the suggestions to nix the master’s degrees in creative writing, acting and special education… The university is eliminating all its foreign language degrees… and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)…

NYTimes. No One Wants to Be a Teacher Anymore. Can You Blame Them? [Opinion by J. Grose]   So what can be done to help get more teachers into the profession and keep them there? Cutting the costs of a teaching degree is one lever to pull… Teacher pay is an obvious concern, but it is really state dependent… But perhaps just as important is that as a society we need to give teachers more respect…  

Wall Street Journal. Historically Black Colleges Land $124 Million Donation to Boost Enrollment, Graduation Rates: Donation from Blue Meridian Partners will support recruitment, technology, student advising   “I have an asset that’s performing well, but is underinvested,” said Jim Shelton, president and chief investment and impact officer at Blue Meridian, noting that HBCUs already educate a significant share of Black doctors, teachers and lawyers. “If I put in more resources, what could happen?”

Washington Post.
1) Holding kids back can’t explain Mississippi’s education ‘miracle’   In Mississippi, literacy coaches have been painstakingly selected, trained and monitored by the state and dispatched to perform one job: supporting teachers as they learn, and learn to teach, the science of reading. Teacher preparation programs have evolved to encompass these methods. The curricular materials recommended by the state match up, too. 
2) KIPP charter grads finish college at higher rates than their peers   Feinberg and Levin invented KIPP during a late-night brainstorming session in October 1993 at the apartment they shared in Houston. They were elementary school teachers recruited by the Teach For America program.

NEW YORK STATE
NYS Dept. of Labor.
1) 2023 Job Seeker Survey Results  If specific skill training were available (on your schedule and affordable/at no-cost), in what type(s) of training would you be interested? 1. Digital Skills… 19. Teaching… 24. Home Health Aide
2) 2023 Business Workforce Survey Results  Which positions are most difficult to fill? Business’ ranked responses: All Industries/Statewide (2023) 1. Teacher

NYS Education Department (NYSED) Board of Regents. September meetings
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Higher Education Committee
1) Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Requirements for Certification as a School Counselor through Individual Evaluation
2) Proposed Amendment … relating to Regents Accreditation
3) Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Computer Science Tenure Area

CONSENT AGENDA (all motions passed)
A. Higher Education Committee
1) Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Deadline to Apply and Qualify for the Provisional School Counselor Certificate   The proposed amendment would provide appropriate flexibility for qualified candidates who completed a registered program leading to Provisional School Counselor certification, as well as candidates who may still be matriculating in this type of program but will complete it by February 2, 2024.
2) Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extending a Flexibility for Incidental Teaching   Through incidental teaching, certified teachers can teach a subject not covered by their certificate when no certified or qualified teachers are available after extensive and documented recruitment… The Department now proposes to extend the flexibility for incidental teaching again through the 2023-2024 school year. This proposal enables school districts to address their continuing teacher shortages by providing them with flexibility in making teaching assignments.
3) Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Employment of Substitute Teachers   Given the successful implementation of this flexibility for seven school years, the Department is proposing to remove the end date for this provision that has been in effect since July 27, 2016… Thus, substitute teachers who do not hold a valid teaching certificate and are not working towards certification, but who hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, may be employed by a school district or BOCES beyond the 40-day limit during a school year

B. Higher Education/P-12 Education Joint Meeting Committee
Proposed Amendment…Relating to Flexibilities for the Supplementary Certificate and Supplementary Bilingual Education Extension Requirements in Response to the Influx of Recently Arrived and Asylum-Seeking Students   the Department proposes to amend the Supplementary certificate requirements to provide flexibility for certified teachers who apply for the Supplementary English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certificate, and for teachers who hold a valid Initial, Professional, or Permanent ESOL certificate and apply for a Supplementary certificate in another area, who apply for such extension between September 12, 2023, and August 31, 2024. This flexibility will allow candidates to complete either the examination requirement or the enrollment and education requirements, instead of both sets of requirements…This flexibility will allow candidates to pass the Bilingual Education Assessment (BEA), if available, in lieu of matriculating in a registered program leading to a Bilingual Education extension and completing coursework. Additionally, the proposed amendment permits candidates to renew the Supplementary Bilingual Education extension one time for a period of three years from effective date of the renewal if they obtain their first extension through this flexibility and meet the currently existing requirements for the extension as described above.
If adopted as an emergency rule at the September 2023 Regents meeting, the emergency rule will become effective September 12, 2023… Because the emergency action will expire before the January 2024 Regents meeting, it is anticipated that an additional emergency action will be presented for adoption at the November 2023 meeting. If adopted at the January 2024 meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective as a permanent rule on January 24, 2024.

C. Professional Practice Committee
Proposed Addition … and repeal… Relating to the Licensure of Applied Behavior Analysts and Certification of Applied Behavior Analyst Assistants  The proposed amendment implements the provisions of Chapters 818 and 641, and makes additional amendments to LBA and CBAA provisions to align such provisions more closely with national standards If adopted as an emergency rule at the September 2023 meeting, the emergency rule will become effective September 12, 2023… Because the emergency action will expire before the December 2023 Regents meeting, it is anticipated that an additional emergency action will be presented at the October 2023 meeting. If adopted at the December meeting, the proposed revised rule will become effective as a permanent rule on December 27, 2023.

NYSED News. State Education Department Announces Rochester Music Teacher Named 2024 New York State Teacher of the Year   The Board of Regents today named Zachary Arenz, a music teacher at Flower City School Number 54 in Rochester, as the 2024 New York State Teacher of the Year… He holds several music and arts certificates, as well as a certificate in therapeutic crisis intervention for schools.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. Eric Adams vowed all NYC students would get dyslexia screening. So far 1,500 have.  Education department officials said they were paying close attention to schools that are part of the city’s sweeping new literacy curriculum mandate — starting with nearly half of all elementary campuses this year. They will have access to educators who are trained to deliver the screening and provide more individual help to address students’ reading challenges, said Carolyne Quintana, the Education Department’s deputy chancellor of teaching and learning

NY Amsterdam News. URBAN AGENDA: A Conversation with NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks   As far as resources go, perhaps our most important resources are our 5,100-plus teachers with bilingual or English as a New Language certifications – who, as of last week, are now able to teach under that certification without losing tenure they’ve gained under another teaching license. This will ensure we are maximizing the number of teachers who are best positioned to support our newest students.

NYDailyNews. Faced with migrant surge, NYC schools cutting red tape to increase the number of bilingual teachers   The city is scrapping a bureaucratic hurdle to get qualified teachers in front of thousands of migrant children, as public schools face a shortage of bilingual educators on the first day of classes. Teachers with more than one certificate — which can include expertise in bilingual or English as a new language programs — are often dissuaded from switching subjects, due to strict tenure rules that require them to start over accruing seniority. But the immediate changes announced Thursday will give tenured teachers in other subjects, who also have the skill set to teach the newcomer students English, automatic tenure — freeing up another 500 to 600 educators to pivot without impacting their careers.

Teachers College.
1) Meet Our Latest Faculty Granted Tenure and Full Professorships   Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Professor of English Education, has dedicated her research to the exploration of racial literacy within teacher education. She collaborates with K-12 and higher education institutions to elevate racial literacy awareness and cultivate more equitable learning environments for Black and Latinae students
2) Meet TC’s Newest Faculty Members: Set to cultivate courageous inquiry through research and scholarship at TC, several new faculty members join the College’s robust academic community this fall   Tamara Handy, Assistant Professor Disability Studies in Education,.. Her research focuses on the intersections of race and disability among children and youth, and their current and future teachers in relation to special education and inclusive education systems in public schools. Handy has extensive experience working with organizations like UNICEF and GIZ in the development sector, contributing to teacher education and professional development projects in Sri Lanka… Daniela Romero-Amaya (Ph.D. ’21, M.A. ’15), a graduate of the Social Studies Education and International Education Development programs. Her research interests include social studies education, human rights and social justice approaches to teaching and learning, among other topics. She’s completed teacher education initiatives across the world, including in her home nation of Colombia, the topic of much of her research.