Tag: Teacher Education

GLOBAL
Dublin City University. DCU Institute of Education Announces Five New Teacher Fellows   This week, Professor Anne Looney, Executive Dean of the DCU Institute of Education, announced the names of five primary and post-primary teachers who were awarded a two-year fellowship at the university, starting in September 2023. This initiative was developed to benefit the next generation of teachers and further enhance the quality of the teaching profession in Ireland.

New Zimbabwe. Education Reform in Zimbabwe: Empowering Future Generations    The reforms invest in teacher training and support. It enhances instructional skills and pedagogical techniques. It also improves their ability to deliver instructions and gives them more autonomy and flexibility in class and on campus. As a result, it leads to higher job satisfaction.

The Telegraph Online. Delhi University dumps teacher course, set to roll out new one at govt’s behest   Delhi University is set to roll out an integrated graduation-cum-teacher training course at the behest of the government, discontinuing its reputable Bachelor of Elementary Education (BElEd) course, in a move decried by academics as a dilution of teacher education.

UNITED STATES
ABC15. Arizona Teacher Residency program to expand next year   The Arizona Teacher Residency program just wrapped up its first school year with 22 Northern Arizona University students learning real-world classroom experience throughout the year. The expansion continues into the next year as the program received a grant that will allow them to have up to 40 students in residency.

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).  North Carolina Governor Declares State of Emergency for Public Education   …concerns presented by the Governor throughout his video address include: * 5,000 teacher vacancies that need to be breached, which is where he said the average pay raises exacerbated the problem… *The “political culture wars” that he said would put “politicians in charge of curriculum-setting, micromanage what teachers can teach, and target LGBTQ+ students.” He mentioned the elimination of some science classes and the restructuring of history curricula.

American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA). 5 Shifts for Addressing the Educators Shortage. PK–12 stakeholders—including federal and state governments, associations and nonprofits, educator preparation programs, and local education agencies—are encouraged to use this paper to accelerate their progress in addressing the educator shortage.

American Educational Research Association (AERA). AERA Selects Leslie T. Fenwick to Deliver 2023 Brown Lecture in Education Research   Fenwick’s widely disseminated policy research monographs and op-ed articles have been cited and published by leading national media outlets, think tanks, and education associations; has delivered more than 100 distinguished lectures and keynotes to national and international audiences; and regularly appears in the media discussing equal educational opportunity, educator workforce diversity, and education policy. 

Brookings Register. Teacher apprenticeship pilot program to launch next fall in South Dakota   The South Dakota Department of Education has made available an application for its new Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway. The department, and its partners, will pilot the program beginning in the 2023-24 school year. The program’s intent is to take successful para-educators, or teacher aides, and help them pursue certification to become fully accredited teachers. Northern State University and Dakota State University will offer the necessary coursework over a two-year period…

Chalkbeat. Indiana’s new ‘science of reading’ law requires districts to adopt research-backed curriculum   The law also requires teachers who teach literacy in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to receive a literacy endorsement through the state if they receive their teaching license after June 30, 2025. School districts are required to offer extra pay for teachers who have the literacy endorsement. 

EdSurge.
1) A New Feature of Teacher Prep Programs? Compensating Future Educators for Their Time   Like other teacher candidates at Dallas College, apprentices will complete a year-long residency, where they’re working in a classroom at least three days a week. The difference is that apprentices’ employers must commit to incremental wage increases as apprentices inch closer to full teacher certification. This model also comes with the benefit of unlocking additional funding for job training.
2) Readers React to EdSurge Articles About Teachers Leaving the Classroom   A teacher in California: “Teaching is hard and I can’t survive without stress until I finally get my credential, which with the edTPA has been a nightmare. However, teaching kids is my passion. I am devoted and I can’t see myself doing anything else. 

Grand Island Independent (NE). Grand Island educators reflect on repeal of testing requirement for prospective teachers   Last week Gov. Jim Pillen signed off on repealing Rule 92, which required a standardized test for teacher candidates. Some, including Grand Island-area educators, said the test, Praxis, was a barrier… The repeal goes into effect this fall.

Hechinger Reports.
1) Do math drills help children learn?: Timed tests might be a more efficient way to memorize multiplication tables, but even advocates caution that there are many pitfalls   The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics urges teachers to “avoid” timed tests… The Science of Math group concurs that not all timed practice is good…They also say that teachers should never count these tests toward students’ grades; the tests should be low-stakes practice.
2) Inside Florida’s ‘underground lab’ for far-right education policies: In Sarasota County, as school board members battle over book bans, character education, attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals and ‘woke audits,’ students feel like ‘non-consenting lab rats’   Ziegler proposed hiring Vermilion for two consulting projects, one of indefinite duration and expense. They included … undertaking a sweeping “District Improvement Study” to review all the district’s curricula, teacher training programs, union contracts and policies. 
3) Students with disabilities often left out of popular ‘dual-language’ programs: Advocates say it’s both a missed opportunity and discrimination   Hai Son, principal of Mather Elementary School, sees the state ban’s continued impact on the teacher pipeline. A whole generation of bilingual students and young teachers who might have gone into bilingual education never did.

InsideHigherEd. Senate OKs Resolution to Block Loan Forgiveness   The SBPC and the American Federation of Teachers previously found that the student loans of more than 260,000 public servants would be reinstated under the resolution. 

Lansing State Journal. Lansing School District receives nearly $1M for teacher training, certification   The $959,694 grant through a Michigan Department of Education program funded with federal dollars will fund a new “Grow Your Own” program to fill vacancies that have been occupied by long-term substitute teachers.

NEA News. Life as a Contingent Faculty Member: The higher education system depends on the labor of adjuncts, yet these faculty remain underpaid and undervalued.   The higher education system has become increasingly dependent on temporary labor: nearly 70% of U.S. faculty members held a contingent position in fall 2021, up from 47% in 1987.

New York Times.
1) Mississippi Is Offering Lessons for America on Education  Mississippi made the calculated decision to offer high-quality full-day programs, with qualified teachers paid at the same rate as elementary school staff members, rather than offer a second-rate program to more children.
2) The GRE Test Is Cut in Half: Two Hours and Done   Graduate school applicants will take the new version of the standardized test beginning in September, a tacit acknowledgment of its declining relevance in admissions.

Tallahassee Democrat. Former FAMU educator, philanthropist Anne Gayles-Felton celebrating 100th birthday at gala   Throughout the decades that she spent at FAMU, she served in roles that included undergraduate and graduate professor of secondary education and foundations, college supervisor of interns, director of student teaching, curriculum coordinator, and head of the department of secondary education and foundations.

The 74. Girls & Math: Teachers Who Claim Gender Equality Still Show Bias Against Girls   Our study identifies factors that underlie such biases; namely, that biases are stronger among teachers who believe that gender discrimination is not a problem in the United States. Understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and biases can help teacher educators create effective and targeted interventions to remove such biases from classrooms.

WCSJ News. Illinois General Assembly’s Bill Approval to Address Teacher Shortage   Senate Bill 1488, proposed by Bennett, grants a waiver for the edTPA requirement for prospective teachers until August 31, 2025. The legislation also establishes the Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force, charged with studying different teacher evaluation systems and developing a new assessment approach for Illinois teachers. The task force must present its findings no later than August 1, 2024. Having successfully passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, the bill now awaits the Governor’s signature to become law. 

NEW YORK STATE
Buffalo News. Program shows the benefits of relatable reading options for students   The consortium engages with city schools and provides resources for current and future teachers through the year, with an annual conference in September. At last year’s event, the university’s teacher education team announced Reynolds’ booking and launched the project. The consortium provided mini grants to schools to buy sets of books and prepare students in grades 5-8 for their visit to campus.

Chalkbeat. Child care workers could receive up to $3,000 in bonuses, under new state retention program   Veteran certified prekindergarten teachers at community-based organizations can earn just 53% of their counterpart’s salary at a public school’s pre-K program, he said. An assistant teacher could sacrifice more than $235,000 over a 25-year career at a community-based organization.

New York State Education Department, Office of Higher Education. Educator Preparation May 2023 Newsletter
1) Board of Regents May Items  The Board of Regents adopted a regulatory amendment to revise several of the new student teaching requirements * Student Teaching * Substitute Teachers *Incidental Teaching *Reciprocity
2) Distance Education Flexibility Extended  …extending the current distance education flexibility (see previous memo from April 2022) until the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.
3) Reminders For Teacher and School Building Leader Preparation Programs  *Teacher Performance Assessment Submission Process *Special Application for School Building Leader Programs to Show Alignment with the PSELs.

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College Prepared to Teach. On July 1, 2023, Prepared To Teach will become an independent national organization!   As we transition, we want to share our gratitude for all our wonderful partners across the country who are the backbone of this movement—and, of course, to Bank Street!

Chalkbeat. NYC’s literacy mandate: Why one reading program is gaining the most traction    Curriculum experts and department insiders pointed to a series of interlocking factors that may have helped Into Reading elbow out the competition. The program is widely perceived as easier for teachers to implement, especially with little time remaining before deploying it in September. Plus, Into Reading has a Spanish version…

Teachers College. Teacher Preparation for Comprehensive Literacy Instruction   TC faculty from eight teacher education programs explore how the tools from educational psychology, special education, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and responsive instruction inform our preparation of teachers and school leaders. [Wednesday June 7 10:00 am–3:00 pm Milbank Chapel 525 West 120th Street NYC]

GLOBAL
New York Times. On the Front Line of an Education Revolution   Quality of education remains a huge problem worldwide. The World Bank estimates that 70 percent of 10-year-olds in poor and middle-income countries can’t read a simple text. In Nigeria, three-quarters of children age 7 to 14 can’t read a simple sentence. Sierra Leone is trying to break out of that trap with investments in more and better teachers who earn more…

onmanorama. DU’s 3 colleges to opt for centre’s 4-year integrated teacher education programme   Three colleges of Delhi University will adopt the centre’s four-year integrated teacher education programme from 2023-24, a senior varsity official informed on Tuesday.

The Conversation. Working with kids, being passionate about a subject, making a difference: what makes people switch careers to teaching?   Mid-career or “career change” students are increasingly common in teacher education programs. The most recent Australian data shows as of 2017, one-third of new applicants were 25 or older. We also know there are plenty of people interested. A 2022 survey by the federal government’s Behavioural Economics Team found one in three mid-career individuals was open to the idea of teaching.

Washington Post. Pegasus spyware reaches into Mexican president’s inner circle   When López Obrador became president in 2018, he tasked Encinas with investigating one of Mexico’s most notorious scandals: the disappearance of 43 young men studying at a teachers college in Ayotzinapa in 2014. In a report last August, Encinas blamed the police, the armed forces and civilian officials, as well as drug traffickers, for the disappearances and what he called a subsequent coverup.

UNITED STATES
ABC News. Why there’s a special education and STEM teacher shortage and what can be done   Experts interviewed for this story suggested pipeline programs could be the key to preparing teachers to enter the field in the years to come.

Chalkbeat. Detroit charter school to offer $100,000 teacher salaries   A Detroit charter school is offering $100,000 annual salaries to certain teachers with five or more years of experience, in a bold bid to increase the number of certified teachers at the school.

EdWeek. Ron DeSantis Is Running for President. What Will That Mean for K-12 Schools?   Trump, who did not focus much on education in his 2016 or 2020 campaigns, has made education a central part of his 2024 run… The former president went on to propose a platform that would cut funding for schools “pushing critical race theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children,” prevent transgender girls from playing girls’ sports, create a credentialing body to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic views,”… 

Ford County Chronicle. Bennett Passes Teacher Shortage Legislation through General Assembly   Both chambers of the Illinois General have now given their approval to a plan filed by Senator Bennett to reform teacher licensing requirements and provide some relief from the statewide teacher shortage… Senate Bill 1488, filed by Bennett, waives the edTPA requirement for prospective teachers through August 31, 2025. The legislation also creates the Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force, which will be tasked with studying various teacher evaluation systems and developing a new system to be implemented for Illinois teachers. 

InsideHigherEd. AFT Report Details Impact of Blocking Student Loan Forgiveness   The report says the student loans of more than 260,000 public servants would be reinstated under the Congressional Review Act resolution. Another two million workers would lose progress toward debt relief under Public Service Loan Forgiveness. House Republicans have said the resolution is not retroactive and wouldn’t reinstate payments or roll back credits toward relief in the PSLF program.

KTHV-TV Little Rock. UA Little Rock receives $3.5 million grant for teacher education   The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $3.5 million grant from the Windgate Foundation to help support the transformation of teacher education.

LPI. Educating Teachers in California: What Matters for Teacher Preparedness?   Summary of Findings *The pool of recently prepared graduates from California TPPs has increased in size and racial/ethnic diversity. *Teacher residencies, which provide a full academic year of subsidized clinical training while candidates complete credential coursework, now prepare about 10% of new teachers. *Completers who participated in residencies were the most likely to rate their programs as highly effective, closely followed by those who participated in student teaching. *Most multiple subject completers and education specialists (i.e., special education teachers) reported having substantial preparation for teaching reading, writing, and math, and this type of learning was associated with increased feelings of preparedness. *Teacher candidates have unequal access to highly rated preparation and clinical experiences, with Black and Native American completers as well as education specialists having less access than their peers…

NEA News. ‘Lose Your School, You Lose Your Town’: Educators in Rural States Mobilize Against School Vouchers   The political terrain has since shifted quite dramatically, says Samuel E. Abrams, director of the ‌National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. “Vouchers so far have had little impact in rural areas of the country,” he explains. “But there’s no question about their new momentum—and the impact on rural schools and their communities could be grim. As the mayor of Woodbine, Iowa, told me several years ago, ‘If you lose your school, you lose your town.’”  

NebraskaTV. Educators applaud end of teacher test, may have kept good teachers out of the classroom   …Gov. Jim Pillen has repealed a requirement that teachers take a professional exam known as the Praxis Core.

New York Times.
1) 10 Ideas for Reflecting at the End of the School Year  Inspired by Times articles and features from across sections, these exercises can help both students and teachers think about their growth.
2) The Surprising Obstacle to Overhauling How Children Learn to Read: New York is the latest large city to join a national push to change how children are taught to read. But principals and teachers may resist uprooting old practices.   Many colleges of education still teach flawed strategies like encouraging children to guess words using picture cues. And teachers often worry over the quality of training in the new approaches that outside organizations offer.

Washington Post.
1) House votes to overturn Biden’s student loan forgiveness program   The conservative nonprofit Mackinac Center for Public Policy also sued, saying the payment moratorium amounts to government overreach and undermines the power of the congressionally approved Public Service Loan Forgiveness as a recruiting tool.
2) On the latest obsession with phonics   As researchers and teacher educators, we, like many of our colleagues, shake our heads in resigned frustration. We believe phonics plays an important role in teaching children to read. But, we see no justifiable support for its overwhelming dominance within the current narrative, nor reason to regard phonics as a panacea for improving reading achievement… Most of all, we are concerned that ill-advised legislation will unnecessarily constrain teachers’ options for effective reading instruction.
3) Students need help catching up after covid. Are interventionists the solution?   Chicago Public Schools has turned to academic interventionists — a cadre of hundreds of mostly classroom teachers already on the district’s payroll, tapped this year to turbocharge the learning of struggling students one-on-one or in small groups… They have expanded after-school programs, started an in-house tutor corps, and poured millions in teacher training…

NEW YORK STATE
University at Albany. Virginia Goatley Named Dean of UAlbany’s School of Education   Goatley is a regular participant in national and statewide efforts for teacher education and preparation of literacy professionals. She is currently a board member of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (treasurer), New York State Professional Standards and Practices for Teaching Board (co-chair), New York Association of College Teacher Educators, and the Literacy Research Association. She was a co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research, a publication of the Literacy Research Association, from 2016 to 2019.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. NYC drafts plan to shrink class sizes, but changes won’t start next school year    They estimate it will cost $1.3 billion a year for new teachers when the plan is fully implemented… There might be exemptions for schools where they have insufficient numbers of teachers in subjects that are hard to fill, like bilingual math; the teachers union can negotiate higher class sizes for electives and specialty classes if the majority of a school’s staff approves the increase. 

EdWeek. New York City Does About-Face on ChatGPT in Schools   Teachers at the school also used the tool for lesson planning. The district now plans to offer teachers support in helping their students explore ChatGPT and other AI tools, Banks wrote.

Teachers College. Teacher Preparation for Comprehensive Literacy Instruction  Faculty from eight teacher education programs explore how the tools from educational psychology, special education, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and responsive instruction inform our preparation of teachers and school leaders. [Wednesday, June 7 · 10am -3pm · EDT Milbank Chapel 525 W 120th Street Zankel Building 125 New York, NY 10027]

UNITED STATES
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
1) Journal of Teacher Education Welcomes New Editor-in-Residence   A. Lin Goodwin (葛文林) is the Thomas More Brennan Chair of Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Prior to joining Boston College, she was dean of the faculty (i.e., School) of Education at the University of Hong Kong (2017-2022) and vice dean at Teachers College, Columbia University (TCCU) in New York (2011-2017), where she also held the Evenden Foundation Chair in Education.  
2) EDUCATORS for America Act is Re-Introduced in Congress   Last week, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) re-introduced the EDUCATORS for America Act. This legislation is essential for retaining, growing, and diversifying our educator workforce and pipeline.

American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE). AAEE 2022-2023 Supply and Demand Report  * Urban and rural districts are more likely than suburban districts to hire teachers without traditional preparation * The primary reason for districts to hire teachers without traditional preparation is the lack of traditional candidates who apply…

Chalkbeat. High-dosage tutoring is still hard. Here’s what schools have learned.    Even with training, tutors didn’t always use the tried-and-true strategies for helping students.

CT Mirror. CT to combat teacher shortage with $3M for recruitment, support   The state’s education and labor departments unveiled a plan to create a new teacher Registered Apprentice Program, and expand existing efforts in recruitment, including investing in paraeducator job fairs and expanding high schools’ “grow-your-own” programs which work to mold current students into future teachers.

EdSource. Proposed state budget could make becoming a teacher easier   California’s proposed state budget revision could make a dent in the state’s ongoing teacher shortage by reducing obstacles to earning teaching credentials, such as making it easier for members of the military and their spouses to earn teaching credentials, requiring that teacher residents are paid and preparing more bilingual teachers.

Education Week.
1) Student-Teachers Could Earn $20K in This State   Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed into law a measure that would provide $20,000 stipends to student teachers and take other steps to stem Maryland’s educator shortage and diversify its teacher pipeline. And advocates say the measure could be a model to other states struggling with the same challenges.
2) What’s Motivating These Teachers to Become Educators [Video] Education Week asked teachers and student teachers about why they decided to become educators.

Hechinger Report.
1) As science denial grows, science museums fight back by teaching scientific literacy  …programs like the one at AMNH are training teachers to help students navigate complicated scientific topics in their classrooms… Each year, the Manhattan-based museum trains roughly 4,000 teachers on subjects like the human body, evolution and climate change in a variety of professional development programs. The museum also offers a master of arts in Teaching Earth Sciences Residency…
2) Alabama doesn’t want early childhood teachers talking about bias. Researchers say they need to  “Basically, we need to make sure that we’re arming teachers to understand their own implicit and explicit biases that they’re bringing into the classroom,” said Terri Sabol, a professor at Northwestern…
3) Grandparents, neighbors and friends are propping up the child care industry. They need help.  Nationwide, aid for family and friend caregivers is rare. In 23 states, there are no known statewide supports for relatives and friends who provide child care. Many of these providers don’t view themselves as educators, but rather as caregivers who are simply helping their families. Few attend educational workshops or get help from a home visitor or coach.
4) Opinion: Palestinian American educators deserve support from their peers.  Although emotionally taxing, these instances of discrimination do not surprise the Palestinian American teachers in my network, because many of them know what it is like to grow up marginalized in American schools. It is what inspired them to pursue a career in education.

InsideHigherEd.
1) Federal Student Aid Funding Woes Complicate Resuming Student Loan Payments   The spokesman noted that restarting payments is an “an unprecedented and herculean task” and that the department has several efforts underway to accomplish that task. That includes the one-time debt-relief plan, offering borrowers in default a way out, a new income-driven repayment program and discharging the loans of borrowers who qualify through public service…
2) Injunction Sought to Force Restart of Student Loan Payments   The organization wrote that the pause undermines the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which discharges debt for borrowers who work in public service jobs for 10 years.
3) Public Service Loan Forgiveness Totals $42 Billion   “FSA is making the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program as easy as possible so all public servants can finally get the loan forgiveness they have earned,” Federal Student Aid chief operating officer Richard Cordray said in a news release.

New Jersey Monitor. N.J. lawmakers look for more solutions to teacher shortage   New Jersey lawmakers remain on the hunt for new solutions to the state’s longstanding teacher shortage, with Assembly Democrats introducing a package of 12 bills intended to recruit people to work in education… Some laws relaxing certification requirements have gone into effect, like doing away with the controversial edTPA testing requirement and a pilot program to allow teachers who don’t meet certain criteria to apply for certification.

Pearson Education. edTPA® Community Newsletter May 2023
The 74.
1) New Report: How Districts Can Protect Fair Access to Dual Language Programs   Local, state and federal policymakers should increase public investments in growing these programs. Above all, this means committing resources to train and license more of the bilingual teachers necessary to expand dual language instruction. 
2) Report: Training of Ohio Teachers in the ‘Science of Reading’ Earns Mixed Grades   In an evaluation of 26 public and private Ohio teacher training programs by the National Council on Teacher Quality released today, seven received A grades for instructing new educators in how to use the science of reading with young students, while six received Fs… The report graded each teacher training program in the science of reading instruction by reviewing course descriptions and syllabi to see what classes cover. They did not observe classes.

UNC Charlotte. Transformational Gift for Teacher Literacy Education   …$23 million from the North Carolina-based Mebane Foundation… Over the next five years, the transformative investment will allow the Cato College of Education to greatly expand its early literacy teacher development, community engagement and research. 

Washington Post.
1) For preschoolers after the pandemic, more states say: Learn outdoors   In northeast Baltimore, officials with Backyard Basecamp, which focuses on expanding access to nature among communities of color… is working on training naturalists of color who can become teachers to “reflect the people we are serving,” said Tatiana Mason, program director at Backyard Basecamp.
2) New look at benefits of quality preschool education   High-quality preschool programs provide much more than just the ABCs and counting. They support the development of the whole child — cognitive, social, emotional and physical. The programs we found to be effective had better-prepared, better-paid teachers and smaller classes than is typical. The strongest evidence is for programs in public schools with the best-educated, best-paid teachers. 
3) New York City requires reading instruction to be phonics-based   Under the new system, districts will choose one of three curriculums to use in all of their schools. The choices are Wit & Wisdom (which is not phonics-based and would be paired with a phonics program), Expeditionary Learning and Into Reading. The change will be implemented in about half the city this fall and the second half in 2024. Teacher trainings were beginning this week.
4) To fight teacher shortages, states send people to college for free: Apprenticeships are helping to expand and diversify the ranks of educators   …popularity of the apprenticeship programs suggests there is an untapped talent pool: people who have the desire and the heart — but not the financial means — to become a teacher. What schools have found is that many of the people who fall in to that category are already working for them in roles that do not require bachelor’s degrees…

NEW YORK STATE
AMNY. Here’s what the new proposed history and social studies curriculum on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander could look like.  Kong said that the coalition is especially proud of its advocacy efforts that ensured the bill language included Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, as well as a curriculum that teaches the history of solidarity between AANHPIs and other communities of color… Tapal said that the current curriculum teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history is “missing a comprehensive discussion on cross-racial solidarity communities of color — especially between African American and Asian Americans. 

NYS Assembly.
1) Bill A04659 introduced. Requires the commissioner of education to establish and enforce rules and regulations to incorporate at least a three credit course devoted to the instructional techniques necessary for effective literacy instruction which shall include delivering structured, systematic, explicit, evidence-based instruction in reading, including but not limited to those incorporating multisensory instruction for current and prospective teachers.
2) Bill A07101 introduced. Establishes the “New York individuals with dyslexia education act”; implements a plan to identify and support students with characteristics of dyslexia; requires annual screening in grades K-5; directs intervention and notification; direct education department to develop a handbook providing guidance to parents and teachers… h. The dyslexia interventionist shall have successfully completed a certification training course or shall have completed training in the appropriate implementation of the evidence-based, dyslexia-specific intervention being provided, including but not limited to an Orton-Gillingham based approach or another multi-sensory  structured  literacy  approach  accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC).

NYSED Board of Regents. May 14-15 Meetings
Higher Education Committee Proposed Amendments
Proposed Amendment… Relating to Extending a Flexibility for Incidental Teaching   At its December 2020 meeting, the Board of Regents permanently adopted regulatory amendments to increase the amount of incidental teaching permitted in schools from up to five classroom hours a week to up to 10 classroom hours a week during the 2020-2021 school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.. The Department now proposes to extend the flexibility for incidental teaching again through the 2023-2024 school year.
Proposed Amendment… Relating to the Employment of Substitute Teachers   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 under the conditions outlined above. By no longer having an end date, school districts and BOCES may continue to address persistent teacher shortages and plan for their staffing needs for the upcoming school year with certainty.

Higher Education Consent Agenda
Amendment… of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Student Teaching Requirements for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and Through the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification   The unit of measurement for length of the student teaching experience would be 70 school days, or its equivalent, instead of a full semester of at least 14 weeks, full-time… With the limited exemption, candidates complete at least 50 clock hours of student teaching or practica (unless otherwise prescribed in the specific program requirements) that includes a focus on the applicable program-specific pedagogical core requirements for the certificate title. VOTED: That sections 52.21 and 80-3.7 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective May 31, 2023.
Amendment… of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Educator Certification for Candidates from Another State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia   The Department proposes to revise the certificate requirement in the endorsement pathway for teacher, educational leader, and Initial and Professional School Counselor certification such that certificates from another U.S. state or territory or the District of Columbia may be “comparable” instead of “equivalent” to the New York State certificate title and type sought… The proposed amendment also removes the time period during which candidates must complete their three years of experience for the endorsement pathway… VOTED: That sections 80-3.10, 80-5.8, 80-5.20, and 80-5.23 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective May 31, 2023.

NYSED News. State Finalists Selected for 2023 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching 2023. PAEMST New York State Mathematics Finalists (7-12) incl. Dr. Elizabeth Brennan DeGraaf (Teachers College, Phd 2015)

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) Better pay and more hours: NYC Council leaders push for changes to 3-K, pre-K programs.  Four years ago, the city agreed to boost salaries for teachers at community organizations with a certified masters degree, to $69,000 a year by October 2021, matching the salary of a first-year teacher at the education department.
2) NYC forces elementary schools to use one of three reading programs in massive literacy push   But a new curriculum alone is unlikely to dramatically improve student learning. Much of the plan will hinge on how effective the city’s training is and whether educators buy in to the changes. Meanwhile, curriculum shifts often take years to execute, and there is little time to train thousands of teachers who will be expected to transition to new materials beginning in September.
3) NYC schools grasp for support as some migrant students miss out on mandated English instruction   …some teachers say their schools don’t have enough funding to hire more staff who are equipped to work with newcomer English learners. Some schools have the money, but have struggled to find teachers due to a long-standing shortage of bilingual teachers. 

CityLimits. At New York’s Other Selective Public Schools: Auditions for 9th Grade  While current figures are not available, a 2014 report by the city comptroller found more than 42 percent of all city public schools without any certified arts teachers were in the South Bronx or Central Brooklyn.

Columbia University Engineering Outreach. Summer Program for NYC STEM Teachers: 2023 NSF COSMOS-NewLAW-CS3 Research Experience and Mentoring for Teachers   …an intense summer program for teachers who learn the basics of wireless technology and how to enhance the teaching material for their students using the predesigned online lessons/labs… For 2023, the program will take place from July 10 to July 28. The teachers will be paid $4,000 for their time during the summer and for implementing their lessons during the school year.

Teachers College.
1) Graduates Gallery 2023.
* Hanyue Sha (M.A. ’23, Bilingual/Bicultural Education)   Sha hopes to help expand resources to support vocabulary growth, reading comprehension and overall literacy for more bilingual children, perhaps in German, another language she speaks.
* Carolina Snaider (Ed.D. ’23, Early Childhood Education)  Snaider has seen the positive impact of critical teacher education firsthand while at TC and it has inspired her to work with future teachers to encourage new perspectives on early childhood education.
2) Reimagine Resilience Workshop FREE 6 hours CEUs/CTLEs. 2 hours of pre-course work, 3 hours live [Thurs, May 18th 5pm -8pm EST OR Saturday, May 20th 1pm-4pm EST]
3) Teacher Preparation for Comprehensive Literacy Instruction  Faculty from eight teacher education programs explore how the tools from educational psychology, special education, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and responsive instruction inform our preparation of teachers and school leaders. [Wednesday, June 7 · 10am EDT Milbank Chapel 525 W 120th Street Zankel Building 125 New York, NY 10027]

The74. NYC Charter School Raises Teacher Starting Salary to $140,000   Compared to wealthy suburban New York districts where six figure salaries are more common TEP’s salary nearly doubles starting pay for teachers with master’s degrees… New teachers with master’s in Westchester County’s Scarsdale district earn $71,306. On Long Island, Syosset Central Schools pay new teachers with master’s $78,002. 

GLOBAL
Education Week. Book Bans and Divisive Concepts Laws Will Hold U.S. Students Back, Secretary Cardona Says   Cardona joined education ministers and teachers’ union leaders from 22 countries here at the International Summit on the Teaching Profession... The U.S. delegation, including the Education Department staff and representatives from the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the Council of Chief State School Officers, identified four actions to take over the next year:…strengthening support for educators and improve teacher preparation and leadership to grow and retain the workforce; and modernizing education so all students have access to high-quality career pathways, and teachers…

The Tribune. Amritsar: Talk organised on teacher education   The GNDU organised a special seminar on the subject 75 years of India’s independence and teacher education as part of the series of programmes of Pradhya Ka Amrit Mahautsav… Teachers are the builders of our nation and the education imparted by teachers has to decide the future of the country… 

UNESCO. 2023 SDG 4 scorecard report on progress towards national SDG 4 benchmarks   Three in four countries have submitted benchmarks, or national targets, to be achieved by 2025 and 2030 for at least some of seven SDG 4 indicators: early childhood education attendance; out-of-school rates; completion rates; gender gaps in completion rates; minimum proficiency rates in reading and mathematics; trained teachers; and public education expenditure…

UNITED STATES
AACTE. The Science of Reading: Recommendations on the Preparation of Teachers to Deliver Effective Reading Instruction   … the authors define the science of reading, discuss effective reading instruction and teacher preparation, share voices from the field, and provide recommendations for Educator Preparation Programs as well as resources. [Webinar: Wednesday, May 17  3:00pm]

Chalkbeat. Tennessee school employees could skip implicit-bias training under bill headed to governor’s desk   In Tennessee, it has been up to local school districts, charter schools, and public universities to determine whether to offer or require implicit-bias training for their employees.

CivXNow. The Civics Secures Democracy (CSD) Act [H.R.1814] [S.4384] creates grants for states and districts to support and expand access to U.S. history and civics to meet the needs of today’s students and our constitutional democracy.   The bill: … *Supports the Prince Hall Fellowship Program to strengthen our history and civics teaching corps and diversify the educator pipeline

ed post. Recruiting, Revitalizing, and Retaining Teachers of Color (podcast) …discuss major reasons educators of color don’t feel supported and what drives them to leave the profession. The conversation touches on policy and how we can hold legislators accountable when it comes to increasing the number of teachers of color. 

Education Week.
1) Early Literacy Laws: Some Seem to Work Better Than Others.  In the past two years alone, 18 states passed new laws requiring schools to use evidence-based instructional approaches and materials, provide new training for teachers, or offer interventions for struggling students.
2) ETS Looks to Overhaul Praxis Exam as Teacher Shortages Continue   Assessment giant ETS is considering major changes to its widely-used teacher licensing exam, a shift the organization contends could play a part in addressing nationwide teacher shortages. The Praxis — which has 160 different versions — is the dominant test used in most states for teacher candidates seeking to earn their credentials.
3) How Much Do Teachers Get Paid? See New State-by-State Data … NEA President Becky Pringle in a statement “A career in education must not be a lifetime sentence of financial worry. Who will choose to teach under those circumstances?” [highest avg salaries 1. MA 2. NY 3. CA 4. DC]
4) The Lies America Tells Itself About Black Education: ‘A Nation at Risk’ created a faux crisis to usher in the right’s education agenda [by TC Prof. B. Love]  The same playbook is in use today. Banning critical race theory and certain books and curricula about Black and queer people are responses to a new politically inspired hoax—the hoax that educators are creating hatred and division by acknowledging the wrongs of racism and endorsing the full humanity of queer people.
5) Two-Thirds of Teachers Say Schools Are Falling Short for Struggling Learners   Just 30 percent of teachers agreed that they received effective training to implement their materials.

Hechinger Report.
1) Florida just expanded school vouchers — again. What does that really mean?   There are no teacher certification or school accreditation requirements for private schools, no publicly available school test scores or school climate surveys. Of roughly 2,300 private schools accepting vouchers, 69 percent are unaccredited, 58 percent are religious and 30 percent are for-profit. Only 3 percent of voucher-accepting private schools are accredited…
2) Inside the latest reading study that’s getting a lot of buzz: Reading debates shift from phonics to what kids need to know   It’s nearly impossible to test different instructional approaches in real classrooms. Teachers can teach only one curriculum at a time – often after years of training and practice to implement it correctly – and so it’s not practical to randomly assign some children to learn a different way in the same school…
3) What happens when teachers run the school  “Some of my friends at other schools, they’re handed a curriculum and are told, teach this,” she said one day last year during a break between classes. But learning how to teach two subjects, along with participating in so many high-level decisions at the school, is very taxing. “I think this work is more fulfilling in the end,” she said. 

National Education Policy Center (NEPC). Nancy Bailey’s Education Website: What Does ChatGPT Say About the Science of Reading? It May Surprise You   …while there is a growing body of evidence-based research on how reading should be taught, the “science of reading” is not settled science in the sense that there is a single, universally accepted approach to teaching reading… Moreover, the needs of individual students can also differ, and effective reading instruction should be tailored to meet the needs of individual learners.

NEA News. Washington Launches Union-led Teacher Residency Program   The Washington Education Association has launched an innovative teacher residency program that allows individuals with bachelor’s degrees to earn a teacher certificate with an endorsement in special education.

Star Tribune. St. Cloud State to phase out 6 majors, cut 23 faculty positions amid looming $18 million deficit   The plan also focuses on honing in on four niche education areas: holistic health and wellness, education, leadership, and engineering and applied science.

Texas Tribune. Texas lawmakers hope an investment in teacher training will help keep new educators in the classroom longer   House Bill 11, authored by Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, would allocate funds to help school districts pay for more teacher residencies, programs that place would-be teachers in classrooms with mentors for about a year, teaching them how to do the job before hiring as full-time educators the following year.

The 74. Surprise! Rising Enrollment Numbers Show Young People Want to Be Teachers   Traditional teacher preparation programs are still the largest training ground for new educators, and they’re now serving 3% more candidates than they were at the depths of their lows. Enrollments at alternative teacher preparation programs not affiliated with a college and university are up 22%, and enrollments at alternative programs at institutions of higher ed are up another 20% over the last three years.

U.S. Dept. of Labor. Tier 1: 2023 Emerging Industries RFP   Expanding the use of RA remains a priority for the Department, including bolstering RA training opportunities within U.S. industries and sub-sectors where RA has not been readily adopted. This RFP will target emerging RA industry sectors/occupations, such as education services that will be broadly defined and include teacher occupations (pre-K, K-12, special education, etc.), clean energy (specifically, climate mitigation), and pathways for Early Childhood Education.

Washington Post. Gaslighting Americans about public schools: The truth about ‘A Nation at Risk’   The aftereffects mean that the major question teachers and administrators must answer these days is: What’s the effect on test scores in English and mathematics?… What surprised me watching the individual members of the commission absorb this argument is that not a single public school educator in the group objected as the report with their names on it trashed their profession and cast educators as among the great economic villains of the United States. 

WishTV. Black Teacher Residency program aims to diversify Indiana educator pool   EducateME is partnering with Marian University to target the growing teacher shortage be diversifying the pipeline by offering full ride scholarships to those selected for the Black Teacher Residency program.

NEW YORK STATE
EdTrust. New York faces early literacy crisis: Ed Trust–NY calls out systemic barriers and calls for immediate solutions, in a new report…nearly 30 states – some with local education control systems similar to New York – are increasingly focusing on the science of reading, a proven, evidence-based approach to reading instruction, through curriculum and teacher preparation programs, as a solution to improve student reading outcomes. New York’s state leaders have yet to urgently address this issue… Teacher preparation programs are a major obstacle to improved reading outcomes with most new teachers not being trained in the science of reading …

NYSED Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE). Teacher, Educational Leader, or Pupil Personnel Services Program Registration and Accreditation   All programs leading to certification for Teacher, Educational Leader, or Pupil Personnel Services in New York State must be reviewed and registered by the Office of College and University Evaluation before they are publicized or recruit or enroll candidates… * Teacher Performance Assessment Submission * New Teacher Certification Program Leading to Initial or Initial and Professional Certification * New Teacher Certification Program Leading to Professional or Transitional Certification * New Teacher Certification Residency Program 

NYSED Office of Higher Education. Educator Preparation Newsletter April 2023
1) Board of Regents April Items * School Counselor * Initial Reissuance, Provisional Renewal, and Time Extension
2) Teacher Residency Program Request for Applications
3) Clinically Rich Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Education and English to Speakers Of Other Languages (CR-ITI-BE/ESOL) Request For Proposals
4) Reminders For Teacher and School Building Leader Preparation Programs
5) Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Webinar Series Recordings and Video Viewing Guides Now Available

NYSED Prekindergarten through Grade 12 Education. 2023-2028 Clinically Rich Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Education and English to Speakers of Other Languages (CR-ITI-BE/ESOL)   The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBEWL) is seeking proposals for the creation of a Clinically Rich Intensive Teacher Institute (CR-ITI) in Bilingual Education (BE) and/or English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program, addressing the shortage of certified bilingual and ESOL teachers throughout New York State (NYS).

NEW YORK CITY
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). New Perspectives on Recruitment from the American Museum of Natural History  Recent results from a survey of potential program applicants to the residency program, including those who ultimately chose not to complete the application or enroll in the program, has provided new insight on the factors that encourage or discourage applicants to persist through the admissions process. [Webinar: Monday, May 8 · 2 – 3pm EDT]

Chalkbeat. NYC’s education budget could drop by $960M next year under mayor’s proposal   The proposed budget also includes funding for various other items, including services that advocates had been pushing for the mayor to include. Those are:…* $2 million for training up to 1,000 teachers in climate education.

Gothamist. Teaching green: NYC rolls out climate-based curriculum   The education department will also create new career training programs for the “green” economy and ramp up professional development for teachers on issues of sustainability… Teachers College at Columbia University announced it would host a cohort this summer of New York City teachers at a new institute dedicated to promoting climate education.

New York Daily News. NYC to start dedicated school for dyslexia, screening program at Rikers Island   Classes are structured and teachers are trained to work with kids who have language-based learning disabilities, including read-alouds and adaptive technology. The school offers small class sizes led by co-teachers, and backed by speech and occupational therapists, a school psychologist and a literacy coach…

Teacher College (TC).
1) Climate Education to Receive Boost with Free Summer Institute   Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend, and may earn up to 28 Continuing Teacher & Leader Education (CTLE) credits. “To prepare young people for the sustainability challenges and opportunities they’ll face in their lifetimes, teachers and school leaders need to be involved,” says Associate Professor Oren Pizmony-Levy, Director of the Center for Sustainable Futures…
2) Teachers College Ties for #1 Best Graduate School of Education in U.S. News & World Report Rankings 
3) Why TC? Current students share their inspiring reasons for joining the Teachers College community   “Through my education at TC, I hope to bring culturally relevant science education and climate change awareness back to my hometown of Harlem. I’ve had very few Black teachers throughout my early years in New York City public schools, and this is something I hope to change after I graduate.” – Tyreik Kelly (Teaching Residents at TC (TR@TC) ‘24

GLOBAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Looming Jewish teacher shortage prompts new accelerated training in well-known Jerusalem program   Instead of requiring two years in Israel with monthlong student-teaching stints along the way, Pardes is offering an accelerated program that requires just one year of intense study in Jerusalem followed by a second year of teacher training in schools in North America.

New Indian Express. IIT-Bhubaneswar to offer integrated teacher training course   The four-year dual undergraduate degree offering BA BEd/BSc BEd and BCom BEd will be launched next year and IIT-Bhubaneswar is currently working out  modalities for the purpose.

UNESCO. Transforming teacher education for improved foundational learning   The Spotlight report reminded us that there are insufficient teachers with even the basic training on the continent: on average, there are 56 primary school pupils for every trained teacher in sub-Saharan Africa… Having a basic training qualification may not be enough. Teaching at lower grades is as complex as teaching at higher grades, if not more so. Yet, preparation to teach in early grades is largely absent from initial teacher education programmes. 

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Illinois State Receives $800,000 IBHE Grant to Support Teacher Education   Illinois State University was awarded a grant of more than $800,000 by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) to support the ongoing education of early childhood teachers. The funds are part of the $3.37 million awarded in IBHE Early Childhood Faculty Preparation Grants. 
2) IUP Receives $1.19 Million to Address Need for STEM High School Teachers   The goal of the program is to recruit, prepare, and support 20 undergraduate STEM majors who opt to pursue teacher certification as part of their undergraduate degree, rather than just a science or math content degree, Travis said. Qualified students in the program can apply for funding to help them complete programs preparing them for STEM education careers.
3) NCTR’s BEI Releases Education Policy Report to Better Support Black Educators   The National Center for Teacher Residencies’ (NCTR) Black Educators Initiative (BEI) recently released a report… “Doing Better for Black Educators: Six Policy Recommendations for Improving the Recruitment and Preparation of Black Educators,” provides six policy recommendations and action steps that are meant to help teacher preparation programs…

AL.com. Alabama added 32 new teachers after temporary change to Praxis score   In July, the state board voted to accept lower Praxis scores in exchange for higher GPAs and passage of the EdTPA… If a teacher scores within one standard error measure of the cut score, they can get their certificate if they have at least a 2.75 GPA in their subject area and pass the edTPA.

California State University, San Bernardino. Project Impact | Minority Male Teacher Pipeline Program   Project Impact aims to significantly increase diversity in the teacher pool through intentional outreach and recruitment toward the K-12 teaching profession in the Inland Empire and beyond. With a special focus on underrepresented minorities and African American males, the College of Education will recruit scholars into Project Impact and prepare these student teachers… 

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). 2023 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR, REBECKA PETERSON  Rebecka is a proud immigrant of Swedish-Iranian descent and lived in several countries… Before joining the faculty at Union High School, Rebecka taught for three years at the collegiate level. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of South Dakota.

Education Next. The Stubborn Myth of “Learning Styles”   …research shows that in 29 states, government-distributed test-preparation materials on high-stakes certification exams include the debunked theory of “learning styles,” which holds that matching instruction to students’ preferred mode of learning—seeing, listening, or physically engaging in content-aligned activities, for example—is beneficial. 

Education Week.
1) Parents, Teachers Agree: Math Matters, But Schools Must Make It Relevant   The findings support the organization’s vision for improving math instruction, Hughes said. The Gates Foundation wants to: … *Support preservice teacher education and ongoing professional development to help teachers use those materials.
2) ‘Poor for the Rest of Your Life’: Negative Messages Can Deter Prospective Teachers   …forthcoming research from the University of Maryland, which was presented at the American Educational Research Association conference here this week. The researchers analyzed the role of social messages in undergraduate prospective teachers’ intent to teach, as well as Black undergraduates’ perception of the cost and benefits of a teaching career… The researchers called for policymakers, the media, and teachers themselves to spread encouraging messages about teaching and—in the case of policymakers—combat some of the barriers in order to attract more candidates. 
3) Should Cybersecurity Be a Graduation Requirement? This State Thinks So   Now, North Dakota is requiring all students master either cybersecurity or computer science content to graduate. … the state assembly allowed for a certification in computer science or cybersecurity to be added to teachers’ licenses. That will help North Dakota tackle one of the biggest barriers to expanding computer science and cybersecurity education nationally: a dearth of trained educators in those fields.
4) When It Comes to SEL, Administrators and Teachers See Things Differently   … temporary teaching licenses has also gone up over that time… now about 20 percent of teachers have provisional licenses. That means they haven’t had the same amount of training or completed the same kind of coursework that fully licensed teachers have.

Fox News. Nevada school district implements training program that certifies certain teachers as ‘safe staff’   A school district in Nevada implemented a training program that certifies certain teachers as “safe staff member[s] to discuss matters pertaining to sensitive topics,” who upon completion of a specific training receive a placard to display in their classroom indicating they are an “ally,” according to district documents…

Hechinger Report.
1) Inside a growing federal effort to prepare students for cybersecurity careers   “We need to educate the teachers on how to educate the students … on how to secure their devices, their information.”… “As we build awareness, we can also then fuel the pipeline of talent, fuel the pipeline of teachers who are going to bring that talent to work readiness.”
2) Black male teachers were my father figures. They changed my life, and we need more of them   …we partner with nearby universities to hire qualified Black and Latino college students as substitute teachers and pair them with experienced school staff for mentoring. Once they earn their bachelor’s degrees, these substitutes can earn full teaching certificates through the state’s alternate teacher pathway and return to College Achieve. 
3) PROOF POINTS: No-limits borrowing for graduate school pushed prices up for all   … a team of economists has found evidence that subsidized loans have been a major reason why tuition has soared in one sector of higher education:  graduate school… in 2006, the Republican-controlled Congress effectively eliminated all limits on loans for graduate school with the creation of the Graduate PLUS loan program. Students could borrow as much as their graduate programs cost, including fees, books, supplies and living expenses. The idea was to help more middle- and low-income Americans afford graduate programs, ranging from master’s degrees in education and social work to professional degrees…

Illinois Newsroom. Bill calls for review of teacher licensing standards   Bennett is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1488, which passed unanimously out of the Senate March 30 and now awaits action in the House. It would continue the suspension of the edTPA through Aug. 31, 2025. It would also establish a task force to evaluate teacher performance assessment systems and make recommendations to the State Board of Education and the General Assembly by Aug. 1, 2024.

Muddy River News. Bill calls for review of teacher licensing standards in Illinois; task force would look at use of edTPA exam   Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, a cosponsor of the bill, said she has concerns that edTPA is so rigorous and intensive that it could deter some people from ever trying to become a teacher.

NEA News. Gen Z: The Most Pro-Union Generation On college campuses across the country, Aspiring Educators are increasing union membership to ensure future teachers the network and support they need now.

New York Times.
1) Kids Can’t Read’: The Revolt That Is Taking On the Education Establishment   The movement, under the banner of “the science of reading,” is targeting the education establishment: school districts, literacy gurus, publishers and colleges of education, which critics say have failed to embrace the cognitive science of how children learn to read.
2) There Are Better Ways to Study That Will Last You a Lifetime   You would think that comprehensive knowledge of how children learn would be part of teacher education, and most programs do require a course in educational psychology or child development, but the impact seems limited. Teachers in training don’t know the best study strategies, either. State lawmakers can help by reviewing teacher licensing examinations. Most require knowledge of principles of learning, but the expectations are low and many even refer to scientifically discredited ideas like so-called learning styles.

Racquet Press. “They haven’t done anything”: Student leaders speak on the UWL School of Education   I want to reiterate how much we appreciate our professors and how much we love our professors. When people say that La Crosse has a really good education program, they are referring to the professors… We love our professors; we hate the administration. The administration has been so incredibly disappointing, letting everyone down, and screwing everyone over. They are making everyone’s life so much more difficult…

The74. ‘U.S. Education Is a Challenged Space’: In Exclusive 74 Interview, Bill Gates Talks Learning Recovery, AI and His Big Bet on Math  Powered by $1.1 billion in new investments, the philanthropic giant will work with its partners to devise better curricular materials, improve teacher training and professional development…

Washington Post.
1) AI can’t teach children to learn. What’s missing?   In public school systems like the one where my children are taught and I teach, there are chronic staffing shortages. Many parents don’t have the resources — in time, money or energy — to teach their kids at home. If a bot could fill the gaps … how great, right? Yet the atomized nature of AI “teaching” as it currently exists means that students merely level up without learning. When it comes to cultivating intelligence, nothing can beat what we humans have been doing, face to face, for centuries.
2) Climate deniers ejected from teachers conference for deceptive comic book   When coalition members requested a booth at the convention, they signed a contract certifying that their materials were consistent with the association’s position statement on the teaching of climate science, NSTA executive director Erika Shugart said in an email. But then they violated the contract…
3) Florida bans teaching about gender identity in all public schools   Teachers who violate the ban could see their teaching licenses suspended or revoked, per the rule…  “This is the kind of [thing] that drives teachers from classrooms,” said Heather Hill, a professor of teacher learning and practice at Harvard.
4) Okla. church denied in bid for first publicly funded U.S. religious school   Some have also raised concerns that such a school, which explicitly plans to hire Catholic teachers, would be free to break civil rights law, including possibly discriminating against religious minorities and LGBTQ people. (Other Catholic schools in the nation can admit only Catholic families and only hire Catholic employees because they are privately funded.)

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED Board of Regents April Meetings
Higher Education
Proposed Amendment …Relating to the Initial Reissuance, Provisional Renewal, and Time Extension Requirements The Department is proposing to revise the Initial Reissuance, Provisional Renewal, and Time Extension requirements to ensure that educators have an opportunity to extend the validity period of their certificates during extenuating circumstances that may prevent them from completing the requirements for the Professional or Permanent certificate. Since the Time Extension is only an option for three years after a certificate expires, the proposed amendment removes this limited option for Initial and Provisional certificate holders, and instead, allows these certificate holders to obtain up to two reissuances/renewals with more flexible eligibility requirements. This flexibility should increase the pool of qualified educators during this time of educator shortages… Following the 60-day public comment period required under the State Administrative Procedure Act, it is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented to the Board of Regents for adoption at its July 2023 meeting
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. This will ensure that these candidates can seamlessly obtain Provisional certification so that there will be a larger pool of candidates to provide school counselor services… the emergency rule will become effective April 18, 2023.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. Meet the principal of NYC’s first district school exclusively for students who struggle to read   Bethany Poolman… taught in District 9 in the Bronx for 10 years at a middle school [as a] special education teacher. I had a lot of students who really struggled to read who were really behind grade level. I was Wilson trained [a more structured approach to literacy instruction],.. It’s a new school, so everyone needs to apply. It has yet to be posted, so when it’s officially posted, any licensed teacher can apply.

Gothamist. Council pushes to restore arts programs at NYC public schools   Council members said the proposal aims to reverse reductions to arts programs at “many schools,” and would increase the per-student arts allocation from $80 to $100. The funding would also support arts teacher training and certification, according to the proposal.

Teachers College. Convocation 2023: Meet This Year’s Honored Speakers   Dr. Miguel Cardona, United States Secretary of Education. appointment to the Department of Education under President Biden in March 2021…informed by his background as a public school teacher and principal. Cardona will receive the TC honor and address graduates, families and guests on Wednesday, May 17 during the College’s ceremony for the departments of Mathematics, Science & Technology, and Organization & Leadership.  

 

GLOBAL
AACTE. Register Today: Educator Prep Recruitment and Support for International Students.  … join a panel of faculty experts and international scholars as they discuss educator prep program recruitment and support for international students on April 17.

Japan Times. Japan announces outline of ‘unprecedented’ child care policy   Tuition reduction, exemption and scholarships — which have been offered mainly to low-income households to improve their chances of entering college — will be extended to the middle class…A tuition deferment system will be introduced for students studying for their master’s starting in 2024. The government will also reform child care services…

New York Times. Indian Textbooks Purged of Material Modi’s Party Finds Objectionable   The curriculum prescribed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training is used by the government’s Central Board of Secondary Education, which has over 20,000 affiliated schools, both public and private, across India.

Stuff. Plan to abolish streaming from NZ schools by 2030 launched   Kōkirihia says teachers need leadership, professional development support and time to move into alternative ways of teaching like high expectation teaching, reciprocal teaching, and Developing Mathematical Inquiry in Communities.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Diversifying Teachers and Teacher Educators: A U.S. Imperative   Across higher education, 75% of professors are White and teacher educators are over 76% White, demonstrating that many teacher candidates will not have a single professor of color … as Galman, Pica-Smith, and Rosenberger note: “It’s important that teacher educators have examined their own  implicit biases before asking preservice teachers to engage with [them].”
2) In the States: Provisionally Licensed Teachers in Virginia Increase by 24% to Meet Shortage   As reported, Virginia issued a total of 8,434 provisional licenses in 2021–22 compared to an average of 6,787 in the years prior to the pandemic… Provisionally licensed teachers generally have little to no teacher training — and in some states may only have a high school diploma.

Chalkbeat.
1) Chicago staffs fewer National Board certified teachers as it pushes to grow their ranks   …a Chalkbeat analysis found the overall number of board-certified teachers has decreased steadily, even as the number of educators Chicago Public Schools employs has grown. About 1,000 of the district’s more than 22,000 educators are board-certified, down almost 30% since 2016.
2) Tennessee lawmakers advance bill to let teachers carry firearms without notifying parents The proposal would let a teacher or staff member carry a concealed handgun at school after completing 40 hours of certified training in school policing at their own expense, as well as passing a mental health evaluation and FBI background check. 

CT Mirror. Help grow a more diverse teaching workforce in CT by removing the EdTPA   Did you know that Connecticut is the only state in New England, including New York, to require college students studying to become public school teachers to take the edTPA? This unnecessary standardized test is not only a waste of money, but is a barrier to helping Connecticut develop a more diverse teaching pool. 

Early Learning Nation. Erikson Institute’s New, Fully Funded Master’s Program for Educators of Color in Chicago   Erikson Institute’s new Master of Science in Early Childhood Education (MSECE) licensure program is designed to prepare teachers to teach in underinvested communities. The program combines early education, special education and bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL)…

EdWeek.
1) How One English Teacher Made Peace With ChatGPT: The new technology should spur us to find a role for teachers that can’t be automated.  The ultimate question is, do the parents living in the district want the teachers to be people who can influence their children’s lives? Or will they prefer teachers that read from a script and teach to a test? AI can replace one of those jobs but certainly not both.
2) The Evolution of Terms Describing English Learners: An ELL Glossary   … these students have faced challenges in accessing quality education, whether due to funding limitations; state policies falling behind on best practices; or a lack of specialized instructors and insufficient training among general classroom teachers.

InsideHigherEd. ‘Matchmaking’ Community Colleges and Head Start: A new partnership aims to bring Head Start programs to community college campuses in hopes of better serving students with children.   These partnerships could also help Head Start staff their centers, which have a shortage of early childhood educators… If Head Start centers are located on campuses, students studying early childhood education can work there and potentially continue after they graduate.

NEA News.
1) Educators Work to Preserve Native Languages   … it’s a struggle for districts to find special ed teachers, never mind teachers fluent in endangered languages… In Hawaii, state officials are offering $8,000 annual salary bumps to certified Hawaiian language teachers. 
2) ‘There were three events that led me to be a teacher’: Amanda O’Sullivan is an Elementary School Teacher in Eagle Point, Oregon   I became a kindergarten assistant in 2014 and was in that position for seven years. I recently earned my teaching degree while working full time and am now teaching kindergarten to second grade at our district virtual school.

Northeastern State Univ. (OK) Grant To Fund Creation Of Teacher Centers At NSU, Help Expand Workforce   A federal grant will allow Northeastern State University to increase the number of comprehensively prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds. NSU was awarded a four-year grant totaling a little more than $1.5 million through the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program.

New York Times.
1) Lesson Plan: What Does the Indictment of Donald Trump Mean for the Country?
2) Margot Stern Strom, Anti-Bigotry Educator, Dies at 81: She started an organization whose curriculums challenge teenagers to understand the roots of the Holocaust, racism, apartheid and other human injustices.   As Facing History grew, it provided training to teachers in workshops and seminars and online. The organization says that an estimated 150,000 teachers around the world regularly use its curriculum, as a discrete course or as elements in other courses. 
3) 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.

Oregon Public Broadcasting. More Oregon state lawmakers are finally paying attention to child care issues. Will it matter?   House Bill 3029 would create a “child care incentive fund” that could be used to help child care workers pay off student loans or to pay for their own child care while they are studying to become a provider. And House Bill 2504 would make it easier for people who have been trained internationally to care for children work in the United States.

ScrippsNews. HBCUs leading efforts in bringing more Black teachers to the classroom   In America, reflecting the nation’s diversity often falls short when it comes to teachers, but Historically Black Colleges and Universities are working to change that… HBCUs, like Morgan State, are at the forefront of increasing the number of Black teachers in America’s schools.

Shelby Star. (NC) GWU sees success with online teaching degrees   College of Education launched the Teacher Assistant (TA) to Teacher Program in response to meeting the critical teacher shortage in North Carolina… advantage of Gardner-Webb’s program was instruction on edTPA…“The professors start from day one and give us the knowledge and skills we need to achieve this goal of passing edTPA,”

The 74.
1) California High Schools are Adding Hundreds of Ethnic Studies Classes. Are Teachers Prepared?   In the absence of an ethnic studies credential, California’s universities have developed a range of programs preparing students for teaching the subject. Some offer classes on ethnic studies teaching methods and curriculum development, while others place students in ethnic studies classrooms …
2) The Mis-Education of Black Students: Teaching the Truth in a Time of Oppression   … too many teacher preparation programs and their faculties have proven time and time again to be woefully short of truly culturally responsive to Black and brown communities. The heights of tenured teachers’ college posts are too far removed from the lived experiences of Black and brown students.

WBAY (WI). State-required teaching exam sparks debate amid national teacher shortage   …the ‘FORT’ or the Foundations of Reading Test, has become the center of discussion for many educators and students in the field. The test was designed initially for those seeking reading specialist licenses, but became the industry standard in 2014 for all elementary teachers trying to earn their license.

Word In Black. Classroom Restrictions Ask Black, LGBTQ+ Teachers to ‘Erase’ Identities: Across the country, 17 states now have restrictions on discussing gender and race in the classroom. It’s jeopardizing the teacher pipeline.   …could impede the diverse teacher pipeline El-Mekki and his collaborators have been working toward, and it could also impede the overall teacher pipeline. People join the teaching profession to help students connect the dots between why we’re here and how we move forward…

NEW YORK STATE
InsideHigherEd. Scaling Up: Syracuse Expands Learning Simulations   Syracuse’s initial simulations were for educator preparation—teacher education, school leader education, school counseling, etc.—but have expanded to creative arts therapy and, most recently, business and marketing students.

NYS Dept. of Labor. Teacher Residency Program (TRP) Request for Applications (RFA)  …to partially or fully fund master’s degrees for teacher residents who are enrolled in a residency program registered with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). 

NYS Education Department. 2023 My Brother’s Keeper Symposium  Teaching in a Burning Schoolhouse and The Archeology of Self: The Urgency of Now with TC Profs. Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz and Dr. Sonya Douglass [May 19 Empire State Plaza, Albany]

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College of Education. Amy Stuart Wells Named Dean of the Graduate School of Education   Her current work is focused on supporting teachers, schools, and school systems in integrating anti-racist policies and practices into their approach to education. Over the last eight years, Wells has worked closely with colleagues at Teachers College to grow the Reimagining Education Summer Institute into a leading initiative that includes an advanced certificate program…

Chalkbeat. Student protests, teacher concerns follow proposed restructure at Brooklyn charter school network   “predominantly Black and Brown staff members“… have borne the brunt of disciplining students rather than teachers, who are overwhelmingly white, the network said. Tresha Ward, CEO of the charter network, said that the structural shift will improve hiring practices, creating a stronger pipeline and retention of teachers of color.

Teachers College Office of Teacher Education. SENIOR CERTIFICATION MANAGER. Job Summary: Reporting to the Director of the Office of Teacher Education and working collaboratively with the Associate Director, Certification Compliance, the Senior Certification Manager will be responsible for supporting the Teachers College teacher education program Faculty and Students with New York State Education Department (NYSED) teacher certification…