Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Feb. 27 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Guernsey Press. On-island teacher training to be available to more people   The one-year on-island teacher training course will now be open to anyone who is an undergraduate or has a degree, where previous schemes were restricted to graduates already working in education… Education president Andrea Dudley-Owen said the new course, which will be offered from September, would train a new generation of local teachers.

India Today. Importance of action research in teacher education programs   Evidence seems to indicate that if aspiring teachers are not introduced to research projects during their initial teacher training, it gets difficult for them to acquire research skills during their role as classroom teachers.

Irish Examiner. Girls being pushed into taking ‘softer’ subjects in schools   Girls are still being pushed into ‘softer’ subjects as some post-primary schools still find it challenging to provide them with a wide choice of STEM subjects. Schools are also experiencing “real issues” when it comes to recruiting qualified teachers to teach critical STEM subjects, including Junior Cert science, and Leaving Cert physics, chemistry, and computer science.

Irish Times. Narrowing number of teacher training providers will add to staff crisis – Labour    Shadow education minister Stephen Morgan questioned why the Government had removed a quarter of teacher training providers from its accredited list as the country faces a “teacher recruitment and retention crisis”.

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Monika Williams Shealey of Rowan University Becomes AACTE Board Chair   During her one-year term, Shealey will support AACTE and President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D., in implementing the Association’s strategic goals, elevating education and education preparation; prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and advancing the educator profession—during a year in which AACTE will celebrate its 75th anniversary. 

Chalkbeat.
1) Bill to clarify Tennessee school library law would exempt classroom book collections from scrutiny   Teachers who are trained to teach children to read should be trusted to provide high-quality, age-appropriate books in their classrooms, Yarbro said. That’s the way that Alice Irvin sees it, too… “As a highly trained teacher, I find this law insulting,” said Irvin, who has 1,300 titles in her classroom collection.
2) Newark schools would get nearly $1.2 billion in state aid under Murphy’s 2024 budget plan  The administration also aims to help districts address the staffing shortage crisis seen statewide by committing $10 million in stipends for student teachers, $5 million to waive teacher certification fees, $1 million to develop local partnerships for paraprofessional training, and other initiatives. 

Dallas Morning News. Texas must pay teachers more, train them like doctors, task force finds Teacher residency programs – similar to those for doctors – could bolster training for educators and stem turnover.

Education Week.
1) A Conservative Teacher’s Take on ‘What Is Wrong With Our Schools’   The reading lists in university preparation programs need an overhaul. Progressives like John Dewey and critical pedagogues like Paulo Freire or Henry Giroux dominate education school curricula. They’re the equivalent of homeopathy or chakra enthusiasts on medical school websites. If any educational conservatives like E.D. Hirsch gets mentioned in these programs, it’s usually with derision. Getting more cognitive science or even a single conservative into the hands of prospective teachers would be a major win.
2) Supreme Court Will Decide Fate of Student Loan Relief: What Teachers Need to Know   “Student debt relief will help remediate the crushing impact of COVID-19 on teachers, who must amass substantial debt to enter their profession and who often work at low wages,” the AFT brief said. “The prerequisites to become a teacher, which include both higher education and licensing requirements, leave the average teacher with an outstanding student loan debt balance of $58,500, with 1 in 8 owing more than $105,000.”
3) Teacher Pay Raise Proposals Are Gaining Bipartisan Support. What’s in Them?   Districts need to be strategic in how they allocate pay increases, Goldhaber said. He favors policies that raise starting teacher salaries rather than salary increases across the board. That’s because that kind of policy is more likely to prevent young teachers from leaving in their first three to five years and motivate more college students to enter teaching.
4) The ‘Science of Reading’ Will Be a Big Topic at SXSWedu. Get Prepped With 3 Things to Know: It’s a timely topic after several years of state legislation that’s reshaped how reading is taught across the country. Since 2019, at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have mandated that schools follow evidence-based practices for teaching young children how to read…
5) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff Meet 85+ Employers in a Single Day [March 30, 2:00 – 6:00 PM EDT]

Hechinger Report. Taking stock of tutoring: What we know about tutoring research, how many schools are providing tutoring and how it’s going so far   …tutoring produces outsized gains in reading and math when it takes place daily, using paid, well-trained tutors who are following a proven curriculum or lesson plans that are linked to what the student is learning in class… It’s expensive to hire and train tutors and this type of tutoring can cost schools $4,000 or more per student annually.

LPI. Strengthening Pathways Into the Teaching Profession in Texas: Challenges and Opportunities   Research has found that teachers who are not fully prepared when they enter the profession—now a majority of newly hired Texas teachers—are, on average, both less effective and more likely to leave…the districts that have the most difficulty hiring fully prepared teachers are those that serve the most students of color and students from low-income families.

NYTimes. Teaching About a Year of War in Ukraine   A collection of ideas grounded in Times resources to help students reflect on a year of war, consider its causes and effects, and ponder what’s next.

United Press International.  Education Department announces $18M in grants to boost teacher diversity   the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers For Excellence Program…supports comprehensive, high-quality teacher preparation programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions, according to the Department of Education.

USA Today. What happens to diversity when many teachers of color are new hires and layoffs come   Thanks to recent efforts to diversify the teaching force, a relatively high percentage of rookie educators are people of color – meaning these “last in, first out” (LIFO) practices could derail some of that work

NEW YORK STATE
NYDailyNews
1) Another way for charter schools to expand   Legislation: Albany should pass the Public Education Racial Equity And Diversity Act — or “READ Act” — … would also expand the number of minority teachers by exempting them from paying state and local income taxes, providing them college loan forgiveness, and permitting charters to offer alternative teacher licensing.
2) Improving teacher diversity in New York State   We can start by eliminating barriers to recruitment and retention for teachers of color. Inadequate preparation when pursuing alternative routes to the profession, lack of ongoing support, racially biased or exclusionary content in teacher licensure exams, and unnecessary hurdles all contribute to an inequitable landscape, according to LPI. It’s imperative that schools and educator preparation programs in colleges and universities work together to reimagine professional preparation possibilities in an inclusive, accessible way that removes unnecessary barriers of time and location.

NYSED.
1) Announcement of Funding Opportunity 2023-28: New York State My Brother’s Keeper Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) II   The purpose of TOC II is to increase the participation rate of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged individuals in teaching careers… The allocation for 2023-2028 is expected to be $3,000,000 annually. [deadline: March 13, 2023]
2) The Office of Higher Education (OHE) February newsletter
A. BOARD OF REGENTS FEBRUARY ITEMS  *Indigenous Culture and Language Studies Certificate  *Student Teaching
B. NYSTCE MULTI-SUBJECT: TEACHERS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD (BIRTH-GRADE 2) – PART TWO: MATHEMATICS TEST *Revised Framework *Redeveloped Test
3) Written Testimony of Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa New York State Education Department Joint Legislative Higher Education Budget Hearing February 27, 2023    A critical initiative aimed at modernizing the systems and supports for more effective and responsive teacher certification has begun. The 2022-23 enacted budget provided $1.35 million in appropriation authority for the first year of TEACH2 system modernization… Several programs that are also designed to address teacher shortages and help diversify the pipeline include: Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II)… Teacher Diversity Pipeline Pilots… Teachers of Tomorrow…

New York State Register Vol. XLV/Issue 9 March 1, 2023. Student Teaching Requirements for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and Through the Individual Evaluation Pathway (p. 30ff.)   The new student teaching requirements include a “limited exemption” for experienced teachers who are enrolled in a graduate program leading to certification for one or more certificates. Teachers who qualify for the limited exemption are exempt from the clinical experience clock-hour requirement and the full-semester student teaching requirement. To qualify, teachers must have either: (1) completed a New York State registered teacher preparation program prior to enrollment in the graduate program and hold an Initial and/or Professional teacher certificate, (2) hold National Board certification, or (3) have at least one year of effective teaching experience under a valid New York State or out-of-state teaching certificate. 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. The student teaching or practica must occur with actual students in educational settings appropriate to the certificate title sought. [Data, views or arguments may be submitted to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 473-3781, email: [email protected] Public comment will be received until: 45 days after publication of this notice]

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College
.
1) Webinar: Cultivating Powerful Mentorship in Educator Credential Programs [Mar 7, 4:00 PM]
2) Online Pre-Service Co-Teaching Workshop [Wed, Mar 29 1:00 PM EDT]

City and State. New York City schools to create working group on phasing in smaller class sizes: Parents, school leaders and advocates are being asked about their interest in joining the effort in a new survey released today.   New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Banks meanwhile attest that the measure will cost the city hundreds of millions of additional dollars to hire more teachers and add more classrooms to meet requirements…  according to Banks…the education department believes the city will need to hire 7,000 new teachers to follow the law. 

Categories
Teacher Education

Weeks of Feb. 13 & 20 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
FinancialExpress. Delhi govt partners with University of Birmingham to provide global exposure to teachers   “…Teaching is the cornerstone of quality education, and working with the Delhi Government on one of their flagship programmes for teacher education will help us both to expand our knowledge network,” Lord Karan Bilimoria, chancellor, University of Birmingham, said.

LOOP PNG (Papua New Guinea). UOG Reform to improve teacher training. Since its establishment in 1961, the University of Goroka has grown in academic programs, infrastructure, staff and students…

Manila Times. Educating teacher education   There is no logic in attributing the “poor” outcomes of basic education to “poor” teacher education. Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte bluntly admitted in the recent Basic Education Report that “the Filipino learners are not academically proficient.”

NYTimes. How Finland Is Teaching a Generation to Spot Misinformation: The Nordic country is testing new ways to teach students about propaganda. Here’s what other countries can learn from its success.   Officials say Finland’s success is not just the result of its strong education system, which is one of the best in the world, but also because of a concerted effort to teach students about fake news. Media literacy is part of the national core curriculum starting in preschool.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) 75th Annual Meeting. Innovation through Inspiration: Remembering the Past to Revolutionize the Future [Feb. 24-26 Indianapolis, IN]
2) Aspiring Elementary Teachers Are Unlikely to Get Essential Social Studies and Science Content They Need to Teach Students   New data and analysis released from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds significant opportunities for teacher preparation programs to improve their coursework requirements to ensure that aspiring elementary school teachers receive the essential social studies and science content knowledge they need for the classroom.

Chalkbeat.
1) Dear teachers: As a future educator, I have one request   As a college student working toward my teacher certification, I’ve closely followed your struggles, especially during the pandemic. But I have to admit that the constant news about teacher burnout is weighing heavily on me… I wonder if you could also share the differences you are making in students’ lives… I’m asking you to open up about the truly happy moments that make your time in the field worthwhile.
2) Five Illinois early-career teachers speak about entering education during the COVID-19 pandemic   These educators not only had to learn the basics of lesson plans, classroom management, and the needs of students and families, they also had to navigate a constantly changing education landscape.
3) Future teachers need to hear the good stuff, too   This piece was written in response to ”Dear teachers: As a future educator, I have one request,”
4) Gov. J.B. Pritzker renews pre-K expansion push with 2024 budget proposing $250 million increase   Pritzker promised in 2019 to bring universal preschool to all Illinois children after being elected… a $130 million effort called the Childcare Workforce Compensation Contracts — is aimed at increasing the salaries of child care workers and bringing more educators into the field…  

Chronicle. Alyssa Hadley Dunn, a former associate professor at Michigan State University, has been named an associate professor and director of teacher education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.

CISION. Cadence Education Expands Montessori Portfolio with The Suzuki School and Montessori Teacher Education Institute of Atlanta   Cadence Education, LLC (“Cadence Education”), one of the largest providers of early childhood education in North America, is thrilled to announce its acquisition of both The Suzuki School and the Montessori Teacher Education Institute (MTEI) in Atlanta, Georgia…The Montessori Teacher Education Institute (MTEI) will complement Cadence Education’s offering, providing essential training to support the growth and development of Montessori early childhood educators.

EdWeek.
1) How to Become a Better Teacher. Here’s What Teachers Have to Say
2) Recruiters Are Going Grassroots to Fill Vacancies. They Say It’s Working   in Topeka, Kan…some of the parents-turned-substitute teachers have been persuaded to work on getting their teacher certificates…  paraprofessionals enrolled in the Arkansas Teacher Residency Model, which offers practical work experience and the potential for an immediate path into the teaching force….
3) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff: Meet 85+ Employers in a Single Day [March 30, 2:00 – 6:00 PM EDT]

Forbes. Teaching Is In Crisis. Graduate Schools Of Education Can Help [by TC President T. Bailey]   Strong teacher residency programs, which enable prospective educators to teach in classrooms before they graduate, offer firsthand experiences to interact with students, develop engaging lesson plans and get a feel for the opportunities and challenges presented throughout a school year. In turn, graduate schools of education provide community school districts with a dedicated pipeline of well-prepared, committed educators equipped to meet the challenges of the job. 

Learning Policy Institute (LPI). Creating Rich, Experiential Learning Environments, Part 1 [Wed. March 1, 12:00-1:30 p.m. ET]

NEA News.
1) Aspiring Educators on Why They Choose to Teach   Ready to pick up the torch for safe, just, and equitable schools, the next crop of teachers shares their motivation for stepping into the classroom.
2) Union-Led Apprenticeships Aim to Ease Teacher Shortage: New federal support will help grow apprenticeship programs for teachers, providing an affordable path into the field for a more diverse group of candidates1. Registered apprenticeships–long valued in the trades–offer aspiring teachers a lengthy residency that prepares them well for classroom challenges. 2. Apprenticeship programs also show promise as a step to solving the teacher shortage and a way to diversify the profession. 3. The Biden administration has expanded support for states looking to start and grow teacher apprenticeship programs.

#PANeedsTeachers. Addressing Pennsylvania’s Teacher Shortage Crisis Through Systemic Solutions    …we offer five policy strategies: *Incentivize high-quality teacher preparation, characterized by rigorous coursework and intentionally designed clinical experiences developed in partnership with local education agencies. *Expand pathways into teaching for youth and paraprofessionals. *Improve the financial value proposition for becoming a teacher. *Improve data collection to allow for targeted investments in the teacher pipeline…

The74. Equity Builder or Racial Barrier: Debate Rages Over Role of 8th-Grade Algebra   “The relationship between math and science is very strong,” said Talia Milgrom-Elcott, executive director and founder of Beyond100K, a group which aspires to prepare and retain 150,000 new STEM teachers, especially for schools serving majority Black, Hispanic and Native American students, by 2032.

Vox. The racist idea that changed American education: A Supreme Court decision 50 years ago may have been shaped by the claim that poor children of color can’t learn. The case’s impact has reverberated for generations  Teachers in Edgewood were paid much less than those in Alamo Heights. Probably because of that, half of them had only substandard credentials, compared to 11 percent in Alamo Heights…

Washington Post.
1) HBCUs have big role to train diverse teachers amid shortages   HBCUs play an outsize role in producing teachers of color in the U.S., where only 7% of teachers are Black, compared with 15% of students. Of all Black teachers nationwide, nearly half are graduates of an HBCU.
2) No English or history majors? Marymount U. weighs cuts in humanities.   In all, the plan calls for phasing out nine bachelor’s degree programs. Among other majors that would be eliminated: art, mathematics, secondary education and sociology. 
3) Teacher fired after DeSantis says bookshelf video was ‘fake narrative’   Florida has been at the forefront of the schoolbook wars. District officials there have launched reviews of the appropriateness of teachers’ books as part of House Bill 1467… It is unclear what the consequences for violating H.B. 1467 are, though a Florida Education Department spokesperson previously suggested breaking the law could lead to penalties against teachers’ licenses.

NEW YORK STATE
DemocracyReady NY. Webinar: New York Civic Learning Week Join DemocracyReady NY for a series of free virtual events to celebrate Civic Learning Week! [March 6-10]

NYS Senate. S2140A. An Act to amend the education law, in relation to developing grow your own initiatives at school districts, boards of cooperative educational services and higher education institutions to attract underrepresented candidates into the teaching profession [Feb. 13, 2023: Passed Senate, Delivered to Assembly]

NYSED Board of Regents Feb Meetings
Higher Education Committee Proposed Amendment …Relating to the Student Teaching Requirements for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and Through the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification Proposed Revisions Following the First Public Comment Period
Based on feedback on the proposed rule from the field, the Department now proposes to revise the proposed rule regarding the “limited exemption” for experienced teachers. The new student teaching requirements include a “limited exemption” for experienced teachers who are enrolled in a graduate program leading to certification for one or more certificates. Teachers who qualify for the limited exemption are exempt from the clinical experience clock-hour requirement and the full-semester student teaching requirement. To qualify, teachers must have either: (1) completed a New York State registered teacher preparation program prior to enrollment in the graduate program and hold an Initial and/or Professional teacher certificate, (2) hold National Board certification, or (3) have at least one year of effective teaching experience under a valid New York State or out-of-state teaching certificate.
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. The student teaching or practica must occur with actual students in educational settings appropriate to the certificate title sought.
Consistent with the extension of the new student teaching requirements, the original proposed rule also extended the timeline for the limited exemption by one year, making it available for candidates who enroll in a program in the Fall 2024 semester and later. Teacher preparation program faculty have expressed an interest in making the limited exemption available to teachers immediately, rather than when the new student teaching requirements go into effect. The Department is therefore proposing to have the limited exemption be an option for qualified teachers and graduate teacher preparation programs upon adoption of the proposed amendment.
If adopted at the May meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective on May 31, 2023. Public comment begins 3/1/23

Higher Education/P-12 Education Joint Committees   Proposed Amendment… Relating to Establishing the Indigenous Culture and Language Studies (All Grades) Certificate  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 June 2023 meeting. If adopted at the June meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective on June 28, 2023.

Professional Practice Committee. Proposed Addition… Relating to the Licensure of Applied Behavior Analysts and Certification of Applied Behavior Analyst Assistants   Combined, these provisions will reduce barriers for applicants authorized to practice in other states and assist New York candidates seeking to sit for the national certification exam… The proposed amendment implements the provisions of Chapters 818 and 641, and makes additional amendments to LBA and ABA provisions to align such provisions more closely with national standards… Public comment begins 3/1/23

WRGB Albany. “TEACH” Act passes in NYS Senate, aims to fight teacher shortage Limarys Caraballo is an associate professor of English education at Teachers College, and says it’s a good place to start:
“…It’s a good first step toward working across important challenges in navigating different types of institutions – school districts, community organizations and institutions of higher education – all of which are connected to an overall goal of increasing access of underrepresented candidates to the teaching profession in the communities where they live” …

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) Adams creates new City Hall office for child care, early childhood education   The new office, which will be housed within City Hall, was months in the making. It’s charged with overseeing strategy and planning with city agencies that touch early childhood education, including the education department and the Administration for Children’s Services, officials said. 
2) NYC’s DC 37 union reaches tentative contract with bonus and annual raises   Along with its education department members, the union represents thousands of early childhood education workers, many of whom staff the city-funded prekindergarten and 3-K programs. 

SILive. Teaching about Sandy Ground: NYC schools will integrate historic site into Black studies curriculum   But Sandy Ground could have a bigger part in new curricular resources in development. The DOE said resources would be included in the Education Equity Action Plan (EEAP) Coalition Black Studies curriculum.

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Feb. 6 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Manila Standard. Poor teacher training  …the quality of education that future teachers are getting needs much improvement as half of the schools training them perform poorly in the annual licensure exams for educators.

Medical Press [Norway]. Researcher builds kit designed to make our brain’s activity easier for students to understand   Pål Kvello, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Teacher Education…creating a building kit of neurons that shows how the nervous system works in a simple way came up while he was working on his doctorate in neurobiology… Kvello received a good response to this idea in his new teacher education position…

The Tribune [India]. GNDU gets nod for teacher education programmes   Northern Regional Committee, National Council for Teacher Education, New Delhi, has approved Integrated Teacher Education Programmes (ITEP) vis-a-vis BA-B.Ed, BSc-B.Ed and B.Com-B.Ed for secondary stage teachers to the Department of Education, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), from the session 2023-24. The intake capacity of these courses is 50 students each…

UNITED STATES
AACTE
1) Annual Meeting Keynote. Revolutionizing the Future: Emerging Scholars Consider the Impact of Academic Censorship [Sat., Feb. 25, 3:45 – 5:15 p.m Indianapolis]
2) Tips for Supporting Teachers at Every Phase of Their Career   A webinar discussion on teacher support featuring Lynn M. Gangone, Machel Mills-Miles, Ann Stark, and Brent Raby [Wed. Feb,15, 4:00 pm EST]

Chalkbeat.
1) Gov. Lee aims to raise minimum salary for Tennessee teachers to $50,000 by 2027   Lee’s education chief, Penny Schwinn, told Chalkbeat that a large jump in base pay would transform efforts to recruit educators to the profession — and retain them in subsequent years.
2) Pre-K for all Michigan 4-year-olds sounds good. But will there be enough teachers?   A certified early childhood educator can make $20,000 more per year working with K-3 students rather than 4-year-olds… Certified preschool teachers are among the highest paid early educators in Michigan; most child care workers make far less.
3) Teacher apprenticeships among solutions lawmakers consider for educator shortages   A teacher apprenticeship program, stipends and loan forgiveness for student teachers, and the ability for out-of-state teachers to more easily qualify to work in Colorado. Those are the ideas Colorado lawmakers have proposed this year… 
4) Whitmer wants to extend help for future educators, but drops teacher retention bonus plan   …plan to continue the MI Future Educator incentive program …It provides $50 million in stipends for student teachers and $25 million in scholarships for education majors. Her new budget proposal would maintain those spending levels and add $25 million to “ensure sustainability of the program,”… 

Education Week.
1) Gholdy Muhammad Champions ‘Unearthing Joy’ in Her New Book   As I continue to teach young people, preservice teachers, and scholars, while working with school leaders, I find that we need joy more than ever.
2) Pennsylvania School Funding Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says. Here’s What Could Happen Next   … the judge provided such a detailed analysis tackling the question of whether Pennsylvania students actually receive the education the state constitution entitles them to, said Michael Rebell, executive director of the Center for Educational Equity at the Columbia University Teachers College, which tracks legal cases on school funding nationwide.
3) Teacher-Prep Programs Miss Chances to Build Teachers’ Content Knowledge, Report Says   The analysis, released today, comes from the National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and policy group that advocates for more rigorous teacher preparation. The organization has previously reviewed preparation requirements in other elementary subjects including early reading and math.
4) Why Recruiting Bilingual Educators Works   Aside from having the language skills or certification, I want someone who believes in these students. We’re not going to force you to become a bilingual teacher, even if you have the right certification.

FiveThirtyEight. Why More States Don’t Have Universal Pre-K   In general, as with other levels of education, the advocates and researchers I spoke with defined high-quality as having: *Teachers who are educated at least through college;… 

Hechinger Report. Is a ‘DARPA for education’ finally happening?: Advocates say new government funding is a down payment on long-awaited research and development arm of DOE   Education experts say the new unit could help seed advancements in how students learn and teachers teach in a rapidly evolving digital age, in which the education field can be caught off guard by the latest developments, such as AI’s explosion on the market.

InsideHigherEd.
1) Education Department Hints at Possible Delay of FAFSA   Overhauling the federal financial system and simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a significant undertaking for the Education Department. Although the agency is making progress on the project, officials said this week the application might not be ready by Oct. 1. 
2) Making Sure a Degree Is Worth More Than a Diploma: In Colorado, falling enrollment and growing skepticism of higher ed’s worth prompted a proposal to measure the “economic value” of academic programs at public colleges.   Janine Davidson, president of Metropolitan State University of Denver, said that given the state’s declining higher ed enrollment, shortage of teachers… placing a numeric value on degree programs seems like a low priority.

Learning Policy Institute. State of the Union 2023: Education Edition “Let’s give public school teachers a raise.”  …compensation is just one piece of the puzzle. This comprehensive plan for strengthening the profession outlines additional evidence-based strategies for making teaching an affordable, sustainable, and fulfilling career.

Miami Herald. Florida is keeping students from creating a stable, prosperous and socially cohesive future   …we got to hear from a high-ranking Florida public-school official… he assured us that his administration cared about cultivating character and training students to be virtuous citizens who engage in reasoned dialogue. As an educator of educators in Florida, that surprised me. I’m hearing from my students who are on the ground in the schools that the current climate feels constraining.

New York Times.
1) Education Issues Vault to Top of the G.O.P.’s Presidential Race   Democratic strategists, pointing to the midterm results and to polling, said voters viewed cultural issues in education as far less important than school funding, teacher shortages….
2) Florida Officials Had Repeated Contact With College Board Over African American Studies   Intersectionality, for example, is an influential theory first laid out by the legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. It posits that race, class, gender, sexuality and other forms of identity intersect in ways that shape individuals’ experience of the world… In a written statement to The Times, Professor Crenshaw said, “People need to pay very close attention to this story — not just Black studies educators and K-12 teachers, but everyone who worries that the slide to authoritarianism is real. This is how it happens.”
3) Lesson Plan: The Devastating Earthquake in Turkey and Syria   Ways to help students understand the crisis and how they can make a difference.

Washington Post. Thanks to covid, half of kids were below grade level in at least one subject   According to the federal definition, high-dosage tutoring is done at least three times a week, one-on-one or in small groups, for at least 30 minutes per session; it is provided by educators or well-trained tutors and aligned with an evidence-based core curriculum or program.

NEW YORK STATE
New York State Board of Regents. February 13-14, 2023 Meeting Higher Education: Proposed Amendment …Relating to the Student Teaching Requirements for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and Through the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification

News 10. The College of Saint Rose sees encouraging progress in teaching initiative   The program aims to increase enrollment in education programs, something the college believes is a key contributor to the nationwide teacher shortage… The full initiative launches in the fall. Registration for the virtual courses can be found here, they will also be posted on the college’s Youtube page in the coming weeks.

The Buffalo News. Buffalo State Urban Teacher Pipeline helps teacher aides, assistants become teachers   …residency program is a conduit to help teacher aides and assistants in Buffalo city schools earn teaching certification while continuing to work in their schools. It offers teacher education classes in evenings, on weekends and in summer, provides free tuition for two courses a semester and covers fees and books.

The Education Trust-New York. Representation Matters: A look at the state of teacher diversity in New York    Districts and the state can use the significant new funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and increases in state Foundation Aid to support programs and initiatives to advance these key priorities including: Strengthen the teacher preparation pipeline for future teachers and school leaders of color by:
>  Requiring diversity data collection and transparency for teacher preparation programs;
>  Requiring teacher preparation programs to improve diversity and strengthen program components that prepare all teaching and administrator candidates to educate all groups of students;
>  Expanding the Teacher Opportunity Corps grant program, which recruits and supports historically underrepresented and low-income teaching candidates;
>  Strengthening relationships between school districts and teacher preparation programs, including the expansion of “Grow Your Own” initiatives;…

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. Anticipating challenges to NYC class size law, Banks will launch ‘working group’   The education department anticipates the need to hire 7,000 new teachers to comply with the law, according to Banks. 

Education Week. Want to Recruit Male Teachers of Color? Look to This New York City Leader   Chimere Stephens, the director of NYC Men Teach at the NYC Department of Education… Now, the pipeline he’s helped build to bring men of color into the teaching force stretches all the way back to high schoolers, continues with college students, and includes on-ramps for those already working as paraprofessionals and in similar positions throughout the city’s schools.

New York Post. Black and Latino educators support lawmakers’ push for more minority-led charter schools in NY  … create a new state charter school commission and attempt to dramatically increase the pool of minority teachers by … providing college loan forgiveness and allowing charter schools to offer alternative licensing.

Pix11News. Program aims to increase teacher diversity at NYC schools   A local program is working to bring more men of color to teach students in New York City classrooms. The partnership between the City University of New York, City Hall, and the Department of Education to increase the number of men of color teaching is already making a difference in children’s lives… NYC Men Teach initiative…

Spectrum News. City schools to expand dyslexia reading pilot program   Banks said he and the mayor are now expanding programs like the Structured Literacy Schools pilot from two schools to four. “At these schools, educators across subjects were trained in evidence-based literacy practices…” 

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Jan. 30 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Evening Standard. London public and state schools unite to find science teacher amid hiring ‘crisis’   Mary Bousted, president of the National Education Union, whose members were on strike on Wednesday, said the Government missed its secondary school teacher training targets by 41 per cent this year, meaning only three out of 17 subjects have enough teachers.

Hindustan Times. Union Budget: National digital library to be set up; focus on teacher training   The government will re-envision teachers’ training and develop institutes of excellence at the district level for the purpose and set up a national digital library to make available quality books digitally to help children and adolescents overcome learning losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

UNESCO.
1) 2023 SDG4 scorecard on progress towards national SDG 4 benchmarks: key findings   So far three in four countries have submitted benchmarks, or national targets, to be achieved by 2030 for at least one of seven key education 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…
2) SDG4 scorecard progress report on national benchmarks: focus on early childhood   Another case is highlighted by the percentage of primary school trained teachers (global indicator 4.c.1b)… A particular aspect of this indicator is that throughout the range of observed values, the bottom 25% of countries in each starting point range has negative change, which means that their percentage of trained teachers has been declining.
3) Webinar. Learning from PEER country profiles: The journey towards comprehensive sexuality education [Feb 15, 2023 02:00 PM Paris time]

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Ball State University to Play Major Role in Apprenticeship Supporting Indiana Educator Pipeline   Ball State University will play a major role in a first-of-its-kind program in the nation centered on special education after the recent federal approval of a state registered apprenticeship supporting the educator pipeline. 

ABC 13News. VDOE application approved to create registered teacher apprentice program in Virginia   The Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry signed an agreement approving VDOE’s application to create a registered teacher apprentice program in the state. Virginia’s newly approved program is one of only a handful of teacher apprentice programs nationwide that meet U.S. Department of Labor and Industry standards and are eligible for funding through several federal workforce-development grants…

American Experiment. What the new teacher licensing standards mean for teacher preparation providers   Gov. Tim Walz’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) proposed amendments to the rules governing teacher licensure in Minnesota. These changes are expected to be formally adopted later this winter or early spring and then go into effect on July 1, 2024. Unfortunately, the approved changes politicize teacher training requirements.

Arizona State Univ. Fulton Teachers College. Next Education Workforce Summit Teacher Residencies: A Promising Approach to Enhancing a High-Quality, Sustainable Workforce [Wed Feb 08, 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM MST]

Austin Peay State Univ. APSU Conference on Teacher Shortage Registration  [Tuesday, February 28, 2023 virtually via Zoom]

Chalkbeat. Tony Sanders named next Illinois State Superintendent of Education  While the state had a teacher shortage prior to COVID-19, the pandemic exacerbated the need for more teachers in classrooms. The state launched initiatives to get more bilingual teachers into classrooms and increase the number of students of color in teacher preparation programs. Some school districts have invested in Grow Your Own programs that support new educators while they are getting licensure. 

Education Trust. It’s Time to Invest in High-Quality Teacher Preparation   Research demonstrates that the quality of a teacher’s preparation directly correlates with their classroom performance a classroom filled with our children, our neighbors, and our future leaders.

Education Week.
1) 4 Actions Districts and States Can Take to Increase Staff Diversity    Working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions, and nonprofits that prepare educators of color or educators of any race focused on equity, change management, and identity can draw a wider pool of qualified candidates… States have additional ways to make a difference, according to the report. When renewing program licenses, for example, they can require the preparation programs to provide data on their commitment and track record of educating and placing leaders of color and the outcomes for those graduates. 
2) A Bilingual Aide Explains the Value of Representation for English Learners   Reach University partners with school districts in Alabama, Arkansas, California, and Louisiana to offer online bachelor’s degree programs, helping paraprofessionals become teachers while still working in a school.
3) Black History Belongs in Early Elementary School: Grades K-2 are a particularly fertile time to nurture students’ creativity   Elementary teachers must be willing—and trained—to suspend the conventional notions of knowledge building and content mastery, sincerely appreciate the brilliance Black students bring to the classroom, and be willing to continue learning themselves. 
4) How to Teach Black History: A Resource List
5) Once Resistant, An Alabama Town Now Sees Its English Learners as Its Future   He found faculty with limited or no training on English learners frustrated at being unable to effectively teach around language barriers. Students, in turn, showed little engagement in the classroom. Teachers failed English learners almost as a default… To change hearts and minds, Grimes got more training into schools and brought in more ESL staff. 
6) Students Want Climate Change Education. Most Teachers Don’t Get Enough Training   Among science teachers specifically, a significant subset of the nationally representative sample, a third have never received any professional training or education on climate change. Another third said they had pursued training or research on climate change and/or how to teach it, but on their own time. Mostly, this happened outside of their preparation to teach.

Fox News.
1) Lawmakers in 10 states push to eliminate relicensing restrictions for teachers moving across state lines   The idea for an Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact was first proposed by the U.S. Department of Defense and is designed, in part, to support military spouses. It would effectively allow teaching licenses to be viable across members of the compact, cutting through the current 50-state patchwork of disparate requirements.
2) Minnesota licensing board using ‘mafia tactics’ on new teachers to accept critical race theory: Experts   She claimed that the entire board that came up with this Minnesota teacher licensing is politicized, being funded and promoted and lobbied by the very people that put them into office or put into office the people who appointed them, while teachers are ignored. “This is called bullying. These are mafia tactics. This is being run by a cartel,” Friedrichs said.

InsideHigherEd. A Subtle Subterfuge, an Outrage or Both?: Florida College System presidents signed a statement promising not to support any effort that “compels belief” in critical race theory on their campuses.   Some professors saw the statement as a baffling and infuriating capitulation to Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who’s made no secret of his plans to purge the teaching of critical race theory—or anything that may be mistaken for critical race theory—from Florida public education. 

K-12 Dive. Momentum grows for family engagement in teacher prep: A framework developed by the National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement aims for greater integration.   Released in December, the framework suggests educator preparation programs dedicate courses and fieldwork to family and community engagement. This work should be embedded throughout a teacher candidate’s coursework and not just in one standalone class, the guidance said.

Washington Post.
1) College enrollment stabilizing after years of steep declines, data show   Business and education programs are also losing steam, with declines of 5.3 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
2) DeSantis aims to cut college diversity efforts; New College ousts president   The governor’s proposals feed into a larger culture war he is waging across Florida, where DeSantis has signed a law limiting what professors can teach about race…

NEW YORK STATE
Center for Educational Equity. Center for Educational Equity Files Amicus Brief Supporting New Regulations on Substantial Equivalency in New York’s Nonpublic Schools   The Court’s reasoning in upholding the educational regulations at issue in Jokinen deserve special attention. In that case, the regulations required that non-public kindergartens must, among other things, have “teachers whose training is substantially equivalent to that of public school teachers”; an “adequate curriculum and teacher-pupil ratio;”…

NYSED Office of Higher Education  January Newsletter
* Board Of Regents January Items: a) Certification for College Professors, b) Reciprocity.
* Teacher Performance Assessment Submission Process
* SWD (All Grades) Certificate Application Posted
* NYSATE/NYACTE Virtual Question and Answer Panel
* Intent to Reissue the Teaching in Remote/Hybrid Learning Environments (TRLE) Request For Proposals

Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching.
1) November Minutes
2) New York State Mentoring Standards: An Overview
3) NYS Program Guidance and Standards for Mentoring 2022

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College Prepared to Teach. A Strong Momentum for 2023    Prepared To Teach and our partners have been busy the last two months with a ton of engagements around advancing quality teacher preparation throughout the country. 

Teachers College.
1) Navigating the Risks and Rewards of ChatGPT: Both beloved and banned, the new artificial intelligence software is making waves in school districts across the county   “The danger is that [educators] start relying on those tools before they have the in-depth knowledge about teaching and classroom management and lesson planning design,” TC’s Paulo Blikstein, … notes Vasudevan … Educators may not need to work against ChatGPT, but rather learn how to minimize the risks it introduces and welcome the opportunity to be critical of its use in education.
2) Studying While Black During the Jim Crow Era: A look back on how northern schools like Teachers College welcomed Black graduate students blocked from attending schools in the segregationist South   Nearly 100 years later, McAllister’s trailblazing career is set to be celebrated in a forthcoming museum… “One of her sayings was that ‘Poorly prepared teachers teach poorly prepared students to become poorly prepared teachers,’” remembers cousin Bettye Gardner. “And that’s why she ultimately chose to go to Teachers College.”

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Jan. 16 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Forbes. 50 Over 50: Europe, Middle East And Africa 2023   Ursula Nold: In 2019, at 50, Nold was elected as chair of the board of Migros, Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain… Up until last 2022, she served as a lecturer at the institute for further education and media education at the University of Teacher Education in Bern.

New York Times. Inside India’s Cram City: In Kota, students from across the country pay steep fees to be tutored for elite-college admissions exams — which most of them will fail.   Bansal’s teaching style was rooted in the Kumon method, which was invented by a Japanese high school teacher named Toru Kumon in the 1950s. It was predicated on mastering one topic before moving onto the next.… new coaching institutes … cropped up. They mimicked his teaching style in an attempt to capitalize on the growing demand. So many instructors were being poached or leaving to start their own centers that Bansal created a reserve of roughly 200 teachers and trainees. 

Teachers College. How the TC Tunisia Project Makes an Impact: The program, led by TC’s ZhaoHong Han, is training English language teachers critical to a developing economy   “Knowing English would give [Tunisians] better access to today’s global economy,” explains Han, noting that the demand for English teachers is part of a broader trend throughout the region. “We’re training teachers who are training the next workforce.”

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Biden-Harris Administration Proposes New Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan   The Biden-Harris Administration today announced a new proposal to reduce the cost of federal student loan payments, especially for low- and middle-income borrowers. While AACTE is generally supportive of the proposal, which according to a fact sheet will make college more affordable for perspective educators, additional steps must be taken to address the nationwide shortage of highly qualified, diverse teachers in our classrooms. 

AL.com. Alabama wants to launch teacher apprenticeships for college students   Alabama will be the latest state to add teaching to the list of registered apprenticeships, thanks to an executive order from Gov. Kay Ivey issued Wednesday. College students working on a bachelor’s degree to teach will be able to lead their own classroom during their final year of college, instead of student teaching under the guidance of a credentialed teacher.

Aljazeera. American schooling is broken if six-year-olds are now threats: That students and teachers must fear guns in first-grade classrooms reflects on a failed school system.   As a teacher educator for those pursuing their K-12 licenses, I’ve yet to figure out how to incorporate lessons on dodging bullets into my curriculum or how to view young children as potentially dangerous. The very idea that my work requires this shift in thinking is repulsive and maddening.

Chalkbeat.
1) Departing State Superintendent Carmen Ayala looks back at her tenure, COVID challenges   To help get more teachers in certain fields, we started the career and technical education pathways where you provide grants and give designation on students’ diplomas that they have completed a particular pathway. This program provides students with dual credit and early teaching experiences to help them move on towards getting a teacher license. We’re preparing for potentially more than 10,000 teachers across Illinois.  
2) I recruit future teachers. I’m not always sure I’m doing the right thing.   My conviction comes from piles of research showing that students are uniquely inspired when they see themselves in their teacher. But my conflict and concern come from other things we know are true about teaching. One is the sad reality that, for college students, there is greater potential for economic mobility in choosing a profession other than teaching.
3) Pa. high schools could start offering students K-12 education training next school year   Starting next school year, Pennsylvania schools will have a new career and technical education option to offer students: K-12 education… the goal of the program is to expose young people to careers in education… the state Department of Education is working with the state Department of Labor and Industry to make teaching a registered apprenticeship in Pennsylvania. 

ClickOrlando.com. Osceola school district hiring teachers abroad to help with teacher shortage: District is implementing certification program to help get more teachers in classrooms   Aside from using the international teacher program to help bridge the gap, the school district is hoping a new initiative will help them get more teachers. “We are looking toward alternative certification teachers now, so anybody that may have a journalist degree, language arts degree, something that’s not in education, we have a great program to help them to learn how to be a great teacher with us,” Otterson said.

Education Week.
1) 19 Ways to Use ChatGPT in Your Classroom
2) English Teachers Should Teach More Nonfiction, National Group Says. Here’s How   The NCTE statement posits that teachers are unaware of the vast body of nonfiction literature—which can encompass memoirs, essays, informational texts, literary or narrative journalism, and more—because many states don’t require prospective teachers to take courses in children’s and young adult literature in their teacher-preparation programs. 
3) How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?      …teaching writing is hard. Few studies document what preparation teachers receive to teach writing, but in surveys, many teachers say they received little training in their college education courses…
4) Teachers Are Not Meant to Be Martyrs: Why we need to give educators more power to shape policy   Nothing in my teacher-preparation program was geared toward engaging with policy. This, too, needs to change. Teachers should not have to leave the classroom to feel like they can interact with policy. It should be part and parcel of the work of teaching.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania. IUP Receives Funding from Pennsylvania Department of Education for Program to Address Teacher Shortage, Diversity in Teacher Workforce   Indiana University of Pennsylvania has been selected to receive $72,049 from the Pennsylvania Department of Education through its Teacher Prep 2 Practice grant program. IUP’s funding will be used to design a culturally relevant teaching academy to diversify the teacher workforce and address the national teacher shortage. This work will take place in partnership with the Gateway School District in Monroeville, Allegheny County.

InsideHigherEd. State Budgets Are Booming. How Will Higher Ed Fare?  Last year, the Iowa state Legislature considered a proposal to tie some higher education appropriations directly to workforce preparation and in-state retention… the new model would create a Workforce Grant and Incentive Program to dole out grant money to individual students on a path toward a career deemed “high-demand” by the state, like teaching, nursing or engineering.

Learning Policy Institute (LPI). Educator Preparation Laboratory Third Annual Policy Summit Building the Teacher Pipeline: Emerging Models for High-Quality Educator Preparation   [Tuesday, January 24 1:30–3:00 p.m. ET]

National Center for Grow Your Own (NCGYO). National Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching Network  …the National Center for Grow Your Own (NCGYO) announces the launch of the National Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching Network. This network consists of states from around the country innovating with registered apprenticeships in teaching to address educator shortages. The network will meet to discuss the design and implementation of registered apprenticeships in teaching, inform policy and practice on the national stage and provide feedback to the U.S. Department of Labor.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Position Statement on the Role of Nonfiction Literature (K-12)   Perhaps these circumstances remain relatively unchanged because many states no longer require courses in children’s and young adult literature as part of their teacher preparation programs, denying teachers the opportunity to learn about this essential body of work

The 74.
1) A New Playbook to Recruit Tutors: Tap Teachers in Training   Amid labor shortages, hiring from teacher prep programs could ‘unlock’ up to a half million new tutor candidates nationwide, experts say
2) Inside the Incubator Using Apprenticeships to Redesign Teacher Preparation: Federally approved apprenticeships in teaching are less than a year old. These states are working together to roll out the nation’s first programs   Being an approved apprenticeship program unlocks both state and federal dollars… How to build financially sustainable models is a recurring conversation topic at the monthly meet ups, Donaldson said. 

WALB. Valdosta State University receives $750K to tackle teacher shortage   Valdosta State University has received $750,000 in federal funding to address the teacher shortage in rural areas… VSU started as a teacher-training college in 1913. So, they say the fact that they’re still able to provide and support that mission in 2023 is truly amazing for them and their students.

Washington Post. The geometry teacher is a recording. The chemistry students often teach themselves: Teacher shortages are getting renewed attention this year. But in Mississippi and other Southern states, this crisis dates back more than a decade.   Mississippi’s teacher shortage is long-standing, dating back to at least 1998, when state legislators passed a law that offered college scholarships for teachers-in-training in exchange for a commitment to teach in a community with a shortage. It has tried a number of initiatives to recruit teachers, including residencies where the state pays the tuition of a prospective teacher and a stipend for them to do long-term student teaching.

WDRB. Simmons College furthers resurgence, announces partnership with University of Kentucky   The agreement announced Tuesday morning creates a new pre-law and teacher education program at Simmons and gives opportunities for students and staff to visit for special events and speakers at the two schools.

WIBW. Western Governors launches scholarship in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.   Western Governors University has launched a scholarship in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in hopes of supporting those who have struggled to achieve educational goals… the “I Have a Dream” Scholarships are open to new and returning students in any of its 80+ undergraduate and graduate degree programs in information technology, business, K-12 teacher education and health professions.

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. New York’s PE teacher of the year has a big YouTube following for kid fitness videos   How and when did you decide to become a teacher? I was studying exercise science at Manhattan College, playing soccer for their team, while working at a children’s gymnastics studio on the side, running classes and hosting parties… I spoke to my Manhattan College career counselor Dr. Shawn Ladda. We discussed my job at the time, and that is when the lightbulb went off, and Dr. Ladda said elementary physical education! You can combine your passion and your talent for your career! 

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Call for Article Proposals for Educator’s Voice, Vol. XV Post-Pandemic Shifts: Learning and Growing through Change [proposal deadline Apr. 1]

NEW YORK CITY
Columbia University. Columbia University Names Minouche Shafik 20th President   For Shafik, teaching and research are synergistic. She believes that teaching at a top-tier university like Columbia “is informed by and imbued with research,” and that students should be thought of as “future scholars who themselves will have to develop the skills of creating knowledge and advancing their own arguments.” 

New York Times. Columbia Names Nemat Shafik as President, the First Woman to Lead the University: The economist, who runs the London School of Economics, takes over as higher education faces tumult — over free speech, costs and the likely end of affirmative action.

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Dec. 12 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Pulse.com. GES delays vacation of basic schools, re-opening date remains the same   … about 44,000 teachers have failed the mandatory Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE). The Registrar for the National Teaching Council, Dr Christian Addai-Poku disclosed this at the 2022/23 Cohort …He lamented that the results of the examinations were worrying, considering the poor performance of the teachers who were supposed to be imparting knowledge to children.

Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC). Production Report: Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC) 2022 – Present  Research presentations in Armenia and Turkey

The Conversation. We asked 900 Australian teachers if evidence informs how they teach – and found most use it, but there are key gaps   Our survey also suggests teachers do not get enough support and training to access research-based approaches.

The Guardian. Teacher shortage could worsen after DfE rejects dozens of training courses  England’s teacher shortage could worsen after the government rejected appeals by dozens of established providers to gain official accreditation for their initial teacher training courses… Only 179 out of 240 existing teacher training courses have been accredited under DfE’s new standards from 2024

UNITED STATES
AACTE. New Board Members Elected for 2023

ABC News. Lawmakers propose raising teachers’ minimum salaries to $60K to stem ‘mass exodus’   Wilson said she’s seen firsthand how other teachers can feel undervalued, weakening the workforce as a whole. She said that her son Paul became a teacher to follow in her footsteps, but his college professors attempted to dissuade him because they said teachers weren’t paid enough… The American Teacher Act would be one remedy to those concerns. The bill, co-led by Wilson and Bowman, was drafted in collaboration with the nonprofit, nonpartisan Teacher Salary Project.

Burlington County Times. NJ task force on public school staff shortages gets final 23 members   In an attempt to help alleviate the shortage, Murphy in September eliminated a key teacher licensing test from state requirements. The educative Teacher Performance Assessment, or edTPA, will nonetheless have to be replaced with another benchmark to ensure teacher quality, according to state records.

Chalkbeat. Her students were babies during lockdown. Here’s how that’s changed her approach.   What advice would you give someone considering a career in early childhood education? First, see if this is the right fit for you. Visit and observe all types of schools and all ages, birth to five. Learn about Maria Montessori, Emilia Reggio, and play-based schools. Visit a Head Start, charter, or traditional public school, or one of the academically focused centers. 

Chronicle. The Pandemic Accelerates a Decline in Campus-Based Child Care   Many day cares are operating at reduced capacity because of health restrictions or staff shortages… The larger of Amarillo College’s two centers is licensed to serve 135 students, but currently has only 78 because of staffing shortages, according to Dennis Sarine, director of teacher preparation and early childhood education. 

EdWeek
.
1) The Biden Administration’s New STEM Initiative: What Will It Mean for K-12 Schools?   Micron, a semiconductor, memory, and storage manufacturer, and the National Science Foundation plan to invest $10 million to accelerate training of new STEMM teachers, support the retention of existing STEMM educators, and advance diversity and equity in the STEMM teacher workforce.
2) Teachers Would Make at Least $60K Under New Federal Bill   The bill also would dedicate funds to a national campaign that would expand awareness of the value of teaching and encourage secondary and college students to consider the career. 
3) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff [January 26, 2023; 2:00 to 6:00 PM EST]

Forbes. New Bill Aims To End The Teacher Shortage With Higher Pay   Aiming to drastically increase the number and quality of people entering the teaching profession, the bill includes not only raises, but also national campaigns on the value of teaching. These campaigns may help to attract new talent and strengthen the weak teacher pipeline.

Hechinger Report. Third graders struggling the most to recover in reading after the pandemic: Analysis of 7 million students across the country sounds alarm for younger learners    Teachers in older grades don’t necessarily have the specialized training to backfill what students missed.  A second grade teacher, for example, would likely not know much about teaching students how to identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, an important step in learning to read called “phonemic awareness,” because it’s a skill that is the province of kindergarten and first grade teachers, Shanahan explained. 

Jersey Journal. This New Jersey university is laying off 30 professors, eliminating 37% of academic programs   Cash-strapped New Jersey City University is taking a sharpened axe to its list of academic programs and roster of professors… The programs eliminated include numerous science degrees from Environmental Science, Physics, and concentrations in Biology, Early Childhood and Elementary teaching degrees…

Learning Policy Institute (LPI).
1) The Road to Recovery in Learning: How California Points the Way   …efforts have left no aspect of education untouched, including: * investing $3 billion in teacher recruitment and retention through service scholarships, supports for preparation and mentoring, and new program models like teacher residencies… Los Angeles was also able to open school with all of its vacancies filled this year, while many districts were experiencing severe shortages, in part because it was …reaping the benefits of its several teacher residency programs that produced a well-prepared supply of teachers in shortage areas who have been staying in the classroom. 
2) Webinar: Educator Preparation Laboratory Second Annual Policy Summit [Jan 24, 2023 01:30 PM in Eastern Time]

NYTimes.
1) There’s a Reason There Aren’t Enough Teachers in America. Many Reasons, Actually.   Here are just a few of the longstanding problems plaguing American education: a generalized decline in literacy; the faltering international performance of American students; an inability to recruit enough qualified college graduates into the teaching profession… both intended and unintended consequences for teacher accountability reforms mandating tougher licensing rules, evaluations and skill testing….
2) Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.   J.R.O.T.C. programs, taught by military veterans at some 3,500 high schools across the country, are supposed to be elective…
3) Why Some Hasidic Children Can’t Leave Failing Schools   Recently, Ms. Weber said, Aaron’s teacher told him that the planets revolve around the Earth.

Washington Post. Study: Public schools paid teachers more than private ones in 2020-21   Public school teachers earned more than their counterparts in private schools in 2020-21, extending a longtime trend linked to licensing requirements…

NEW YORK STATE
Board of Regents. December Meetings
Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extensions for Coordinators of Work-Based Learning Programs  The proposed extension will also have the same base certificate, coursework, and experience requirements as the Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Programs for Career Awareness extension, with some revisions. The revisions include removing references to Provisional teaching certificates that no longer exist and adding Initial and Professional School Counselor certificates that become effective February 2, 2023, as eligible certificates for the base certificate requirement

WKBW Buffalo. Lack of teachers of color in classrooms   …Buff State’s effort goes even deeper, reaching students in high school. The college operates two urban teacher academies in the Buffalo Public School District — McKinley and International Prep.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. This virtual learning program has ‘changed the game’ for NYC’s small high schools  “Pretty quickly I was like, wow this is very different,” said Ellis-Lee, who is teaching AP US History and AP Human Geography virtually this year. “The kids are in a classroom in their school, they’re not sitting in their bed. There’s none of that trauma that we had to go through, thank God. And they also have a live, certified teacher that they already know in the room with them.”

NYPost. NYC parents scramble for kindergarten Gifted & Talented entry   …Adams said. “I’ve also had pre-K teachers tell me, ‘I haven’t been trained to assess whether or not a child is gifted. If a parent asks me for a nomination, I am going to give it.’” 

Teachers College. 5 Must-Read Books on Race & Inclusion for Teachers   To help support and challenge educators at the start of the school year, we asked Teachers College faculty members to share their recommendations of thoughtful, anti-racist works to inspire you professionally and beyond

Categories
Teacher Education

Production Report: Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC) 2022 – Present

Akin-Sabuncu, S., & Goodwin, A. L. (2022, October). Effective Mentor Teachers for Strong Faculty-School Partnership: A Case Study from the United States. Paper presented at the 10th International Congress on Curriculum and Instruction (ICCI), Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.

Akin-Sabuncu, S., & Goodwin, A. L. (2022, August). Mentoring Residents (Preservice Teachers) in High-Need Urban Schools: Insights and Lessons from a Clinically Rich Urban Teacher Residency Program. Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia.

Categories
Teacher Education

Weeks of Nov. 21 and 28 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Educators as Soldiers on the Global Education Battlefield   Utilizing the network of colleagues through the international educational collaboration between GCUE (Global Community uniting for Equity) and its affiliate in Ukraine, CEUJE (Community of Educators Uniting for Justice and Equity), Rochonda Nenonene and Novea McIntosh,  from the University of Dayton — a Marianist community educating for justice, service, and peace across the world — collaborated with Ukrainian future teachers to teach them culturally responsive assessment and social-emotional learning strategies. 

ERR (Estonia). State provides extensive subsidies for transition to education in Estonian   “We will raise the number of teacher training places at universities, offer more flexible modes of study, provide language training for educators and encourage teachers to enter and remain in the profession in order to increase the number of teachers with strong Estonian language skills,” Lukas explained.

Ministers of the Education Portfolio. Draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan released   Actions the Australian Government will fund include: * $159 million to train more teachers,…

News18 (India). HP Education Regulator Impose Rs 34 Lakh Fine on NCFSE Group   A hefty penalty of nearly Rs 34.05 lakh has been imposed on the NCFSE group of institutions by the state’s educational commission for violating the regulations of a teacher education programme… Seventeen institutions have admitted students in the two-year Diploma in Nursery Teacher Training (DNTT) and the one-year Nursery Teacher Training (NTT) courses after getting affiliation from the NCFSE in violation of regulations of the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), the officials said.

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Using COVID Funds to Support Apprenticeships   The Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to remind them that they can continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by using funds Congress appropriated in response to the pandemic to, among other things, expand opportunities for high-quality work-based learning, often referred to as “apprenticeships.”

Chalkbeat.
1) Changes to Illinois’ early childhood education funding needed to fix pay disparities, advocates say   …the study compared salaries based on credentials that educators in K-12 and early childhood both have — such as college degrees and professional licenses… The results align with national findings that show early childhood educators in Illinois are paid about 30% less than public elementary school teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade despite having the same degree and license. 
2) Philadelphia gathering focuses on increasing numbers of Black male educators   El-Mekki, who started his career as a middle school teacher in 1993, has created a Black Teacher Pipeline Project, which started out awarding four fellowships to aspiring Black male teachers each year. Now, there are 26 fellows annually and $1 million in the Future Black Teachers of Excellence Fund… A new Pennsylvania law, SB99, allows high school courses on education and teaching to be eligible for Career and Technical Education credits.

EdWeek.
1) A Media Literacy Requirement That Starts in Kindergarten? New Jersey May Start the Trend   An earlier version of the bill would’ve required the department of education to provide in-service training and teacher preparation programming on media literacy. The final version doesn’t include those requirements.
2) As Head Start Quality Push Continues, Advocates Raise Red Flag on Equity   But efforts to improve quality increased the cost of local programs, Barnett said. For example, teachers with bachelors degrees may require higher salaries than their peers without them.
3) Linda Darling-Hammond Wins International Prize for Education Research: The $3.9 million Yidan Prize is arguably the world’s most prestigious education award   When I met some extraordinary teachers and began to study how they had learned to teach, and conducted research on teacher preparation at RAND and, later, at Teachers College, Columbia University, I discovered a deep knowledge base that few teachers could access. I determined then to work on understanding high-quality preparation for teachers and figuring out how it could become widespread.
4) The Architects of the Standards Movement Say They Missed a Big Piece   “Coherence is the next piece of the agenda,” said Laura Slover, the chief executive of the nonprofit CenterPoint Education Solutions and the former CEO of PARCC …teachers in the state didn’t always have the training they needed to implement these materials well, said John B. King, the former New York state education commissioner… Panelists highlighted examples of states that have bolstered support for curriculum implementation…

Government Technology. How Are Teacher Prep Programs Adapting to Virtual Learning?   Teacher preparation programs like the one at the University of Texas have overhauled their curricula to incorporate digital tools for remote learning, as well as training to respond to students’ mental health needs.

Hechinger Report.
Schools can’t afford to lose any more Black male educators: Only about 7 percent of America’s public school teachers were Black, according to the most recent data, while Black children make up 15 percent of the student population   Clemson University’s Call Me MiSTER program has been around for about two decades. The concept behind the program is recruiting, training and certifying minority men to become elementary school teachers in South Carolina.

KSHB. Kansas City Teacher Residency receives $5 million donation to support teacher recruitment, diversity   Kansas City Teacher Residency (KCTR), an organization that works to recruit, prepare, place and retain teachers in the Kansas City area, has received a $5 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Lansing State Journal. Michigan State shortens teaching prep program from five to four years to address teacher shortages   The teacher preparation program will retain core elements, including a one-year internship and curriculum that focuses on social justice and equity, according to the press release, while making the program shorter and helping students save about $16,700 in tuition, not including thousands of dollars more in travel and living expenses.

ProPublica. At Washington State Special Education Schools, Years of Abuse Complaints and Lack of Academics   A special education director observed uncertified teachers struggling with no curriculum and urged the state to step in to protect “these extremely high-risk students.”… Washington also doesn’t demand state inspections and has vague staffing obligations. It requires an unspecified number of certified teachers and only one special education teacher per school. 

U.S. Dept. of Education FSA. 4 Loan Forgiveness Programs for Teachers   1. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program 2. Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) 3. Perkins Loan Cancellation for Teachers 4. State-Sponsored Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Washington Post.
1) Another big right vs. left learning standards debate. Who cares?   Chester E. Finn Jr., a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, was less pessimistic. “It’s true that state academic standards themselves don’t teach anybody anything,” he said, but “in the long run they affect curriculum, teacher prep, assessments, accountability and more.”
2) Student loan-payment freeze extended as courts weigh debt relief

WHYY. Pa. releases anti-racist guidelines as part of teacher-prep overhaul   This is the first time the state has included what educators refer to as “culturally-relevant and sustaining education” guidelines as part of its requirements for teacher-preparation programs.

NEW YORK STATE
InsideHigherEd. SUNY Sees Massive Increase in Applications   SUNY has seen a more than 110 percent year-over-year increase—from 97,257 to 204,437—in fall 2023 applications.

NYSED
1) Office of Higher Education Educator Preparation Newsletter
* Teacher Performance Assessment FAQs
* Board of Regents November Items.  a) School Building Leader: The Department proposed a regulatory amendment to revise the experience requirements for Professional School Building Leader (SBL) certification by removing the requirement that at least one of the three years of experience in an educational leadership position be as a school building leader.  b) Special Application For School Building Leader Programs To Show Alignment With The PSELS
2) Public comment period on Proposed Amendment.. Relating to the Student Teaching Requirements for Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and Through the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification    Comments must be submitted by December 19, 2022, to William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Higher Education, Room 975, Education Building Annex, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, or email [email protected]
3) Public comment period on Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Experience Requirement for Professional School Building Leader Certification    Comments must be submitted by January 30, 2023 to William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Higher Education, Room 975, Education Building Annex, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, or email [email protected].

Syracuse University News
. SUNY ESF Graduates Launch Their Science Teaching Careers Together at the School of Education   Syracuse University’s relationship with its close neighbor, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, has been a long and fruitful one. After all, SUNY ESF was founded as a unit of SU in 1911, and today the two universities share resources, their professors collaborate, and students mingle across the two campuses, take classes together, join cross-campus organizations, and—sometimes—graduate from one college and into the other. That last scenario is certainly the case for six SUNY ESF graduates who, in summer 2022, enrolled in the School of Education’s (SOE) 13-month master’s degree program in science education (Grades 7-12).

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College. Recruiting for Residencies: Possibilities for Today & Tomorrow [Nov. 16th Video Recording]

Chalkbeat. Computer science classes have an equity issue. Some NYC educators are trying to change that.   New York City is trying to address this through a program called “Computer Integrated Teacher Education” to help train more than 1,000 New York City teachers to integrate computing across subjects. The $14 million initiative, announced Monday, is funded through a public/private partnership with the education department, CUNY, Google, Robin Hood, and Gotham Gives…

Teachers College. What You May Not Know About TC Alum & Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm: In honor of what would have been the legend’s 98th birthday, a look at her life and lasting impact   “I enrolled in TC to follow a career in the classroom, because I felt then, as I feel now, that education is the only real passport out of poverty,… If teachers are valuable to society, the school that teaches the teachers bears enormous responsibility to the next generation,” Chisholm wrote. “TC must continue to make sure that it graduates a diverse and innovative pool of educators who believe every child has something to give and that we are at our best as a society when the doors of opportunity are open wide for them all.”

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Nov. 14 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Education International.
1) Ghana: Campaign against privatisation and commercialisation of education   The increased teacher training also led to the deployment of over 120,000 more teachers, reducing the student-teacher ratio from 35 to 27 at kindergarten level, from 34 to 26 at primary level and from 16 to 12 in junior high school.
2) Join us! Teach for the Planet at COP27   The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) is taking place in Egypt, from November 6th to the 18th…  Governments must finance and implement reforms to include quality climate change education in curricula across subjects and grades, as well as in initial teacher training courses and professional development opportunities.

Education Times. Private education has grown faster in South Asia than any other region, reveals UNESCO report   Tertiary education is increasingly private due to insufficient public supply… Teacher training institutions are also often private with teacher education only provided exclusively by the state in two countries, Bhutan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2020, more than 90% of recognised pre-service teacher education institutions in India were privately funded through student fees.

New York Times. How an American Survived Hiding From the Russians in Kherson for 8 Months   But for Mr. Morales, 56, a former college professor, the worst was behind him — no more anxious cat-and-mouse games with the Russians. Raised in Banbury, England, he had lived for years in Oklahoma City teaching English literature, and had opened an English-language school in Kherson before the Russian invasion in February.

UNITED STATES
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. AACTE and Education Community Urge Congress to Support EDUCATORS for America Act   This legislation would make critical investments in the federal government’s educator preparation programs, including the following: *Authorize $500 million annually to support educator preparation programs and partnerships including: *Update and expand the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program to focus on residency programs, strengthen the principal and school leader preparation programs, and enable partnerships to address the need for early childhood educators, school librarians, counselors, and other specialized support personnel…  

American Enterprise Institute. The critical race theory battle takes another turn   …a new report published by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education suggests, despite itself, that these laws did not go far enough. The report, titled “The State of Education Censorship in Institutions of Higher Ed and Implications for the Field,” … succeeds in dripping with self-righteous contempt for Republican legislators and the constituents they represent — raising the question of why any conservative policymaker would continue to grant a teacher-training monopoly to institutions captured by ideologues who hate them.

Chalkbeat.
1) Discipline and passion: How Colorado’s Teacher of Year makes magic   Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?  When I was studying music as an undergraduate at Tennessee State University, I took some courses that required practicums — we would go to a school and observe a teacher teach their class. These really ignited my passion for teaching instrumental music to middle school and high school students…
2) Teaching ‘world changers:’ Indiana’s 2023 Teacher of the Year applies history to today   How and when did you decide to become a teacher? Did you always want to teach in your hometown? I didn’t think about pursuing education as a career until my sophomore year of college. I interned for an awesome eighth grade history teacher and cadet taught for my former first grade teacher during my senior year of high school… People always told me I’d be a good teacher, but I didn’t think teaching was prestigious enough… In college, I had a professor who showed me that teaching could be a calling and a profession full of purpose. That changed my trajectory.

Education Week.
1) ‘Does Anyone Else Cry After Work?’: Teacher Reddit Is the Unfiltered Voice of Educators   A study unveiled this month found that the status of the teaching profession is at its lowest in five decades—teachers’ job satisfaction is the lowest its been in recent memory, public perception has soured, and fewer young people are interested in teaching as a career. 
2) From Hospice Work to 1st Grade: One Teacher’s Career-Changing Journey   Tennessee became the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a registered apprenticeship program for teachers. The state now has approved seven teacher-preparation providers to run apprenticeship programs… I started out as a teacher resident going back to school, getting my master’s level classes at Lipscomb. Last year, I taught 1st grade on a job-embedded license, [which allows candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree to work as a teacher while working toward full licensure]. Now that I graduated in the spring and got my degree and my licensure, I’m teaching independently.
3) The Status of the Teaching Profession Is at a 50-Year Low. What Can We Do About It?   Jeffrey Henig, a professor of political science and education at Teachers College … “We have a whole bunch of policies that come and go, but are linked by the fact that, ultimately, it’s teachers who are the ones who deliver those policies in classrooms…So, if in fact the working conditions for teachers are declining, so that teachers are becoming not just less happy but less able to do a good job, then that has implications.”

Hechinger Report. In elementary classrooms, demand grows for play-based learning: Play supporters point to improved literacy, fewer achievement gaps, and better motor skills for students   Before becoming a teacher, Oklahoma state Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, a Democrat, thought all students were taught lessons through play. “I became a teacher back in 2012 and I realized it’s [play] not even accepted anymore as a way to learn, even in the younger grades,” Rosecrants said. “Some schools do it great, but I’m talking about the way that I learned — going outside, playing, discovering — that type of thing was not something that was focused on in any of the public schools I went to [as a teacher].”

InsideHigherEd.
1) How Colleges Measure and Prove Their Value: With public doubts escalating about whether going to college is “worth it,” campus leaders and policy analysts discuss steps institutions are taking to show how they help students and society.   …we’re in a state that ranks 50th out of 50 in teacher pay. We’re going to shut down our teacher education program. It calls on us to think more strategically about the cost of those programs. That is something that NAU and Arizona as a state have been working on for the last several years. We have something called the Arizona Teachers Academy, which will provide students a tuition-free teacher-prep degree, provided they commit to staying in the state and teaching in a school in the state for the same number of years that they get this scholarship.
2) Pressure Builds for Biden to Extend Student Loan Payment Pause: Calls for the extension intensified after a federal appeals court ruled against the administration, dealing another blow to the loan-forgiveness plan.   The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found in an April report that many borrowers would struggle to make payments when the pause ended. That resumption of payments comes as the administration is overhauling debt-relief programs including income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. New regulations aimed at fixing Public Service Loan Forgiveness are going into effect July 1.

KTEN Oklahoma. Oklahoma teacher shortage, low pay linked to test score slump   The Oklahoma State School Boards Association reported more than 1,000 educator vacancies, with nearly 3,000 emergency teaching certificates at the beginning of the school year. The Oklahoma Education Association said teacher pay in the Sooner State ranks 34th in the nation. “That just has a residual effect on the number of teachers and programs you have,” said Madill Public Schools Superintendent Larry Case. “Which makes it even worse in today’s climate to where people aren’t going into education.”

NEA News. State Funding for Higher Education Still Lagging   A majority of state legislatures spent far less on public colleges and universities in 2020 than they did in 2008, an NEA analysis shows. This means colleges and universities must rely on students to pay the cost of college—and those students are borrowing to do it.

Pearson Education. edTPA® Community Newsletter November

Washington Post.
1) Biden administration asks Supreme Court to reinstate student loan forgiveness program   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit decided 3-0 on Monday to side with a coalition of six Republican-led states that requested that the court table any debt cancellation amid its ongoing litigation. The injunction is to remain in place until further notice from the court or the Supreme Court, according to the order.
2) Virginia is changing the way it teaches history, social studies. Here’s how    Differences: The old guidelines call on teachers to dissect, compare and contrast the concepts of “colonialism,” “imperialism,” “nationalism” and “racism.” The new guidelines do not suggest this….

Western Michigan University. Results-oriented academic leader, public policy scholar will lead Western’s academic affairs division   Following a nationwide search, Western Michigan University has named Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig as its next Provost and Vice president for Academic Affairs… Vasquez Heilig currently serves about 3,000 students, staff and faculty as dean of the University of Kentucky’s College of Education…prioritized increasing diversity among teachers and recruiting more students to the teacher pipeline amid a growing shortage in the United States.

WMAR Baltimore. Aspiring teachers discuss the difficulties with the certification process   “Everyone should want high-quality teachers, but we shouldn’t have barriers to entry that don’t make sense, or to test the wrong thing,” said David Steiner, Professor and Executive Director for Johns Hopkins education policy.

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED Board of Regents. November Meetings
* Higher Education Committee. Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Experience Requirement for Professional School Building Leader Certification   …the Department proposes to amend the experience requirements for Professional School Building Leader certification by removing the requirement that at least one of the three years of experience in an educational leadership position be as a school building leader. This proposed amendment will provide school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) with greater flexibility to assign administrators to the roles and responsibilities that are needed in their local education agencies.
* Consent Agenda P-12 Committee. Amendment…Relating to Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK) Staffing Qualifications   …the proposed rule requires that staff of eligible agencies collaborating with the district to provide Pre-K services have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a teaching license or certificate valid for services in the childhood grades. If such staff lack these qualifications, the district must obtain a waiver from the Department as a condition of their employment.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. For this Brooklyn teacher, climate education can inspire students to help their communities   Slack became a teacher through the New York City Teaching Fellows program after running a nature center in southern Massachusetts, and she has always kept climate education at the forefront of her work. 

Gothamist. Bilingual teachers hard to find as thousands of migrant students enter NYC schools  …according to the United Federation of Teachers, fewer than 3,000 teachers are certified as bilingual instructors. That’s approximately one educator for 47 students, although these educators are not evenly distributed throughout the school system. There are also 3,455 educators certified to teach English as a New Language (ENL) but they are not necessarily bilingual themselves, and their classes are primarily in English, according to the UFT. Other teachers may be bilingual, but are not certified.

Teachers College. Take Action on Student Loan Forgiveness   A recent lawsuit is blocking the President Biden’s debt forgiveness plan which calls for us to take action. The TC Take Action Coalition is convening on November 30th to do just that–we are advocating for a payment pause extension and for the President to use all legal tools available to cancel student debt in light of the recent court decisions. [Wednesday, November 30, 2022 12:00 – 1:00 PM Hybrid/Grace Dodge 197C]

Categories
Teacher Education

Week of Nov. 7 in Teacher Ed News

GLOBAL
Mid-day. Union slams Maharashtra govt affidavit on aspiring teachers’ hiring freeze   The Maharashtra Students Union (MASU) and the advocate representing it before the apex court has punctured holes in the affidavit submitted by deputy education officer Sandeep Sangave on behalf of the state of Maharashtra in the matter of the BMC freezing the recruitment of 253 teachers to civic primary and secondary schools, as the candidates had not done their schooling in English medium. 

Univ. of Auckland. Teacher Education in Schools expanding for 2023   After a successful first year, the University of Auckland is continuing and expanding the Teacher Education in Schools Programme for online students wanting to become secondary teachers in 2023.

World Socialist Web Site. Australian university union hails Labor’s cost-cutting budget   …the extra places are tied to vocational courses designed to funnel students into “skills shortages” areas identified by the government and employers, with the lion’s share going to teacher education, followed by nursing…. 

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Board of Directors Election [vote by Nov. 30]
2) Real Classroom Experience and Real Pay: A Snapshot of a Teacher Preparation Program in America’s Most Diverse Small City   New Jersey City University, a minority serving institution, is home to the innovative “Teacher Intern Program” (TIP)… IP interns work anywhere from 10-30 hours/week, depending on their academic schedule and schools’ needs. They earn $20 an hour which is 54% above the New Jersey minimum wage. Substitute license fees and Praxis exam reimbursement are also provided by the program. Funding, provided by partner schools, is typically sourced through Title I budgets.

Education Week.
1) Election Guide 2022: Results on the Issues and Races Affecting K-12   Outside of raising teacher pay, some of the solutions Democrats and some Republicans proposed included establishing statewide “grow your own” and apprenticeship programs, recruiting teachers from rural areas, and partnering with colleges and universities to create more robust teacher preparation programs.
2) Lucy Calkins Revisits and Revises Her Reading Curriculum (by TC Prof. L. Calkins)   The message that has been pushed out by some phonics advocates, and that has trickled down to parents and even some educators, is an oversimplified one: If only teachers would teach phonics exclusively, then presto, all the reading problems in the world would vanish… To date, there is no evidence that a curriculum that gives sole attention to phonics and focuses especially on kids sounding out words—as important as that work is—will, on its own, prepare kids for mastery of rigorous state standards.

Forbes. How Bowie State University Is Diversifying The Teaching Profession   As teacher education programs across the nation cope with enrollment declines, Bowie State University, a historically Black university in Maryland, has been steadily increasing the number of students enrolled in bachelors’ education programs, growing from 221 students in 2018 to 319 in 2021, a substantial jump

InsideHigherEd. Moving Forward on FAFSA Simplification  Colleges and universities have to update their cost of attendance calculations now that the Education Department has said it is carrying out that change and others for the 2023–24 academic year.

New York Times. Pranks, Parties and Politics: Ron DeSantis’s Year as a Schoolteacher   Mr. DeSantis taught at Darlington in the 2001-02 school year after graduating from Yale University and just before attending Harvard Law School… Like other first-year teachers, Mr. Wempe said, Mr. DeSantis was “drinking from a fire hose” and learning the job on the fly. 

The74. Breaking Down the Walls to Teaching: Alternative Pipelines Boom   Residencies, fellowships, and grow-your-own programs bring more diverse educators into the profession, help vacancies in STEM, special education

Univ. of North Georgia. Students learn about teacher education   More than 170 high school students enjoyed learning about the University of North Georgia’s (UNG) College of Education and its teacher preparation programs on Nov. 3.

Washington Post.
1) In one state, every class teaches climate change — even P.E.   Historically, climate change has not been comprehensively taught in U.S. schools, largely because of the partisanship surrounding climate change and many teachers’ limited grasp of the science. That started to change in 2013, with the release of new national science standards, which instructed science teachers to introduce students to climate change… Even in New Jersey, many teachers said they lacked confidence in their knowledge of the subject in a 2021 survey. 
2) It may take longer for some public servants to see student loan relief   For the last year, the Biden administration has allowed social workers, teachers and other public servants to retroactively receive credit toward debt cancellation regardless of their type of federal loan or payment plan. The reprieve ended Oct. 31 and has so far resulted in more than 247,000 people receiving $15 billion in debt cancellation…

WBEZ Chicago. Amid a national teacher shortage, UChicago appears to be dissolving its teacher training program   The university says it’s “pausing” admissions to its well-regarded grad program that trains teachers to work in urban districts like Chicago’s.

WZTV. Tennessee looks at dropping mandatory test for novice teachers, combatting staff shortages   The education teacher performance assessment (EDTPA) is a national test that was implemented about a decade ago. However, this could soon be a thing of the past in Tennessee due to recent teacher shortages. JC Bowman with the Professional Educators of Tennessee says, “It’s a impersonal, costly, subjective, it’s a drain in time, and it doesn’t predict good teaching.”

NEW YORK STATE
Buffalo Business First. Daemen University employs creative solutions to solve teacher shortage   Daemen University’s new graduate programs have also been revised – we have created six online graduate programs from two face-to-face graduate programs. Now, students can access every single program necessary for various certifications in New York state with a plan in place to convert new programs to the new students with disabilities all-grade certification. There is also a plan to address the gap in special education teachers, whereby Daemen programs will meet the requirements for all-grade certification for students with disabilities.

Chalkbeat. Here’s what Gov. Kathy Hochul’s win could mean for New York schools  In her first year in office, she oversaw significant developments in education, including boosting funding for schools and signing a bill that aims to limit class sizes in New York City schools…  To address the state’s looming teacher shortage, she expanded some alternative teacher certification programs. She also temporarily waived an income cap for retirees who want to return to the classroom. The situation could soon get dire as state teaching programs have seen enrollment drop by more than half since 2009, and about a third of current teachers are projected to retire in the next five years…

NYSED Board of Regents. November 2022 Meeting
* Higher Education Committee. Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Experience Requirement for Professional School Building Leader Certification   …the Department proposes to amend the experience requirements for Professional School Building Leader certification by removing the requirement that at least one of the three years of experience in an educational leadership position be as a school building leader. This proposed amendment will provide school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) with greater flexibility to assign administrators to the roles and responsibilities that are needed in their local education agencies.
* Consent Agenda P-12 Committee. Amendment…Relating to Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK) Staffing Qualifications   …the proposed rule requires that staff of eligible agencies collaborating with the district to provide Pre-K services have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a teaching license or certificate valid for services in the childhood grades. If such staff lack these qualifications, the district must obtain a waiver from the Department as a condition of their employment.

New York State Museum. Native American Heritage Month: Online Exhibitions & Educator Resources

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College.
1) 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
2) Inflation Threatens Equity. Here’s How. We chatted with just some Teachers College experts on how inflation may affect education, food access and mental health. In addition to inflation’s effect on teachers, student loan debt is continuing to raise challenges for students pursuing higher education, particularly those from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds.
3) TC Veterans You Need to Know: Meet members of the TC community who served in the U.S. military — and learn what motivates them — in honor of Veteran’s Day   Major Freeman … began her teaching career when guiding cadets through basic training and went on to become an Assistant Professor of Military Science in the ROTC program at UCLA… “I thought I would learn to become a better teacher,” says the major. “But talking so much about social justice taught me to look at the big picture – knowledge I can use to raise awareness at West Point.”