Tag: teacher

GLOBAL
Education International (EI). Refugee teachers are key to overcoming the teacher shortage and transforming education    In Sweden, EI member organisation Lärarförbundet was directly involved in the development of a fast-track for refugee teachers aiming to give participants a coherent individual path to a Swedish teaching certificate. 

Graphic Online [Ghana]. Govt releases GH¢57.4m to colleges of education   Dr Adutwum, who said this at the National Dialogue on Initial Teacher Education in Accra yesterday, stressed that there was no way the government would stop paying allowances to teacher trainees.

Monash University. A call for volunteers to teach Ukrainian children displaced by war: Do you have spare time and a teaching background? Help Ukrainian children to experience the gift of learning.   Over one hundred of our pre-service teachers have already put up their hand to participate in this initiative. And now we are extending the invitation to all interested Australians who have a background in teaching.

Morocco World News. Teaching and Teacher-Training research Gains Traction in Morocco   Research about teaching – and how to best train teachers – is progressing in Morocco, thanks to a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Arizona State University (ASU). The Higher Education Partnership–Morocco (HEP-M) has helped Moroccan educators since 2020 to strengthen their system for training primary-school teachers, which the government of Morocco has identified as a top priority in raising the quality of education.

UNITED STATES
American Association of College for Teacher Education (AACTE). AACTE Names Outstanding Book Award After Renowned Educator Gloria J. Ladson-Billings: Entries Open   AACTE announced today that it named its annual Outstanding Book Award in honor of the prominent American pedagogical theorist and teacher educator Gloria J. Ladson-Billings…. AACTE is currently accepting entries for the 2023 Gloria Ladson-Billings Outstanding Book Award. The deadline to apply is August 19.

American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: What American Must Do to Attract and Retain the Educators and School Staff Our Students Need. AFT Teacher and School Staff Shortage Task Force Report

Chalkbeat.
1) For this LA educator, teaching Asian American history and activism is personal   But improving the experience for all students requires better training for educators, she said. “Our teacher education programs need to emphasize more anti-racism and social justice,” she said. “I think it’s fundamental that teachers are trained.”
2) I overcame enormous financial challenges to become a teacher. Would I always feel like an outsider?   Those who see the need for more educators of color often don’t understand what prevents teachers like me from entering and staying in the profession.

Deans for Impact. Valerie Sakimura named next executive director of Deans for Impact   … was a member of the founding team of DFI and has served as the organization’s vice president of program for the last seven years… has led the organization’s work to partner with educator-preparation programs to better prepare future teachers. .… Sakimura received her bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard University…

Education Week.
1) The Outlook Is Bad for School Hiring This Fall   Fewer than one-third of respondents said they have enough candidates for teachers, paraprofessional, and food service worker positions… Strategies to cope with the staffing challenges have included shifting to a four-day school week, tapping emergency certified teachers, and using contractors to fill staff gaps.. The Emporia district in Kansas recently… opting for staggered start times, hiring qualified student teachers from a nearby university, and transferring instructional strategists to teaching roles.
2) What Does It Mean to ‘Overspend’ on Teacher Salaries?   Teacher salaries generally reflect academic degrees and years of experience. For example, the salary schedule for 12-month teachers in Montgomery County, Md., starts at $61,436 for new teachers with a bachelor’s degree (for 10-month employees, it’s $52,286).

Florida Times Union. 5 things to know about how military veterans in Florida can teach without certification   Under the new law, which took effect July 1, veterans don’t need a college degree at all. And they aren’t restricted to which subjects they may teach. All they need are: *At least 48 months of military service with an honorable or medical discharge; *At least 60 college credits with a 2.5 point-grade average (out of 4) or above; *A passing score on a Florida subject area exam for bachelor-level subjects; and *A job in a Florida school district, including charter schools.

National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement (NAFSCE). Family Engagement Core Competencies: A Body of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions for Family-Facing Professionals   Research shows that family engagement is, in fact, foundational for student achievement, particularly in low-income and culturally diverse communities, where the achievement gap is most severe. Yet, teachers lack the training and capacity to effectively engage families. Since its inception NAFSCE has placed closing this preparation gap as a strategic component of its work.

New York Times. Over 150 Lesson Plans Based on New York Times Articles   From the geometry of the cauliflower to a game about gerrymandering, a collection of lesson plans from the 2021-22 school year to help students understand world events and draw connections to their own lives.

Philadelphia Inquirer.  Pa.’s teacher shortage is now a ‘crisis.’ Here’s how the state plans to bring in thousands of educators by 2025   Over the next three years, officials said, they would aim to increase the number of students enrolled in Pennsylvania’s teacher preparation programs from 18,000 to 21,600, and lower the number of educator vacancies at all Pennsylvania schools. To do this, they will rely on stronger recruiting strategies for aspiring teachers, making policy changes to educator preparation programs with help from the state Board of Education and General Assembly, and expanding programs like apprenticeships.

Politico. The Education Department has a plan for canceling student debt — if Biden gives the word   Senior department officials are preparing the mechanics of how the agency would operate a mass loan forgiveness program.

Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). SBEC Work Panel Discusses edTPA Following SBOE Veto   The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) held a work session July 21… The Board heard from an invited panel of stakeholders that included a representative for school districts/human resources administrators, traditional higher education, alternative certification, certification/testing… TEA staff provided a limited number of options that the panel could consider for next steps…

Texas Tribune. It’s not just COVID-19: Why Texas faces a teacher shortage   …  most of Texas’ educators get certified through alternative programs and are more likely to leave than teachers who went to more traditional four-year schools… and had no guidance on how to face the challenges of working in disadvantaged schools.

The74. NM Professor Recruiting Native American Teachers to Work in Their Hometowns   The program is open to Native American students enrolled in UNM’s Department of Education as well as Natives students with at least a bachelor’s degree in a field that can be useful in a K-12 classroom… UNM’s Institute of American Indian Education is recruiting recent or soon-to-be college graduates who are Native American to teach K-12 in their home communities. 

NEW YORK STATE
The New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE).  40 FREE online courses for all NYS educators! Developed by NYS educators, the courses are a perfect way for all teachers to learn WHAT they want, WHEN they want. [available until Sept. 30, 2022]

New York State Education Department (NYSED) Public Comment Periods for Proposed Regulatory Changes: Send comments on the proposed changes to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Higher Education, Room 975, Education Building, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234. Email: [email protected].
1) New Literacy Education All Grades Certificate – This proposal is out for public comment a second time since NYSED revised the original proposal. This revised proposal reduces the number of practicum hours that would be required for this certificate from 100 (50 hour each in B-6 and 5-12) to 50 across the entire grade span B-12. The revised proposal also addresses the required pedagogical core. Deadline for submission of comments is August 15, 2022.
2) School Building Leader (SBL) Programs – This emergency measure extends by one year (to Sep. 1, 2023) implementation of the previously adopted regulations requiring SBL programs to be aligned with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs). The proposal also extends by one year (to Aug. 31, 2025) the School Building Leader Assessment safety net. Deadline for submission of comments is August 29, 2022.
3) SOCE – This proposal would extend by one year (to Sep. 1, 2024) the implementation timeline for the computer science statement of continued eligibility (SOCE). Deadline for submission of comments is August 29, 2022.
4) Career and Technical Education (CTE) – This proposal would allow computer science courses to be used to meet required CTE credit. Deadline for submission of comments is August 29, 2022.

NEW YORK CITY
Bank Street College of Education. With Thoughtful Design, Teacher Residencies Can Benefit from New Department of Labor Funding Opportunities   The U.S. Department of Labor’s recent approval of teaching as an apprenticeable field offers an exciting opportunity for teacher preparation. Programs are now eligible to become Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) — federally recognized career pathways that offer paid on-the-job training linked with coursework, culminating in credentials for practice. As an apprenticeable field, preparation programs now have a chance to harness some of the financial resources available to RAPs in service of developing a more diverse, well-prepared teaching force.

Chalkbeat.
1) NYC slated to get 3,000 new child care seats this fall, Hochul says   The grants are expected to help new child care providers in certain areas build programs by covering start-up and personnel costs, as well as with recruitment, training, and supporting staff in accessing COVID-19 vaccines, state officials said.  
2) Virtual Event: NYC is promising to overhaul literacy in NYC schools. What will it take?  [Aug. 10 4:30pm. RSVP required]

NYNMedia. Revamping how we teach reading must be fundamental to NYC DOE reforms: Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks took promising first steps by proposing a shift to an evidence-based reading curriculum and comprehensive dyslexia screenings    … we need to train our teachers not only to teach in ways proven to create stronger readers, but also to identify and understand the dyslexic students and other diverse learners in their midst. 

Teachers College.
1) New Jaffe Family Gift Bolsters Scholarship Funding for Returning Peace Corps Volunteers: The $1.7 million gift reaffirms a 30-year-plus commitment to supporting returning volunteers who will teach in New York City public schools   And with this new gift, the Jaffes have contributed nearly $6.5 million since 1990 to support returning Peace Corps volunteers who pursue master’s degrees in teacher education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and teach in New York City public schools following graduation.
2) New York Voters Strongly Support a Black Studies Curriculum in Public Schools: A new survey of Black voters from TC’s Black Education Research Collective (BERC) provides critical context for ongoing efforts to implement one of the first PK-12 Black Studie  The study was conducted with funding from a $3.25 million, one-year grant from the New York City Council to support BERC’s creation of an interdisciplinary Black studies curriculum and professional development program for teachers in New York City’s public schools. 
3) Six Takeaways for Building Cultural Inclusion and Equity in the Classroom  TC’s Reimagining Education Summer Institute offers educators and school leaders actionable tools for antiracist education  

GLOBAL
Kathmandu Post. Revitalising the teaching profession: Academic institutions should offer competitive salaries and benefits to teachers.   …institutions should provide monetary support for the teachers’ professional development; this may include helping them to pursue their academic goals by paying their university fees, for example, if they want to pursue a degree related to teacher education or educational science. In return, teachers can commit to render service to the institution for a certain number of years.

UNESCO.
1) Setting Commitments: National SDG 4 Benchmarks to Transform Education, 2022   Angola: a slight acceleration in teacher training is intended, on the hypothesis that by 2025 all new teachers will have the appropriate qualifications… Colombia: One of the central components of such care is education, and, in this regard, special importance has been given to teacher training for early education, as well as to reinforcing the oversight and monitoring of the centres that provide early education… France: The government aims to improve students’ performance by prioritizing mathematics competencies from the first year of primary education, increasing dedicated instruction time at the secondary level and strengthening teacher training in this domain… Guyana: the number of centres conducting initial teacher training has been expanded across the country. Teacher trainees now have access to synchronous and asynchronous training for the first time… Mexico: At the pre-primary level, the country aims to increase the proportion of trained teachers to 86% in 2025 and 87% in 2030, and at the primary level to 96% in 2025 and 97% in 2030. At the upper secondary level, benchmarks were set with a view to achieving universal teacher training by 2025.
2) To transform education, we need qualified, motivated and supported teachers.  More teachers are desperately needed. Globally, we are still millions of teachers short: recent estimates point to sub-Saharan Africa alone needing 15 million teachers to achieve SDG 4 by 2030. Compounding the teacher shortage, in many countries, teachers lack minimum qualifications and training.

UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat.
1) Indiana’s teacher shortage has some schools scrambling   … has relied more heavily on emergency permits; those are temporary credentials that allow people who aren’t licensed to teach a certain subject. They’re used when schools can’t find a qualified teacher for the job. Emergency permit holders must have a bachelor’s degree and be working toward a license in that subject area.
2) Tennessee governor responds to outcry over Hillsdale charter leader’s criticism of teachers   In a radio interview Wednesday with conservative talk show host Matt Murphy, Lee said Arnn’s remarks about teachers and teacher training have been taken out of context and emphasized that they were not aimed at Tennessee educators. “I’m not going to rebut someone who was speaking about left-wing problems in public education in this country that have actually hurt the genuine work of our teachers,” Lee said. “That’s why we in our state passed a law prohibiting critical race theory. 

Chronicle of Higher Education. ‘Uninformed, Misguided, Irresponsible’: Hillsdale President’s Remarks Roil Tennessee Educators   Ellen McIntyre, dean of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, said in an interview that the standards for educators who train teachers in Tennessee are “the highest I’ve ever seen.” McIntyre has previously taught at three other universities. According to Estes, students are not allowed into a teacher-education program in Tennessee unless they have a score of 21 or higher (out of 36) on the ACT. Once a student is admitted into a state-approved program, “we have 110 clinical hours minimum before any student-teaching, you’ve got GPA requirements, and even for licensure on the content and pedagogy tests … we have some of the highest requirement scores in the nation.”

CBS42. AL Board of Education votes to change teacher certification requirements due to staff shortages   Alabama’s State Board of Education Tuesday lowered the Praxis test score requirements potential teachers need, as long as they have a 2.75 GPA in their teaching field or complete 100 hours of professional learning… The Board also approved a waiver program that allows schools considered to be in “critical need” of staff to hire teachers who scored within two standard errors of measure below the requirement.

Education Week.
1) A Big Gap in K-12 Leadership Prep: Teaching School Finance Skills   There’s still debate over how deep educator-preparation programs should go into school finance… States can also invest in building financial literacy among K-12 leaders by requiring traditional university-based preparation programs to include a base body of financial knowledge as part of their programs…
2) Emergency Certified Teachers: Are They a Viable Solution to Shortages?   Emergency certification implies something of a rare and urgent nature. It was under those circumstances that districts began hiring ECTs… As districts’ reliance on ECTs grows, perhaps so should support that will increase their chances of success.
3) How Teacher-Prep Programs Should Help Future Educators Adapt to Crisis and Change   Here’s how Gawronski recommends teacher education programs adapt: Practice what you preach…Use what you know… Don’t assume the status quo will return… Examine mentor-mentee relationships. 
4) States Relax Teacher Certification Rules to Combat Shortages   Across the country, policymakers are taking steps to relax their states’ certification requirements to get more teachers in the classroom and circumvent shortages. Reviews by Education Week and the Education Commission of the States found about a dozen states that have recently amended—or are considering amending—teacher certification rules.
5) Virtual Career Fair. Connect quickly and easily with 65 recruiters from school districts and companies across the country at the EdWeek Top School Jobs Virtual [July 21st, 1-5pm EDT]

Fox News. Educators in Arizona can begin teaching at public schools before earning college degree: Legislation will give public schools greater options in recruiting educators, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says   Educators in Arizona’s public school system will only need to be enrolled in college to begin teaching in a classroom after Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation last week meant to help these schools recruit future educators as the state continues to face a teacher shortage.

InsideHigherEd.
1) Calling It Quits: It remains unclear just how many professors are leaving their jobs during the Great Resignation, but stories about who is leaving, and why, abound.  Peters said that he didn’t rule out staying in academe following his departure from UW Whitewater, but also said that he had “grown more skeptical” of it, “especially in teacher education. So much of teacher training is very stagnant. There isn’t enough innovation and there’s a lot of resistance to change.”
2) Hillsdale Leader’s Slurs of Teacher Preparation Stoke Tennessee Controversy   Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee has come under fire from teacher groups and education leaders in his state for sitting by as the president of Hillsdale College—who is advising him on education policy—referred to teachers as being trained “in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.” Lee is among the Republican governors who are turning to Hillsdale and its president, Larry Arnn, for advice on education policy. As an institution that describes itself as a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college that shuns federal funding and “social justice,” Hillsdale has built a national network of charter schools and has become influential with conservative politicians such as Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.

Truthout. The Right Wants to End Teacher Certification. It’s Already Starting to Happen.   Teaching candidates with advanced degrees, says anti-CRT activist Christopher Rufo, should be viewed with suspicion: Don’t “hire the ones with the masters, because those are the crazies.” In April, anti-CRT activist Christopher Rufo called for state lawmakers to rescind requirements that teachers hold education degrees, claiming that masters programs in education only exposed future teachers to left-wing ideology. 

Univ. of Houston. Alternative Teacher Certification Program for STEM   The Alternative Certification Program for STEM teachers is managed by the teachHOUSTON program at the University of Houston. The certification program targets college students in their senior year, as well as college graduates of all ages with a STEM background (15 hours of math or science), who aspire to become secondary STEM teachers.

Washington Post.
1) Teachers go to the ‘dumbest colleges’ — who said it and why it matters   The reference to teaching being trained in the “dumbest part of the dumbest colleges” involves data released years ago saying that education majors go to schools that have lower SAT scores than more selective schools — as if SAT and ACT scores were an important determinant as to what kind of professional a student graduating from a less selective school will be. They aren’t — and in fact, the majority of America’s highest-ranking schools have suspended or ended the use of SAT/ACT scores for admissions.
2) The hit comedy ‘Abbott Elementary’ is really a tragedy   In 2019, teachers earned 19.2 percent less than workers with comparable education and experience, according to the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute. 

NEW YORK STATE
New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE). 40 FREE online courses for all NYS educators! Registration Now Open! No charge to NYS Educators! Learn at your own pace! CTLE hours available

NYSED Board of Regents July meeting
Higher Education Committee Consent Agenda
* Proposed Amendment Relating to the Admission Requirements for Graduate-level Teacher and Educational Leadership Programs  The proposed amendment is necessary to align the Commissioner’s regulations with recent changes to section 210-a of the Education Law regarding admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs… Chapter 620 of the Laws of 2021 removed the statutory requirement for a minimum score on the graduate record examination or a substantially equivalent admission examination, as determined by an institution of higher education, for admission to a graduate-level teacher or educational leadership program. Additionally, Chapter 626 of the Laws of 2021 increased the percentage of an incoming class that may be exempted from the required selection criteria for admission to a graduate-level teacher or educational leadership program from fifteen percent to fifty percent.
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extending Flexibilities for Incidental and Substitute Teaching  Because the May emergency action will expire on August 14, 2022, a second emergency action is necessary to ensure the emergency rule remains continuously in effect until it can be permanently adopted at the September 2022 Regents meeting… The Department now proposes to extend these flexibilities for incidental teaching and substitute teaching again to the 2022-2023 school year. This proposal enables school districts to address their continuing teacher shortages by providing them with flexibility in making teaching assignments.
* Proposed Amendments…Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements  In response to this increased interest in residencies, the Department is proposing to establish registration requirements for residency programs in section 52.21 of the Commissioner’s regulations. The registration requirements provide programs with the flexibility to create their own residency models while setting consistent standards for residencies in teacher preparation programs… The proposed registration requirements for residency programs state that a residency must be at least one academic year in length and include at least 1,000 hours of clinical experiences for candidates, enabling them to experience the full range of a teacher’s annual responsibilities, in alignment with the daily schedule and annual calendar of the educational setting.
* Appointment to the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching   The Department is recommending that Wen Ma fill one vacant higher education seat, due to a resignation, that expires June 30, 2025.

NYSED Office of Higher Education. June Educator Preparation Newsletter
BOARD OF REGENTS JUNE ITEMS
* School Building Leader. The Department proposed an emergency measure that extends the date by which school building leader (SBL) preparation programs must be aligned with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs) from September 1, 2022 to September 1, 2023 in order to provide programs with additional time to revise their curriculum…
* Literacy. At the February 2022 Board of Regents meeting, the Department presented a proposal to establish the Literacy (All Grades) certificate. In response to public comments, the Department revised the proposal and presented the revised proposal to the Board of Regents…
* Computer Science. The Department proposed two regulatory amendments related to computer science….
* Additional Science Certificate. To help address the persistent statewide shortage of science teachers, the Board of Regents adopted a regulatory amendment to revise the content core requirement in registered teacher preparation programs such that candidates who hold a science certificate, or are simultaneously preparing for two or more science certificates, would complete 18 semester hours, instead of 30 semester hours, in the subject area(s) of the additional science certificate(s)…
HIGHER EDUCATION ENROLLMENTS POSTED Data on Fall 2021 enrollments in New York State institutions of higher education are now posted on the Higher Education Reports webpage.
TEACHER PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION PROCESS   Registered teacher preparation programs must develop or choose a teacher performance assessment (TPA) that meets the criteria in the TPA definition, and must integrate the assessment into the candidates’ student teaching, practicum, or similar clinical experience by September 1, 2023.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) To help my students who struggle with reading, I had to do some serious soul-searching: Now, I know why my lessons weren’t getting through to them.   My teacher’s training courses did not prepare me for what would happen when a lesson failed, when my students didn’t get it, or even when I felt like giving up.
2) NYC teachers get little to no training on lockdown drills: During a lockdown drill, it’s up to each teacher to decide how to lead the process and respond to students’ emotions.   Teachers are not trained on how to explain drills to students, support students with mental health needs, guide students with disabilities who struggle to remain quiet and still, or navigate classrooms that have physical limitations. 

Teachers College. Fulbright Fellowships for Visiting Scholars Sam Abrams and Nick Wasserman  Abrams is the author of Education and the Commercial Mindset (Harvard University Press, 2016), an exploration of the failed private sector efforts to manage public schools. He envisions writing a sequel that documents how businesses collaborate with schools to foster effective job training… Nick Wasserman (Ph.D. ’11, M.A. ’08), Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, is spending the summer advising secondary teacher education programs in Chile on learning resources for the teaching of advanced university mathematics courses such as abstract algebra and real analysis.

Wall Street Journal. Black, Latino Teachers Collecting $835 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit: New York City to set aside a total of nearly $1.8 billion for plaintiffs who alleged teacher licensing test was biased   The concession by the city in recent months means around 4,700 onetime New York City teachers who were demoted or fired since 1995 because they couldn’t pass the state licensing exam can go to court to collect a piece of the funds… The state required the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test [LAST] for teacher licensing from the 1990s until 2014…

 

GLOBAL
BBC News. Secondary school teacher training to start on Isle of Man   Five places will be available to train to teach science, maths or English… Education Minister Julie Edge said it would help to “develop teaching capacity” on the island. Currently those who want to go into teaching must qualify off the island.

TVC News. [Nigeria] Kaduna State Lays Off 2357 Teachers for incompetence   Mr Tijanni Abdulahi added that the State education board will in the coming days recruit additional 10,000 teachers to fill the gaps of those dismissed. This is not the first time, teachers will be sacked in the state, in 2018 over 21,000 teacher were also dismissed for allegedly failing a competency test.

Victoria Times Colonist [CAN]. What has changed since 1988 Sullivan Commission education report?   The ministry document said…that students learn in a variety of ways and at different rates, and that learning is both an individual and a social process. Those precepts, widely accepted by many experienced educators but rejected by some non-educators for a variety of reasons… should have influenced the architectural design of schools, programs for teacher preparation, the integration of curriculum, student assessment and self-assessment practices, and the need to properly accommodate kids at either end of the intellectual and ability spectrum.

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Future Teachers Begin New Arizona Teach Residency   The Arizona Teacher Residency has accepted its first cohort of 30 future teachers, as well as the 30 supervising teachers who will be working with those teacher residents this next school year. The Arizona Teacher Residency is a first-of-its-kind graduate program in Arizona modeled after medical residencies to help recruit, prepare, support and retain K-12 teachers, especially those with identities that have been underrepresented in the teaching population. 
2) Governor Lamont and Education Commissioner Russel-Tucker Announce Investments to Support Aspiring Educators   Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker today announced new investments to defray certification-related testing costs for aspiring educators in Connecticut. A total of $2 million dollars of federal, state-level reserve American Rescue Plan Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP-ESSER) funding is being dedicated over a two-year period, which includes $750,000 in year one and $750,000 in year two. The remaining $500,000 is being set aside for educators of color and other educators who will be completing their student teaching in urban school districts.

Chalkbeat. Michigan student teachers could get paid for their classroom time   The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would provide student teachers a stipend of $90 per day. Experienced teachers who serve as their mentors would receive $1,000, under the bill introduced by Pamela Hornberger, the Chesterfield Township Republican who heads the House Education Committee… The legislation now heads to the Senate.

Chronicle of Higher Education. When Diversity Becomes a Bad Word: In South Dakota, some say a hostile climate is driving them to quit.   In a course Dyanis Conrad teaches called “The Foundations of American Education,” she spends the first few weeks of the semester establishing that racism is real… Conrad said in an interview with The Chronicle that she doesn’t teach CRT. But she does highlight some aspects of it in her teaching — just as other teacher-educators do.

EdSource. California to create teaching credential covering pre-K through 3rd grade that requires literacy training: Commission ties future reading reforms and performance test to PK-3 credential   The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing agreed this week to create a new teaching credential for pre-kindergarten through third grade that will require teacher candidates to show they are trained in how to teach reading. The decision came after the commission addressed criticisms that a separate credential that lacked identical literacy instruction coursework and a reading performance test could undermine separate efforts to improve reading instruction in elementary grades.

Education Week. Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff | FREE EVENT. [Thursday, July 21, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET]

Forbes. FedLoan To Transfer Student Loans In 2022: What To Expect   FedLoan Servicing was previously the exclusive servicer of loans repaid under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and grants received under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program. The Department of Education has announced that MOHELA will be the new point of contact for participants in these programs. The switch from FedLoan to MOHELA will likely happen for you later in 2022, according to the department, but you can check your loan or grant’s transfer status on MOHELA’s website. 

Hechinger Report. To counter educator bias, we need more Black teachers in our classrooms   If we encourage Black graduates to pursue teaching, we must also recognize the conflict this presents with their long-term wealth potential. Paying teachers a respectable salary that allows them to build their own financial capital is critical, as is ensuring that these salaries are equitably distributed.

InsideHigherEd. Improving Community College Transfer Pathways Could Help With Teacher Shortages: How improvements to community college transfer policies can alleviate teacher shortages. [by D. Sparks, TC Senior Research Assoc. & doc. student]  While community colleges already make significant contributions to bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded in Michigan, addressing structural barriers in the vertical transfer pipeline could enable even larger contributions that could alleviate teacher shortages and improve diversity among teachers… Other states and institutions have started to take notice of community colleges’ contribution to teacher labor supply and implemented reforms accordingly. 

MissouriNet. Tweak To Qualifying Certification Test Score Could Put Hundreds Of Educators In Missouri Classrooms   … a slight change to the qualifying score on these exams could add over 550 certified teachers a year to the workforce…Under the plan, the tweak would apply at the beginning of this current test window. It would affect test takers that score within the -1 Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) range of the established qualifying score on all initial teacher certification exams.

New York Times. 23 On-Demand Webinars for Teachers

Rutgers Univ. Two New Bachelor of Arts Degrees at Rutgers-Newark   The Rutgers Board of Governors on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the creation of two Bachelor of Arts degrees by the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark, one in ESL and Bilingual Urban Education and another in Urban Secondary Education.  The new degree programs will broaden the Urban Education department’s curriculum by offering more support for pre-service teachers to successfully move into ESL/Bilingual and grade 7-12 classrooms. 

Texas Tribune. Texas rejects more rigorous teacher certification exam: The Educative Teacher Performance Assessment was designed to better prepare new teachers, but faced pushback from people who thought it would create barriers for people of color…  The State Board of Education on Friday unanimously rejected a new teacher certification exam that supporters dubbed the solution to prepare and retain new teachers, but critics worried would create barriers for people of color to enter the profession.

Washington Post. Texas GOP to schools: Use live ultrasounds to show a ‘preborn child’   The Texas Republican Party … just-concluded 2022 convention in Houston. Its members advanced a platform that says:… f. Teacher and administrator certification. We call for the abolition of the State Board for Educator Certification.

NEW YORK STATE
New York State Education Department Public comment periods now open
* Proposed Amendment…Relating to Establishing the Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate, Revising the Registration Requirements for Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2) Programs, and Revising the Requirements for the Extension and Limite…
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extending Flexibilities for Incidental and Substitute Teaching
* Proposed Amendments … Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements
Submit comments to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]

NYSED Office of Higher Education.  seeking candidates for the following position in the Office of Teaching Initiatives: Director, Teacher Certification Location: Albany

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). ‘Grow Your Own’ grants rev up recruiting for future educators   NYSUT Executive Vice President Jolene DiBrango said the grant program is an outgrowth of NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching initiative, which began four years ago to address the teacher shortage and improve diversity in the educator workforce. For many of the North Country sophomores and juniors, this was their first visit to the SUNY Plattsburgh campus. They visited dorm rooms, sampled an impressive cafeteria buffet and heard about teacher ed class requirements and field experiences.

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College. Teachers College Announces New Gift from Jody and John Arnhold to Create the Arnhold Dance Education Research Studios: The new, state-of-the-art dance studios will expand and enhance teaching, learning and research capabilities at the institution where da   But her efforts in supporting Teachers College over the last six years has been critical for tying together all of that work, by creating a new generation of teacher educators and thought leaders who are developing strategies for expanding and improving dance education across the United States.

 

GLOBAL
AllAfrica. Malawi: Minister Nyalonje Outlines President Chakwera’s Vision for Education Sector At Education World Forum 2022   Envoys from the World Bank, the British Government, ministers from countries such as Brazil, and non-profit education organizations, such as the Education Partnerships Group and Lego Foundation, philanthropist organizations such as Big Win and Gates Foundation, and Education Technology companies, pledged to help Malawi design and implement sustainable and effective strategies to scale up interventions that will improve foundation skills, including through teacher preparation…

Inquirer.net. Focus on teacher training, DepEd urged   MANILA, Philippines The incoming Marcos administration should focus on ensuring quality education and sufficient training for teachers to address the education crisis hounding the country, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday.

Sydney Morning Herald. ‘A game-changer’: NSW to introduce an extra year of education   The government is also spending $376.5 million over four years on giving children a full suite of developmental checks. It has also pledged more than $280 million to train early childhood teachers and carers.

tes magazine (UK). Is AI set to change the way you teach?   The key to utilising AI in all of these ways successfully, however, is teacher training. “The key thing that needs to come from the top is the recognition of the value of training around AI…”

UNITED STATES
AACTE. Trends in the Alternative Teacher Certification Sector Outside Higher Education   AACTE has partnered with the Center for American Progress (CAP), which had previously published a study of alternative teacher certification programs…. examined trends among alternative certification programs run by organizations other than institutions of higher education (IHEs) between 2010-11 and 2018-19, the last full academic year prior to the pandemic.

AL.com. Alabama to vote on lower Praxis score for teacher certification requirement   The Alabama Board of Education may begin accepting a below-passing score on the Praxis teacher qualification test, as part of an ongoing effort to get more teachers into classrooms. A teacher who scored below passing would still have to demonstrate a higher GPA or completion of 100 hours of high-quality professional learning in order to obtain a teaching certificate.

Bakersfield.com. New teaching residency at CSUB targets Black student success   There is increasing funding from both the state and federal governments to create and expand residency programs. The governor’s most recent budget proposes $500 million to expand residency slots for teachers and counselors. Administrators are excited about a program that not only recruits teacher candidates — crucial during a teacher shortage — but gives them a full year of training alongside veteran teachers. They get to know their students, which is key to the district’s culture and support systems for students.

Chalkbeat.
1) Does class size really matter? A Chalkbeat look at the research.   Substantially reducing class size generally requires schools to go on a hiring binge in order to staff the new classes — and those new teachers are often less experienced and effective than their peers. That means the benefits from lower class size may be partially counteracted by reductions in teacher quality… the dip in teacher quality appeared temporary, though.
2) Michigan may waive test for veteran teachers certified in other states   Under proposed reciprocity legislation, people with three years’ experience elsewhere would no longer have to take the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification in order to start teaching in the state. And once they start, they would have a year to fulfill other state licensure requirements, including becoming certified in CPR, and, for some, completing additional coursework in reading diagnostics.
3) The exit interview: Hite talks hits, misses as Philly’s superintendent   Individuals are thinking, “I don’t want to be a teacher.” So we have to lift up the teaching profession for young people and think about teaching as leadership rather than just teaching [academic] content. These are people teaching young people social responsibility and social justice. I think we have to do a much better job of rebranding what teaching means today. The answers to the teacher shortage are sitting in classrooms right now. We have to find ways to maybe do a Middle College type program for the development of teachers. 

Chronicle. Why Does the Education Department Need a Chief Economist?   Matsudaira’s experience and academic background appear to fit well with his titles. He has a doctorate in economics and public policy from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and has held several faculty positions in those fields. Most recently, he was appointed associate professor of economics and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

Education Week.
1) Students Deepen Access to Civics Education In Hard-Fought Legal Battle   Michael Rebell, who led the plaintiffs’ case as executive director of the Center for Educational Equity and Professor of Law and Educational Practice at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York, said Wednesday that while the lawsuit failed to establish that right under the U.S. Constitution, it has helped elevate the need for good civic education, and has created a mechanism for change in Rhode Island.
2) What’s Ahead for the Nation’s First Federally Approved Teacher-Apprenticeship Program?   Tennessee’s Grow Your Own (GYO) work is an educator-preparation strategy focused on developing and retaining candidates from local communities, for local communities. Our new, sustainable model—the Tennessee Teacher Apprenticeship—starts with the creation of a strong partnership between a school district and an educator-preparation provider…instead of offering competitive grants for districts to receive one-time funding, Tennessee’s Teacher Apprenticeships now offer sustainable funding options for no-cost pathways and compensation… We currently have more than 650 educators in our Grow Your Own teacher pipeline spanning 14 EPPs and 65 school districts. 

NYTimes. This Company Knows How to Increase Students’ Test Scores    Some critics of NewGlobe are put off that its teaching is highly scripted and standardized… According to union-supported research, school inspectors and other officials in Kenya “describe this method of teaching as ‘robotic’, ‘too controlling’, ‘disabling the teachers from using their creativity and innovativeness’, ‘neocolonial’ and representing a form of ‘slavery.’”

InsideHigherEd.
1) ‘It’s Not a Luxury Degree’: Many teachers face the need to acquire a graduate degree, often taking on student debt for a high-demand job that yields few economic rewards.   The level of education, training and certificates needed to become a teacher vary state by state. In New York, Ohio and Massachusetts, for example, all K-12 teachers are required to earn a master’s degree within the first five years of signing a teaching contract. However, most teaching positions will offer larger salaries to those with graduate degrees.
2) Senate Bill Would Boost Funding for Civics Education  … $15 million for a new fellowship program that recognizes educators in underrepresented communities and gives a stipend for a five-year commitment to teaching.

The74. New Mexico’s Education Reform Plan Presented to Tribal Leaders   The state’s plan makes it clear why this teacher pipeline is necessary, writing that students perform better when educators have ties to the community where they work and live.

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED. State Library’s Research Library Renamed in Honor of Regent Joseph E. Bowman, Jr.  Dr. Bowman continued his education at Teacher’s College, Columbia University where he pursued other master’s degrees in educational technology as well as a doctorate in Communications and Technology in Education [EdD ‘91].

NYSED Board of Regents. June meetings
Proposed Amendments
* Proposed Amendment… Relating to the Standards for School Building Leader Preparation Programs, Definition of “Leadership Standards” for Annual Professional Performance Reviews, and Safety Net for the School Building Leader Assessment
* Proposed Amendment …Relating to the Implementation Timeline for the Computer Science Statement of Continued Eligibility*Proposed Amendment… Relating to Computer Science Being Considered a Career and Technical Education Subject
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to Establishing the Literacy (All Grades) Certificate  [45 day comment period begins June 29]
Higher Education Consent Agenda
* Appointments and Reappointments to the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching* Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Content Core Requirement in Registered Teacher Preparation Programs and the Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification for Candidates Who Are Seeking an Additional Science Certificate

TimesUnion. Board of Regents approves literacy teaching certificate change to address teacher shortage: Proposal is now available for public comment before the final vote   The “slimmer” literacy certificate would replace two, one for birth through sixth grade and another for fifth through 12th grades. To get the all-ages certificate, the teacher would have to spend at least 50 hours teaching literacy, partly in grades pre-K through four and partly in grades five through 12.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. NYC budget deal cuts school funding amid declining enrollment   Fewer students could mean a need for fewer teachers. But reduced funding complicates plans that principals had for their schools, such as launching new programs or hiring new staff. The city is also facing a new state law requiring New York City to reduce class sizes, but officials have not explained how they’ll reconcile the new mandate with cuts to school budgets.

Teachers College. Alumni Profile Audrey Yatdon Tchoukoua [MA TESOL ‘22], graduate of the Teacher Opportunity Corp and Teaching Residents at Teachers College programs. “I realized I wanted to give something back.” Engaging audiences on the stage and in the classroom, TC grad Audrey Yatdon finds purpose and new challenges as an educator.

GLOBAL
Free Press Journal. Special Teacher Training In Kashmir For Student’s Socio-emotional Wellness   In Jammu and Kashmir, a special teacher training programme on employing art-based tools to improve children’s emotional well-being and academic achievement was begun on Sunday, officials said.

Irish Times. Strong teacher-training colleges’ performance under new social mobility rankings for higher education   Teacher-training colleges are among the strongest performers in boosting the prospects of students from low-income backgrounds, according to a new social mobility ranking developed by the Oireachtas Parliamentary Budget Office.

The Guardian. Rules to be relaxed for foreign teachers to work in schools in England   Candidates will be able to apply for qualified teacher status, and if the government considers that their qualifications match those of teachers in the UK, they can apply for jobs in schools, which will sponsor their skilled worker visa if their application is successful.

UNESCO. Teachers are often trained in private institutions   As the new paper shows, non-state teacher training institutions operate in at least 22 sub-Saharan African, 17 Latin American and 7 South Asian countries. Non-state actors have made an important contribution to teacher education programmes in conflict-affected countries…  non-state teacher training programmes are increasingly available by distance, which raises concern about the lack of a practical component…

UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat.
1) Cardona urges support for educators as rocky year comes to a close   In addition to teacher pay, Cardona said that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, teacher residencies, and guided leadership and mentorship programs could be tools for ensuring teachers are well prepared and incentivized to stay.
2) Detroit district embraces intensive tutoring to try to close literacy gap   The Beyond Basics program aims to improve students’ reading level by two grades in the span of six to 10 weeks. Its approach has evolved over the years to adopt the Orton-Gillingham method and shift from using volunteers to paid tutors trained in that method.
3) How the age-appropriate debate is altering curriculum in Tennessee and nationwide   Tatum, who authored the best-selling book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?,” agrees that teachers need training and support for talking about tough topics to students at any age… But such training is at risk of being scuttled or avoided — potential collateral damage under new state laws like Tennessee’s that restrict discussions about race.
4) Mayor Duggan aims to expand preschool, boost Detroit’s influence in early education   State officials set strict requirements for GSRP programs that they say are integral to its quality, including a list of approved curriculums and minimum credential requirements for teachers. Even if the city is allowed to distribute GSRP dollars, it could not unilaterally change those requirements.

Community College Research Center (CCRC).  How Improvements in Community College Transfer Pathways Could Help With Teacher Labor Shortages   An associate degree alone does not qualify Michiganders to teach, but it does place students on a path toward bachelor’s degree and teacher preparation program completion. Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree also have access to Michigan’s alternative route to teacher certification (ARC), an expedited program designed for individuals who hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and are employed as a teacher under an Interim Teaching Certificate.

Education Week.
1) Advice From Teachers in 7 Words or Less
2) Alternative Certification Programs Are Booming. But Candidates Aren’t Finishing   … the sector ended up contributing fewer teachers to the workforce in 2019 than it did nearly a decade ago: The number of completions declined over that same time period by 10 percent…  past research has found that teachers who enter the profession through alternative-certification programs are more likely to leave than those who came in via traditional routes, adding to the question of how to alleviate teacher shortages in the long term.
3) K-12 Essentials Forum Free Webinar: How To Teach STEM Problem Solving Skills to All K-12 Students [June 22 2pm ET]
4) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff [July 21 2-6pm EDT]

InsideHigherEd. Ed Department: Use ARP Funding to Address Teaching Shortage   Miguel Cardona, U.S. education secretary, on Thursday outlined a strategy to address the national teaching shortage that rose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has recommended improvements to teacher-preparation programs, support for specialty teaching areas and assistance to help teachers pay off student loan debt… the letter outlined federal grant opportunities that can be used to access additional federal resources to further address the teacher shortage. These grants include funding for professional development, education and preparation; funding to target teacher hires from underserved communities; and improvements to teacher residency programs.

Tucson Sentinel. UA Native education programs win grants from AZ education department   With the help of a grant from the Arizona Department of Education, the Native SOAR program at the University of Arizona hopes to expand its mentoring program and provide more quality services to Indigenous students and Arizona educators, both in person and online.

U.S. News. Cardona: Americans Shouldn’t be Surprised by Teacher Shortage   Cardona called on teacher preparation programs, especially those at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions, to put more resources into recruiting students of color to become educators. He also said high schools should experiment with offering students interested in becoming teachers specialized career tracks, the way some do for various career and technical education.

NEW YORK STATE
NYS Board of Regents
1) June meeting agenda
2) Public comment periods now open
* Proposed Amendment…Relating to Establishing the Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate, Revising the Registration Requirements for Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2) Programs, and Revising the Requirements for the Extension and Limite…
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extending Flexibilities for Incidental and Substitute Teaching
* Proposed Amendments … Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements
Submit comments to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]
3) Statement on Board of Regents Appointment from Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. and Commissioner Betty A. Rosa   We congratulate and welcome Dr. Roger Catania as the next member of the Board of Regents and representative of New York’s 4th Judicial District. 

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) As Eric Adams keeps control over NYC schools, he’s forced to lower class sizes   But the measure is expected to be costly, as it will likely require hiring more teachers and construction of more classroom space. 
2) NYC educators wrestle with budget cuts for 2022-23 school year   Generally, fewer students could mean that fewer teachers are needed, but in practice that’s a far more complicated problem to solve… For example, a principal might have planned to offer a new Advanced Placement course but won’t have the money to cover a teacher licensed in that subject area… An additional complication: the city is now tasked with limiting class sizes over the next five years, which could require the hiring of more teachers and creating more classroom space. 

City Limits. After Tough Time for Art in City Schools, Advocates Seek More Funding   The city’s annual Arts in Schools Report found that only about a third of middle students met the state requirement that they take courses in two different arts disciplines with a certified teacher.

New York Post. NYC public schools set to lose $215M from budget cuts, hurting hope for smaller class sizes   …the city foresees a loss of about 1,500 teaching positions next year, and more than 3,000 after that. Overall city funding for schools has been reduced primarily due to lower enrollment, a spokesperson for City Hall told The Post.

News 12 Brooklyn. Ocean Hill charter school introduces educator fellowship to curb teacher shortage   A charter school in Ocean Hill is hoping to reverse the nationwide teacher shortage problem with a program to prepare college students for future teaching roles. The Uncommon Schools’ Summer Teaching Fellows program is the school system’s largest and most successful program for new teachers. 

GLOBAL
ABC Central Victoria. Victorian teachers being offered financial incentives to work in bush, ease COVID-related staff shortages   “Whether it’s through normal CRT (casual relief teachers) process… pre-service or career-break teachers, we’re supporting schools to stay open and continue learning face to face,” a spokesperson said… In addition, 335 final-year initial teacher education students have been granted permission to teach in Victorian government and Catholic schools this year.

India Education Diary. National Council For Teacher Education Launches Online Portal To Streamline Process Of Recognition Of Teacher Education Programs   National Council for Teacher Education has launched an online portal to streamline the process of recognition of teacher education programs of Higher Education Institutions and Teacher Education Institutions. This portal will bring in a paradigm shift in the functioning of National Council for Teacher Education.

NYTimes. Student Contest Winner: An International Teacher on Showing Up for Life  [This piece is one of 10 winners of our 2022 Profile Contest.]  When did you decide that you wanted to go into teaching? In my early 20s, I was bartending, sneaking into the 1996 Olympics, quite directionless. When I decided to go into a teaching program, it was organic. Generally, that is how things work out. You stumble upon something, say, “That’s a good idea. I’ll pursue that and see if I like it.” I appreciate that a lot of life is luck. It’s showing up. Being present.

The Straits Times. NIE to train teachers in using AI in classroom, invest in research   By 2026, topics about artificial intelligence in education will be offered for trainee teachers at all levels, including undergraduates, post-graduate and in-service teachers at the National Institute of Education (NIE).

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) MSU-led, NSF-Funded Project Aims to Strengthen Rural Educator Pipeline   A $2.4 million National Science Foundation grant supports a Mississippi State University-led project that aims better prepare educators for teaching in rural settings. 
2) SFA State University Partners with School District for Paid Internships   Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education has partnered with the Nacogdoches Independent School District to staff up to eight paid internships during the 2022-23 academic year. The program, which launches this fall, will let students use clinical teaching assignments to gain valuable classroom experience before entering the education workforce.

Chalkbeat.
1) If schools want more Black male teachers, they can’t treat us like ‘disciplinarians first’   Senate Bill 99 (PA) would fund educator preparation programs aimed at diversifying the teaching workforce, and it would remove barriers to certification that disproportionately impact teachers of color. 
2) Newark raises pay for veteran and rookie teachers amid staffing crunch   Raising the starting salary for new teachers with a bachelor’s degree by $6,500, and by $4,500 for new teachers with a master’s degree, will make the district “one of the most competitive urban school systems in the northeast,” Superintendent Roger León said…Newark has also started a teacher pipeline program that encourages high school students to pursue a teaching career and promises a teaching contract with the district after graduating with their bachelor’s degrees.  

Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Most of Texas’ new teachers are career changers. Here’s why that matters.   …new teachers who are alternatively certified have made up the majority of new hires entering the state teacher workforce… But Texas doesn’t require alternative certification programs to include a student teaching component, meaning new alternatively certified teachers have no real-world experience when they begin their first years of teaching. Alternatively certified teachers are also more likely to leave the profession early in their careers than those who have bachelor’s degrees in education

NorthJersey.com. Murphy spotlights Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Still time to apply.   Murphy and federal officials encouraged teachers and nurses to apply to the program, created in recognition of the extraordinary risks and responsibilities public employees took during the COVID-19 public health emergency, before the October deadline.

NJ.com. State creates path for more prospective teachers, as shortages grow   The new policies will allow teachers to enter the profession through the state’s alternate route program even if they fall slightly short of the required grade point averages or standardized test scores… the Department of Education on Tuesday launched a new online certification system to simplify applying for positions and speed the granting of certificates, department spokesman Michael Yaple said. The department has also expanded the hours of its certification call center…

Politico. The Ugly Backlash to Brown v. Board of Ed That No One Talks About   The historical record shows that the Black educator pipeline was purposely decimated by racists intent on keeping schools segregated even in the face of mandates by Brown and numerous other legal cases that states desegregate students, faculty and staff. Prior to Brown, in the 17 dual system states, 35-50 percent of educators were Black. Today, there is no state that approaches these percentages.

Rolling Stone. I Teach Teachers. I Have No Idea How to Prepare Them For Mass Shootings   To become a teacher in the U.S. is to make the conscious decision to risk their lives… There is no way for me to approach my students with a book, worksheet, video, or lesson and say “this is the thing that will prevent your death in a K-12 classroom” because these materials do not exist… I will never know how to prepare my student teachers for when a gunman enters their classroom. I shouldn’t have to learn.

WeAreIowa. How educators are talking to aspiring teachers when it comes to handling a violent attack in their school   “We talk a lot about it,” the Associate Dean of Teacher Education at the University of Iowa said. “That we understand your challenges and your concerns and your questions. But we also are grateful that you have decided that you want to be a teacher.” He says one thing that’s been helpful in answering questions and concerns is engaging students with current educators and administrators in surrounding districts to learn what their best practices are. 

WHO Des Moines. New bill would remove hurdles for aspiring teachers  …the bill would remove the requirement of a preprofessional skills test for students entering a teacher preparation program. It would also remove the requirement that a candidate for a teacher’s license would need to pass the PRAXIS test.

NEW YORK STATE
Forward. New York State to monitor compliance with Holocaust education requirements   Congress passed in 2020 the Never Again Education Act, which provides $10 million over five years to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to bolster its educational programming to give teachers the resources and training to teach about the Holocaust.

NYS Board of Regents: Public comment periods now open
* Proposed Amendment…Relating to Establishing the Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate, Revising the Registration Requirements for Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2) Programs, and Revising the Requirements for the Extension and Limite…
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to Extending Flexibilities for Incidental and Substitute Teaching
* Proposed Amendments … Relating to Establishing Registration Requirements for Residency Programs and Revising Residency Certificate Requirements
Submit comments to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]

NYSED Office of Higher Education.  May Newsletter
* Board of Regents May Items: New Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate
* Position Opening: Director, Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE)
* Teacher Performance Assessment Submission Process

NYSED Office of Human Resources. Director, Teacher Certification, M3 (Management/Confidential)   The New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Office of Education Policy is seeking candidates for a Director, Teacher Certification position in the Office of Teaching Initiatives. This Office oversees the certification process for teachers in New York State.

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. Albany to give Adams 2 years of mayoral control and calls for shrinking NYC class sizes: The first-term mayor will be back in Albany sooner than he had hoped to renew mayoral control, and will now also be tasked with shrinking class sizes.   Tied to the measure is another major move to cap the size of classes in city schools between 20 to 25 students, depending on the grade, over the next five years.

Gothamist. New state bills would extend mayoral control — with changes to class size, governance   State lawmakers have struck an agreement on bills that would extend mayoral control of the New York City school system for two years and mandate reductions in public school class size… The new bill would cap kindergarten through third grade classes at 20 students; fourth through eighth grade classes at 23 students; and high school classes at 25 students… The reduction would be phased in starting this fall, and would have to be complete by 2027. If the city does not comply, money will be withheld.

NYPost. Bill shrinking class sizes in NYC public schools passes state legislature   The legislation includes exceptions for space restrictions or over-enrollment in school buildings — though the capital budget must demonstrate attempts to resolve those problems. It also creates carveouts in the cases of certified teacher shortages and “severe economic distress.”

NYTimes.
1) Class Sizes Set to Shrink in New York City Schools, but at What Cost?   The total could come to $1 billion a year across all grades, education department officials said. The estimates include the cost of hiring teachers and opening additional classes within schools… The federal pandemic aid will run out, but union officials suggested it could be used to begin hiring teachers to reduce class sizes. State funding for city schools, which officials had promised to increase, could maintain the program, they suggested.
2) How Eric Adams’s Struggle With Dyslexia Is Shaping His Mayoralty: Mr. Adams was not diagnosed with a learning disability until college. Now, he is making dyslexia screenings a central policy issue.   The education plan will not be easy to implement, and it is unclear how much it will cost. It calls for testing hundreds of thousands of students, creating special programs for dyslexic students at schools in every borough and retraining teachers who teach children how to read… Teachers in kindergarten through second grade will be required to use a phonics-based curriculum, which teaches the 44 unique sounds in the English language known as phonemes. 

Teachers College.
1) Pedagogies of Possibility: Exploring Culturally Responsive Education during COVID-19. [By TC prof. D. Price-Dennis, et al.] Data shows specific ways participants were called upon to support their students and families that were outside of the professional credentials or required knowledge and skill sets beyond their teacher preparation.
2) Reimagining Education Summer Institute: Teaching, Learning and Leading for a Racially Just Society Summer Institute [July 11-15, 2022]
3) TR@TC Induction and Beyond June 2022: Educator Resources

The City. Nonprofit Receives Grant to Teach Lakota Language in NYC, Despite Standing Rock Ban.   The New York Community Trust, the state’s oldest public charity, awarded nonprofit The Language Conservancy a $44,000 grant in late April to teach the Lakota language … But who should teach the language and how is a heated debate topic at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation spanning North and South Dakota, a headquarters for the nation’s shrinking Lakota-speaking populations.

US Dept. of Education. Conversation with US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona 9:00 AM ET Thursday, June 9 [The Interchurch Center 61 Claremont Ave, New York, NY 10027]

GLOBAL
Hungary Today. High Shortage and Workload with Low Salaries in Hungarian Public Education, EC Country Report Finds   …European Commission’s (EC) recently-released 2022 Country Report concluded… More than half of graduates from teacher-education courses end up in other careers due to the high workload and low pay of teachers, especially those at the beginning of their career.

Nation.Cymru. Number of teachers in Welsh medium training has more than doubled   The annual data is for entrants onto Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses that led to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in the academic year 2020/21. ITE courses that lead to QTS are the main route to becoming a teacher in Wales. The data covers student teachers at universities in Wales and also students from Wales studying across the UK.

UK.GOV. Teacher training to ensure excellent teachers in every classroom: Teacher training qualifications to be free for the next two academic years to upskill teachers across the country   The National Institute of Teaching will deliver high-quality Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and National Leaders of Education development programmes and will generate and share cutting-edge research and insights into best practice, to improve the quality of teacher training nationwide.

UNESCO. Reimagining the future: developing teachers’ research and collaborative capacity through teacher education curriculum reform   …the International Commission on the Futures of Education has produced a critical report, Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education, which brings together inputs from students, teachers, governments and civil society… The report rightly recommends that teachers should more often work in teams, to better engage in knowledge production, reflection and research, and further suggests that teachers should participate in public debate, dialogue and education policy. But to achieve this, a deeper cross-national examination of teacher education curricula may be required. This could help to unpack what learning opportunities exist in teacher education programmes that can support teacher agency and solidarity as a new foundation across a number of different geographies.

UNITED STATES
Chalkbeat. Short on teachers, Michigan schools try to grow their own   Eighty-five years ago, Future Teachers of America chapters began cropping up in high schools to help inspire promising students to become teachers. The group morphed into the Future Educators Association in 1994 when the professional organization Phi Delta Kappa International took it over from the National Education Association. Seven years ago, Phi Delta Kappa relaunched the program under the name Educators Rising. Seventeen schools used the curriculum that first year. Now, 11,180 high schools across the country use it. 

EdPrepLab. Virtual Spring Convening 2022 [June 8 12 noon ET]

EdSource.
1) Most California teacher preparation programs flunk math instruction   Most California teacher preparation programs are failing to adequately train future teachers to teach elementary school level mathematics, according to a National Council on Teacher Quality report…
2) Will California teachers be ready to teach ethnic studies? Some say training needed   Currently, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing believes that high school teachers who are credentialed in social sciences are “sufficiently prepared to teach ethnic studies at the high school level,” said David DeGuire, director of the professional services division for the commission…

EdWeek. Using Virtual Teachers to Fill Vacancies: Smart Solution or Big Mistake?   The companies may have “good marketing,” but they are not necessarily good for students, said Samuel Abrams, a former teacher who is now the director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College… he sees these companies’ very existence as a “symptom … of a diseased school system” that refuses to pay teachers fairly, or improve their working conditions.

Hechinger Report. Teachers, deputized to fight the culture wars, are often reluctant to serve: New laws to limit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity leave teachers confused, scared and uncertain of their relationships with some of their most vulnerable students
Jacqueline Rodriguez, vice president of research, policy and advocacy at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said she worries the bills will discourage LGBTQ individuals from pursuing teaching careers by sending the message that “this is not the profession to pursue if you want to bring your whole self to work every day.” Enrollment in traditional teacher-preparation programs dropped 35 percent in the decade between 2008-09 and 2018-19, and fell further during the pandemic.

KNOX Radio. UND forms Office of Teacher Recruitment/Retention   In response to teacher shortages throughout North Dakota and the US…  UND has announced a plan to recruit and retain qualified teachers across the state. The University is launching the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Retention, which plans to be fully staffed by this summer… and starting new initiatives in the fall. The College of Education and Human Development will head the effort.

NYPost. Before they can learn ‘antiracism,’ kids need to be literate — & too many aren’t   In 2013, legislators in Mississippi provided funding to start training the state’s teachers in the science of reading… Other states, including Florida, Colorado, and Tennessee, are gesturing toward taking reading science more seriously.

Seattle Times. Learning Nisqually history starts with building a sense of place   Legislation passed in 2005 set precedent for the Since Time Immemorial curriculum, but only “recommended” it be taught… In 2018, the state Legislature passed a bill requiring teacher preparation programs to include this curriculum. But schools are still lagging… There are current efforts to revive field trips and educator training — halted by the pandemic — on the Nisqually reservation.

The Conversation. Want to expand computer science education? Educate more teachers   Expanding the number of computer science courses depends on educating even more teachers to teach them. But almost half of all U.S. states don’t have a plan to teach computer science at the K-12 level. There are eight states that lack certification for computer science teachers. And 27 states and the District of Columbia don’t offer incentives for higher education institutions to offer computer science teacher education programs…

Washington Post. For five years, they were co-teachers. Then they were gunned down: Fourth-grade teachers Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles were among the victims of the school massacre in Uvalde, Tex.   Both of the teachers were graduates of Sul Ross State University in Texas. Garcia earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1997, a university spokeswoman said, and Mireles earned the same in 2003.

NEW YORK STATE
InsideHigherEd. The Prestige Name Game: New York State is allowing colleges in the state that meet certain criteria to formally call themselves universities. Several image-conscious institutions have done just that.   Universities are now defined as “including graduate programs registered in at least three of the following discipline areas: agriculture, biological sciences, business, education, engineering, fine arts, health professions, humanities, physical sciences and social sciences.”… William Murphy, New York State’s deputy commissioner of higher education…cited “increasing competition from institutions chartered in other states recruiting students in New York, nationally and internationally, where the term ‘college’ presents a significant marketing challenge.”

New York State Education Department. NYSED’s Office of Higher Education is seeking candidates for the following position in the Office of Teaching Initiatives: Director, Teacher Certification Location: Albany

Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching. April meeting minutes

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College.
1) Aligning Entrepreneurship with Education In her pursuit of a doctorate, Kisha Howell (Ed.D. ’22, Curriculum and Teaching) forges new roads to innovative learning and inclusion   Empowering Black students, Howell’s research suggests, requires a transformation of what counts as teacher education. Despite the evidence to support the value of Mississippi’s Freedom Schools, to Howell, the model design by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and its practices have been historically undervalued in the development of education models to recenter marginalized people. “Teacher education is guided by academia,” explains Howell, “and as a result, the value of alternative spaces [such as the freedom schools] is often not appreciated.”
2) From Stage to School, English Language Teacher Audrey Yatdon Takes on His Most Challenging Role Yet: The actor turned educator is teaching English as a New Language in New York City high schools, as part of a new dream that applies old skills   Yatdon in early 2021 entered a program that prepares students to teach English as a New Language to immigrant children. Yatdon credits two TC programs for shaping him as an educator. The Teaching Residents at Teachers College offered an actor accustomed to one-day workshops “an opportunity to spend real time with students in real classrooms”… Meanwhile, for Yatdon, the Teacher Opportunity Corps II created a “space for conversation with other teachers of color at TC and throughout the city.”  The TR@TC and TOC graduate now looks forward to three additional years teaching English immigrant students in the NYC public schools as part of the state requirements. 

GLOBAL
European School Education Platform. Call for abstracts. The present call offers teachers and student teachers an opportunity to submit and have their works on action research published [Deadline May 31]

The Conversation [AUS]. Kids don’t vote but teachers and parents sure do – what are the parties offering on schools?    The Coalition is focusing its efforts on “raising school standards” and “improving the quality of teacher training”. This includes creating a one-year diploma for initial teacher education… It would also need schools to shoulder a greater responsibility for “on-the-job” training.

UK.GOV. Teacher bonuses and funding for schools to level up education   The premium follows the mathematics and physics teacher retention payments scheme piloted in the academic years 2019/2020 and 2020/21. It will be offered alongside the legacy early career payments that the government is continuing to pay to eligible teachers who started initial teacher training up until academic year 2020/21.

UNITED STATES
AP. Whitmer will propose retention bonuses for teachers, staff The governor also will request $600 million for educator recruitment — funding college scholarships for would-be educators, stipends for student teachers, training, and expanded programs to attract and keep teachers in their own communities.

Chalkbeat.
1) Michigan to spend $100 million to open new child care programs, tackle pain points   The initiative will be divided into four parts: … * $11.4 million to recruit, train and retain early educators, including a $4 million apprenticeship program for early educators; and * $14.3 million to speed up a licensing process that many providers say is onerous…
2) Michigan’s teacher shortage: What’s causing it, how serious is it, and what can be done?   In 2018, elementary teachers appeared on the U.S. Department of Education’s critical shortage area list for Michigan. That’s startling in a state that once produced so many teachers that the State Board of Education in 2005 stopped authorizing new college and university teacher preparation programs. 

Education Week.
1) An Unconventional Approach to Teacher Training [interview with R. Hess]  I connected with ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College school dean Carole Basile to learn more about what they’re doing to rethink teaching and teacher preparation.
2) Are Aspiring Elementary Teachers Learning Enough Math?   Experts agree: Elementary teachers need to have a strong foundation in math. But teacher-preparation programs don’t always dedicate much time to elementary math coursework… Undergraduate programs that prepare aspiring elementary teachers now require an average of 19 percent more time for elementary math coursework than they did in 2014.
3) ‘Brown v. Board’ Decimated the Black Educator Pipeline. A Scholar Explains How   After the decision, tens of thousands of Black teachers and principals lost their jobs as white superintendents began to integrate schools but balked at putting Black educators in positions of authority over white teachers or students. Scholars say that the current lack of Black educators in the profession can be traced to the aftermath of the Brown decision… These are people who played by the rules—they were committed. They went North, they got their graduate education, they came back [and were] still underpaid. 
4) Make Teacher Prep Practical, Not Theoretical   (This is the final post in a three-part series.) Teacher-credentialing programs should provide candidates with a window into what equity vs. equality looks like in practice throughout their program of study, spending time looking at student profiles and portfolios and discussing instructional implications. This way, they will be better prepared for meeting the needs of diverse learners in both the field experience and student-teaching…

Hechinger Report. Here’s a solution for attracting more Black, Latino and Indigenous talent to STEM — Start early   First, teacher preparation and training programs should have a systematic focus on elementary school mathematical content instead of counting college-level math courses as content training.

National Center for Teacher Residencies. NCTR’s latest data collection and analysis indicates that the teacher residency movement is continuing to grow in scale and influence with NCTR’s Network residency programs graduating over 2,000 residents during the 2021-2022 academic year.   In spite of national trends that point to declines in enrollment in teacher preparation programs, there was an increase in the number, mean, and median enrollment of residents in NCTR Network residency programs for the 2021-2022 academic year.

New Jersey Herald. Why this Montclair teacher has kept an empty chair in his classroom for 52 years   …he graduated from Columbia Teachers College in 1974 and took a job teaching social studies in a mostly-Black Montclair middle school. It was important to him that he worked and raised a family in a place that was diverse. It was with him when he helped desegregate Montclair’s schools in the early 1970s, by transforming Glenfield Middle School into a magnet school for the arts that became a model for schools mandated to integrate by the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education.

New Jersey Legislature. Assembly Bill A677 Unanimously passed the Assembly Education Committee.  Prohibits State Board of Education from requiring completion of performance-based assessment as condition of eligibility for certificate of eligibility with advanced standing.

Obama.org. The Voyager Scholarship: The Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service   This scholarship gives college students financial aid to alleviate the burden of college debt, meaningful travel experiences to expand their horizons, and a network of mentors and leaders to support them… Public service can include careers in government, non-profit, or the private sector, ranging from school teachers, community organizers, social workers…

San Francisco Standard. Hayward Superintendent Picked to Lead SF Public Schools   Wayne, who is fluent in Spanish, started his educational career as an English teacher in 1997 in New York…. He holds an undergraduate degree in rhetoric and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC Berkeley. He holds two masters degrees—an masters of arts in English education and a masters of education in public school administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.

The Harvard Crimson. Harvard Ends Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, Closing Off a Path to Teaching for College Students   The Harvard Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, which provided College students with teaching credentials prior to graduation, was recently ended as part of an effort to direct students interested in teaching to the Graduate School of Education’s new Teaching and Teacher Leadership master’s program. UTEP is the second undergraduate education program to be ended in recent years after the Harvard Teacher Fellows was rolled over into TTL last October.

Washington Post.
1) Some Md. parents argue a new health curriculum is unfit for young students   Parents in some Maryland districts are pushing back against their school boards’ efforts to adopt a state health framework that instructs educators how to teach about gender identity. The framework broadly outlines how to teach health topics by each grade level; its family life and sexuality guidelines have been the most controversial. 
2) States are mandating Asian American history lessons to stop bigotry   At the helm of this movement is longtime activist and lawyer Stewart Kwoh, leading the charge with his wife, Patricia, and their nonprofit Asian American Education Project. Alongside other teachers, they have created 53 lesson plans on subjects including racism and immigration, training more than 1,000 educators over the past year online. 

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED News. Board of Regents Recognizes Winners of Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarships   Anderly and her family moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when she was 10 years old. During the pandemic, she served as a peer tutor, helping other students struggling mentally and emotionally. Anderly plans to attend New York University as an English education major with a minor in Spanish and Psychology. Her goal is to become a teacher and to inspire students to create their own stories.

NYSED May Board of Regents Meeting
Proposed Amendments:
* Higher Education. Proposed Amendment… Relating to Extending Flexibilities for Incidental and Substitute Teaching
* Higher Education/K-12. Joint Proposed Amendment … Relating to Establishing the Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate, Revising the Registration Requirements for Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2) Programs, and Revising the Requirements for the Extension an…
Supplemental Presentation: Proposed Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate
Consent Agenda (Passed unanimously):
* Proposed Amendment… Relating to the Assessment Requirements for School District Leader (SDL) and School District Business Leader (SDBL) Program Completion, the Institutional Recommendation for Professional SDL and SDBL Certification, and the Institutional…

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. I’m a high school history teacher. Here’s how I’m addressing the Buffalo massacre in class: As I prepared to discuss the racist violence, I couldn’t help but reflect on what conversations might be banned if I did not teach in New York City. [by S. B. Rosenberg TC MA ’02, Social Studies Ed.]   The U.S. is currently confronting multiple crises: COVID, gun violence, climate change, white supremacy, and systemic racism. It is educational malpractice not to provide the students with time and space to discuss these topics, including Saturday’s shooting. Laws meant to block or dissuade teachers from these conversations are insidious. How can we stop racist conspiracies like the Great Replacement from taking hold if young people can’t even rely on schools to learn the truth? 

New York Public Library. Culturally Responsive Fairy Tale Titles for the Classroom   In teaching nursery rhymes and fairy tales, choosing a culturally responsive title builds upon the knowledge that students have from their own upbringing and expands their understanding of the world around them. Use these titles in your classroom to facilitate a discussion about nursery rhymes and fairy tales and how they have been adapted and reimagined within different countries and cultures.

Teachers College. Grad Pia Maiti Crisscrossed the World to Get to Where She Wanted to Be – TC  … successful submission of an application to the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA), a professional development program that fosters cross-cultural understanding and learning by matching foreign educators with U.S. colleges and universities.