Lawmakers Prepare to Reconcile Bills to Renew HEA
By Alyson Klein
Congress is poised to finish crafting long-stalled legislation reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, providing the first comprehensive update in federal law covering teacher education and college-preparatory programs in nearly a decade.

The Children Hurricane Katrina Left Behind is named as winner of the 2007 Phillip C. Chinn Book Award
AACTE's Dr. Robinson is recognized for extraordinary literature.

Obama taking more about education
From: the Ed Election Blog by the Education Writers Association
Alexander Russo at This Week in Education has the scoop on Barack Obama's take on changing NCLB during an MTV/MySpace forum. Meanwhile, The American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education is hailing Obama for his effort to spare the Teacher Quality Enhancement grant program from elimination in the budget. The group's president and CEO, Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, had this to say about Obama: "Senator Obama is a true champion for education and is committed to ensuring that our nation has a supply of high-quality teachers."

Gains Seen in Retooled Teacher Ed.
From: Education Week
A study that scrutinizes 22 teacher-preparation programs in Louisiana says that it is possible to prepare new teachers who are as effective as, or sometimes more effective than, their experienced colleagues. Experts say the study, the first of its kind to come out of a state that has implemented a multi-pronged approach to improving its teacher training, shows that it is possible for states and universities to work hand in hand with teacher-educators to produce higher-quality teachers and consequently raise the bar for the profession. Louisiana required all its teacher programs, public and private, to undergo a major redesign between 2000 and 2003. While the state-mandated study released last week, the first of what are to be yearly reports on their effectiveness, had data for only three of the redesigned programs?all of them alternative-certification courses?the results were encouraging??????..Just a handful of other states and university systems?including Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, the California State University system, and the University of Texas?have in recent years taken on the task of studying their teacher-preparation programs. Experts on teacher education say that is largely because of the difficulties and costs involved in implementing such systems. ?This is very, very complicated stuff. There are numerous agreements that have to be achieved regarding everything from definitions of how you measure candidates, how best you measure them, how you protect candidates and students in terms of identities and privacy,? said Sharon P. Robinson, the president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, based in Washington. ?The technological and psychometric rigor makes this really hard.? College deans and other educators point out that colleges have to put in additional work to improve programs and stretch resources, but have no say over the rewards and penalties under such systems.

Performance Test for New Calif. Teachers Approved
From: Education Week
California has given the nod to a rigorous assessment created by teacher colleges that requires aspiring educators to show students are learning before they earn their preliminary licenses. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing this month approved the Performance Assessment for California Teachers , or PACT, developed by a consortium of 30 teacher education programs in the state. Led by Stanford University, the group includes colleges in the University of California and California State University systems, and other private and independent schools. Starting next school year, all teacher-candidates will have to pass a performance assessment before they can get their teaching credentials. A state law passed in 1998 requires such evaluations take place, but a lack of state funding delayed implementation. Teacher programs, which can choose from either PACT or another, state-generated assessment called the California Teacher Performance Assessment, or CA-TPA, have, in many cases, already been piloting one of the two. The colleges that have piloted PACT have helped shape and improve the model over the past four years, said Raymond L. Pecheone, the director of the assessment and the co-director of the School Redesign Network at Stanford. ?Some of these universities are very small and some very large, and they all have very different issues. We took all of that into account,? he said. P. David Pearson, the director of the state?s teacher-credentialing commission and the dean of the graduate school of education at UC-Berkeley, lauded PACT as a grassroots effort by the colleges. ?This and the CA-TPA assessment put California in a position of national leadership in teacher assessment,? Mr. Pearson said. Connecticut has for several years had a teacher-performance assessment in place that has won critical acclaim. Arkansas and Ohio have also used versions of Praxis 3 to move teachers from an initial license to a continuing one. But because of its size and the number of teachers involved, as well as their diversity, ?California has the potential to have a larger national impact,? said Carol Smith, the vice president for professional issues and partnerships at the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Teacher Ed. Grants Would Be Slashed Under Pending Bills
From: Education Week
Teacher education programs have for years drawn criticism from policymakers and even some prominent voices in the field. Now, Congress is poised to slash spending on the main federal program aiding colleges of teacher education, despite efforts by some lawmakers to refocus the program to bolster partnerships between such colleges and school districts. Under a fiscal 2008 spending bill the House of Representatives approved in July, support for the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program would fall by one-third, from $60 million in just-ended fiscal 2007 to $40 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which in June passed its spending bill that includes the U.S. Department of Education, would cut funding for the program to just $28.5 million?a drop of more than 50 percent. Still, the spending plans in both houses would stop short of eliminating the program, even though President Bush proposed doing just that in his budget request for fiscal 2008, which began Oct. 1. Any such cuts would be misguided, Linda Darling-Hammond, an education professor at Stanford University and a champion of teacher professionalism, said last week. She would like, instead, to see federal spending on teacher education boosted substantially. ?Even if you don?t like what [education schools] are doing, you can?t get around them,? she said, noting that the institutions produce the vast majority of U.S. teachers. ?If you think they?re broken, then you need to fix them. ? [Policymakers] are not going to change that system by ignoring? the colleges. Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants are authorized under the Higher Education Act, which has been awaiting renewal since 2003. The program includes three funding streams: one that helps districts and colleges collaborate on teacher training, another to allocate one-time grants to help states improve teacher education, and a third for teacher recruitment. An HEA-reauthorization bill approved by the Senate in July would eliminate the state and recruitment grants to focus resources on a single partnership program, aimed primarily at helping financially needy districts and teacher colleges create ?residency? and induction programs and other enhanced field experiences for new educators. The bill?s focus on collaboration with districts holds promise for improving high-poverty schools, but the proposed spending cuts may mean there?s not enough money to support such efforts, said Jane E. West, the vice president for government relations for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. ?It?s completely insufficient,? Ms. West said of the House and Senate funding proposals. She said the types of programs outlined in the Senate?s higher education reauthorization bill would be especially costly to support.

Report: Alternate route programs not alternative enough
From: Education Daily
Many alternative teacher certification programs do not differ substantially from traditional education school programs, according to a new report. Alternative Certification Isn't Alternative, released this week by the National Council on Teacher Quality and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, is based on surveys of 49 alternative certification programs in the 11 states that certify 80 percent of alternate route teachers. Officials from organizations representing alternate route providers and schools of education argued that alternative certification programs have responded to market needs. "It appears simply putting a new program inside a school of education contaminates it and makes it worthy of this critique -- when others outside of the schools of education can put together a venture trying to serve a similar market, and that is seen is a great virtue," said Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Emily Feistritzer, president of the National Center for Alternative Certification, defended programs that require more coursework. She said many candidates enter the programs with the intent of eventually earning a master's degree in education. Robinson, however, agreed with the report's major recommendation: state legislatures, education departments and accreditation bodies should set stricter parameters around alternate-route programs. Those bodies should help define a uniform standard of quality for all alternative certification, regardless of whether they are located inside or outside the academy. "That is something the public should expect," she said.

AACTE APPLAUDS THE PASSAGE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION RECONCILIATION BILL
From: the American Chronicle
Last Friday, the United States Congress approved the Higher Education Reconciliation Bill (College Cost Reduction and Access Act, H.R. 2669) creating TEACH grants, an innovative program to recruit and support new teachers. Under Title I of the bill, TEACH Grants offer tuition assistance (scholarships) for undergraduates and graduates who agree to teach for four years in public schools with high shortage or high need subject areas including, mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, special education, and reading. ?This level of investment in teacher recruitment is historically unprecedented. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has worked diligently to ensure TEACH grants were included in this bill. These grants will serve as a magnate to help attract students interested in these critical high-needs subjects,? said Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of AACTE. ?This is a wise investment in teachers that will pay off handsomely by enhancing our nation?s capacity to participate in the highly competitive global economy.?

Update: Higher Education Reconciliation Bill
From: the NTLS Blog
On Friday, September 7 the United States Congress approved the Higher Education Reconciliation Bill (College Cost Reduction and Access Act, H.R. 2669) creating TEACH grants, an innovative program to recruit and support new teachers. Under Title I of the bill, TEACH Grants offer tuition assistance (scholarships) for undergraduates and graduates who agree to teach for four years in public schools with high shortage or high need subject areas including, mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, special education, and reading. ?This level of investment in teacher recruitment is historically unprecedented. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has worked diligently to ensure TEACH grants were included in this bill. These grants will serve as a magnate to help attract students interested in these critical high-needs subjects,? said Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of AACTE. ?This is a wise investment in teachers that will pay off handsomely by enhancing our nation?s capacity to participate in the highly competitive global economy.?

Report: Schools aren't preparing kids for college
From: eschoolnews
Students are taught to believe that earning a high school diploma means they are prepared to enter college, and many policy makers and school leaders still believe that multiple-choice assessments are adequate measures of students' skills. But at a panel discussion convened by the Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) on Sept. 12, researchers and education professionals said this is too often not the case. AEE held the event to discuss an issue brief it published on the same day. Sponsored by the MetLife Foundation, the report claims that a fundamental disconnect exists between the way high school teachers prepare their students for the future and how students truly achieve success and meet the demands of college. "We consider this a timely report, as well as a relevant one, since the House Committee for Education and Labor is currently looking at No Child Left Behind," said Bob Wise, AEE president and former governor of West Virginia. Among other issues, House legislators are considering measures that would call for revised assessments for college readiness and different teaching methods for encouraging 21st-century learning in their reauthorization of NCLB. (See "Lawmakers step up NCLB renewal process".) The issue brief is also important because "recent studies have shown that the skills needed to succeed in college are similar to the skills needed for good-paying jobs," said Cyndie Schmeiser, president of the education division at ACT Inc., which administers the ACT college entrance exam. Jane West, moderator of the panel discussion and vice president of government and external relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, agreed with Schmeiser. "Just look at the Ford Motor Company, which considered moving states because they said they wanted more qualified, college-educated workers," West said.

Wise to retire from NCATE
From: Education Daily
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education President Arthur Wise announced he will leave the organization June 30. Wise has led NCATE for 18 years. Under Wise's leadership, the number of NCATE-accredited institutions has grown from 500 to 700, producing about two-thirds of the nation's teacher graduates. "Art has been an outspoken advocate for the nation's underserved schoolchildren and one of the strongest advocates for a profession of teaching," said Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. "Under his leadership, NCATE has been a significant force in teacher education reform and its accreditation. He leaves NCATE a strong organization poised to continue to provide leadership."

Nominate Students for USA Todays All-USA College Academic Team
From: Wilkes University
ALL-USA COLLEGE ACADEMIC TEAM: USA TODAY seeks outstanding juniors and seniors for its 19th annual All-USA College Academic Team. The 20 students named to the First Team win trophies and $2,500 cash awards and are featured in USA TODAY in February as representatives of all outstanding undergraduates. Forty more students will be named to Second and Third Teams. They will be named in the paper and receive certificates. Criteria include academics, campus and community involvement and leadership, but the single biggest criterion is the student essay on his or her most outstanding intellectual endeavor as an undergraduate. Students must be nominated by their schools and register electronically to download the form, which is to be completed and mailed in by Nov. 30, 2007. The program is co-sponsored by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the American Council on Education. For more about the program, bios of former winners, advice to nominators and FAQs for students, go to http://allstars.usatoday.com and follow the links to the 4-year college program or e-mail allstars.usatoday.com.

Scholarships for Rural Teaching Offered by Western Governors University
From: the Earthtimes
Western Governors University (http://www.wgu.edu/ruraleducators) is working to increase the national pool of highly qualified rural teachers, particularly with the nationwide shortage of math and science teachers. WGU is offering $ 7,500 scholarships to qualified individuals in rural areas. Prospective recipients are those who reside in rural areas who want to become licensed teachers in math or science, or existing teachers who live in rural areas and want to earn a master's degree in math or science education. The scholarships for teachers are part of a U.S. Department of Labor grant recently awarded to WGU. As part of the grant, WGU also is working to develop and disseminate a new model for addressing workforce development of rural teachers that can be implemented on a national scale. WGU is partnering with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in the implementation and evaluation of this rural teacher initiative. More information is available at www.wgu.edu/ruraleducators, or call WGU toll free at 1-866-225-5948.

Hayward students sue over teacher quality
From: the Tri County Herald
Students from the Hayward, Los Angeles and West Contra Costa school districts filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Education over teacher quality rules. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, lawmakers specified that teachers needed full credentials and must teach in a subject where they received proper training in order to be considered ``highly qualified'' under the law. However the department allows states to count the student interns still in the process of earning their certification as fully credentialed. Maribel Heredia, a parent of two Hayward students who is suing the department, said during a press conference that her son's first grade teacher is an intern who leaves twice a week to finish up college classes _ leaving her son Jose Aldana with a substitute twice a week. ``I feel that this is wrong to call this teacher highly qualified,'' Heredia said. ``I feel like I'm being lied to.'' Officials with the U.S. Department of Education could not immediately be reached for comment??. ``We certainly would never think of a medical student as a doctor,'' said Jane West, a vice president at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Staff writer Kristofer Noceda contributed to this report.

Suit: Regulators hurt teacher quality
From: the LA Daily News
Parents and students from the Los Angeles, West Contra Costa and Hayward school districts filed a federal lawsuit this week against the U.S. Department of Education, alleging that the agency broke laws meant to ensure quality teachers in each classroom. When the No Child Left Behind act passed in 2001, lawmakers specified teachers needed to be credentialed and teach a subject in which they received proper training in order to be considered "highly qualified." But the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco contends that federal regulators - the Department of Education and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings - watered down the law by allowing states to count teacher interns as "highly qualified" although they are still in the process of earning certification. Jane West, an American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education vice president, said intern programs fill a vital role in preparing the next wave of teachers. Still, the programs have changed from a training ground into a standard way of filling the holes left by retirees and others leaving the profession. "There's a real price to be paid for that," West said.

ED sued over teacher-quality rules
From: eschoolnews
A group of parents, students, and community organizations is suing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings over the ?highly qualified teacher? provision of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in San Francisco Aug. 21, could affect how schools hire and place teachers in high-need areas in particular, such as the so-called ?STEM? fields of science, technology, engineering and math. NCLB mandates that only teachers who have a full state certification and a degree in their teaching field be considered ?highly qualified.? ED, however, has issued rules that allow states to label anyone currently participating in an alternative-certification program while teaching as ?highly qualified,? according to the plaintiffs. The department?s rules are intended to make it easier for schools to hire non-educators to fill hard-to-staff subject areas in which specialized expertise is required, such as in the STEM disciplines or less-common foreign languages. These professionals have up to three years to gain certification, and they?re allowed to teach--and are considered ?highly qualified? under the law--while pursuing their credentials. Among the groups supporting the lawsuit is the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents the nation?s teacher colleges and is an outspoken critic of alternative-certification programs. ?The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education believes that all teachers should be prepared in a high-quality preparation program and complete that program prior to being designated as highly qualified,? the group said in a statement. ?There are five components that we know are essential to any high-quality preparation program. These [are] having selective admissions standards, a curriculum that addresses the essential knowledge and skills needed to be an effective teacher, preparing teachers to teach a diverse range of students, a supervised internship, and a performance assessment that gauges the candidates? knowledge of subject matter and ability to convey that knowledge effectively.? The group concluded: ?That we would put anyone in the classroom who has not completed a rigorous preparation such as this is not in keeping with the true mission of NCLB.?

Parents, students sue over teacher quality
From: the San Jose Mercury News Parents and students from the Hayward, Los Angeles and West Contra Costa school districts filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the department broke with laws meant to ensure a quality teacher in each classroom. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, lawmakers specified that teachers needed to be credentialed and teach in a subject where they received proper training in order to be considered "highly qualified." Districts must notify parents each fall if their child's teacher fails to meet those requirements. The department, however, allows states to count teacher interns as credentialed even though they are still in the process of earning certification. Maribel Heredia, a parent of two Hayward students who is suing the department, said during a press conference that her son's first-grade teacher is an intern who leaves twice a week to finish up college classes -leaving Heredia's son, Jose Aldana, with a substitute twice a week. But new teachers still need guidance, said Jane West, a vice president at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Intern programs fill a vital role in preparing the next wave of teachers. However those programs have changed from a training ground into a standard way of filling the holes left by retirees and those leaving the industry. "There's a real price to be paid for that," West said

Lawsuit Attacks Alternative-Route 'Loophole' in NCLB Law
From: Education Week
A group of California parents, students, and community groups is suing the U.S. Department of Education for allowing alternative-route teachers who are not yet certified to be designated as ?highly qualified? under the No Child Left Behind Act. Under the federal law, to be highly qualified, teachers must have full state certification or licensure, in addition to a bachelor?s degree and evidence that they know each subject they teach. But Education Department regulations allow uncertified candidates who are in alternative-route programs to teach for up to three years while still seeking certification. Backers of the lawsuit, Renee v. Spellings, which was filed today in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco,said they are concerned because many of those teachers end up in schools that are low-performing and enroll higher concentrations of students of color. The lawsuit drew support from members of the teacher education community, who pointed out that the NCLB law is intended to reduce the number of out-of-field teachers and uncertified teachers in public school classrooms. ?Yet the Department of Education has created this large loophole to allow uncertified teachers who haven?t completed a preparation program to receive a highly qualified designation,? Jane West, the vice president of government relations for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said in a statement. ?Parents are not being fully informed of the real status of these teachers who are not yet credentialed to serve as teachers.?

East Bay students sue over teacher quality
From: the Contra Costa Times
Students from the Hayward, Los Angeles and West Contra Costa school districts filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Education over teacher quality rules. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, lawmakers specified that teachers needed full credentials and must teach in a subject where they received proper training in order to be considered "highly qualified" under the law. However the department allows states to count the student interns still in the process of earning their certification as fully credentialed. Maribel Heredia, a parent of two Hayward students who is suing the department, said during a press conference that her son's first grade teacher is an intern who leaves twice a week to finish up college classes -- leaving her son Jose Aldana with a substitute twice a week. "I feel that this is wrong to call this teacher highly qualified," Heredia said. "I feel like I'm being lied to." Officials with the U.S. Department of Education could not immediately be reached for comment. The complaint, filed at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, argues that the department overstepped its authority when it created the regulation allowing teachers-in-training to count as highly qualified. Last school year, more than 10,700 interns worked in California schools as teachers, according to the state Department of Education. Representatives from teacher preparation programs say labeling novice teachers as experienced in order to meet federal standards is misleading. "We certainly would never think of a medical student as a doctor," said Jane West, a vice president at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

A Quality Teacher In Every Classroom
From: the Quick and the Ed
A California-based coalition of parents and community members is suing the USDOE for violating teacher quality provisions. Press release from Public Advocates, which is representing the coalition, provides details about the lawsuit, which is supported by AACTE (pdf statement). Meanwhile, UFT leader Randi Weingarten guest-blogs at length on Eduwonk about the teacher role in data-driven accountability.

Teacher Quality Lawsuit Update
From: Education Week NCLB Act II Blog
A quick update on the new teacher quality lawsuit: My colleague Vaishali Honawar has a story with more details here. Also, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education supports the lawsuit. "The federal government needs to close this loophole that allows unprepared and uncertified teachers to enter the classroom and be called highly qualified," Jane West, the group's vice president for government relations and advocacy, writes in this statement.

Teacher Quality Lawsuit - Renee v. Spellings
From: the Texas Ed Equity Blog
Today, a coalition of parents, students, community groups, and legal advocates sued the United States Department of Education and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings for violating the teacher quality provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. In the first lawsuit of its kind, the coalition argues that a Department regulation has created a major loophole in NCLB that defies the will of Congress and harms students nationwide by defining teachers still in training as ?highly qualified.? The following is a statement by Dr. Jane West, Vice President of Government Relations & Advocacy, for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education on the Filing of Renee v. Spellings.

Spec. Ed. Advocates Wary of Relaxing Testing Rules
From: Education Week
As Congress wrestles with reauthorizing the 5½-year-old No Child Left Behind Act, some disability-rights advocates fear high standards for students with disabilities could be sacrificed as states seek more flexibility in the law. Some education groups, as well as lawmakers, have called for more choice in how states can administer the law?s accountability provisions, including greater power for school-based teams to decide what type of assessment a student receiving special education services should take. That?s a step away from grade-level achievement as a goal for all students, said James H. Wendorf, the executive director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, a New York City-based group that works to provide opportunities for children and adults with learning disabilities. Advocacy groups have also been calling on legislators to counter what they believe are negative impressions of the No Child Left Behind law, which passed Congress with big, bipartisan majorities in late 2001 but has encountered criticisms during its implementation. Several new members of Congress are serving on the House Education and Labor Committee, and those members may be hearing from their school districts that assessment of special education students is a problem, advocates believe. ?I think they?re hearing a lot of frustration from schools that don?t have the capacity to do what they need to be doing,? said Jane E. West, the vice president for government relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, in Washington, and a co-chairwoman of the consortium?s task force on education.

Congress schooled on STEM teaching crisis
From: eschoolnews
At a June 21 briefing on Capitol Hill, federal legislators and policy makers got a lesson in why schools have a hard time recruiting and retaining teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)--and what lawmakers can do to change that. The lack of a systemic approach to recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has contributed to a shortage of highly qualified instructors in these fields--and this shortage, in turn, threatens the nation's ability to compete in a global economy: So said speakers at a June 21 briefing on Capitol Hill. Hosted by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and the U.S. Senate's STEM Education Caucus, the briefing sought to convince members of Congress and their staffs of the need for national strategies and solutions to attract and retain teachers in the STEM disciplines--subjects that are vital, participants said, to preparing students to participate in an increasingly global society. "It is well known that the country's ability to succeed in the global economy is lagging and that we are losing our unrivaled edge in mathematics, science, and innovation to competitor nations," said Sharon Robinson, AACTE's president and chief executive. "The 16-percent annual turnover rates of both math and science teachers is the highest of all fields," Robinson said. "Shortages of [highly] qualified math and science teachers exist in most states and districts across the country. Thus, unprepared teachers are assigned to teach math or science out-of-field." Shortages of well-trained math and science teachers create a domino effect of problems across the United States, said Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor at Stanford University's School of Education.

GOP sens. urge combined consideration of higher ed bills
From: Education Daily
Republican senators last week banded together to lobby Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to advance the Higher Education Act reauthorization and the budget reconciliation bill to the Senate floor in tandem. In their letter dated June 12, Sens. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Wayne Allard, R-Colo., Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., focused primarily on high-profile loan issues in both bills. They wrote that passing the budget reconciliation separately from HEA would cut lender subsidies without addressing "important ethical, privacy and disclosure requirements" supported by Republicans in the bipartisan HEA bill. Still, teacher college advocates applauded the letter, saying moving the bills together would reinforce the importance of reauthorizing HEA's Title II teacher-quality programs. The Senate HEA bill, S. 1642, contains significant revisions to Title II. It would combine three discrete grant programs into one partnership grant for teachers' colleges and districts and focus funding to create more teacher residency and induction initiatives. "I think this is a very good signal, because appropriators have cut Title II," said Jane West, vice president of government affairs and external relations of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. "One of the messages [appropriators] have been sending is, 'Where is the [HEA] reauthorization? Where is the language to revitalize and reauthorize the teacher preparation grants?' "I think the appropriations committees are really looking to the lead of the authorizing committees. Getting this reauthorization bill through will strengthen those programs."

AACTE PRESENTS 2007 INTERNATIONAL GHANA STUDY TOUR ?PREPARING WORLD CLASS TEACHERS AND LEARNERS?
From: Vibe Ghana
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education?s (AACTE) president and CEO, along with fifteen college of education deans and professors will participate in AACTE?s 2007 International Study Tour: Preparing World-Class Teachers and Learners, and travel to Ghana, West Africa. Departing from the U.S., July 16, 2007, the group is led by AACTE?s president and CEO, Dr. Sharon P.Robinson and renowned education scholar, Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III (Nana Baffour Amankwatia, II), a Fuller E. Callaway professor of urban education at Georgia State University and recipient of AACTE?s 2004 Legacy of Excellence Award. The AACTE study tour is organized throughout Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi.

Congressional Briefing on Preparing STEM Teachers
From: The University of Kentucky
GRC staff attended a Congressional briefing on June 21, 2007, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and the U.S. Senate, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus. The purpose of this meeting was twofold. First it was designed to make Congress aware of the shortage of STEM teachers in every state across the country, at a time when the next generation of STEM teachers will be relied on to meet the critical challenges the U.S. faces in relation to global competitiveness. The second purpose of the meeting was to introduce lawmakers to exemplary secondary STEM teachers, several of whom gave testimony related to their successes in the classroom. The point was made more than once that implementation of No Child Left Behind legislation must focus on the quality of teacher preparation rather than maintaining its current focus on student test scores. Valdine McLean (NV) and Lisa M. Suarez-Carabello (OH), two exemplary secondary STEM teachers, shared their successes in the classroom and provided recommendations to policymakers on how to address the critical shortage of effective STEM teachers. Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University provided an overview of how other nations invest in the preparation of their STEM teachers in order to sustain a competitive economy. And Robin Willner of IBM provided a business perspective on the critical need for effective STEM teachers to educate the U.S.?s future workforce.

Math and Science
From: The American Association of University Women
A new report highlights different strategies being taken by teacher education programs to train mathematics and science teachers, addressing a topic that has become a prime focus of elected officials and educators across the country. The document, produced by the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, provides descriptions of 50 teacher-education programs around the country. Although the report does not identify any single program or approach as most effective in swelling the ranks of math and science teachers, it says that more institutions are establishing stronger ties between colleges of education, which focus on teacher preparation, and academic programs, which are devoted to training undergraduates in specific academic subjects. Barriers between those academic departments sometimes prevent talented math and science undergraduates from considering teaching careers, advocates for improved teaching have argued. Those intrauniversity divides also make it more difficult for aspiring teachers to obtain vital content knowledge in math and science before entering the classroom, some say.

APB Program Cited in National Report
From: Bridgewater State College
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has prepared a new national report entitled, ?Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness,?(pdf) and BSC is one of 50 teacher-preparation programs profiled for its ongoing commitment to increase the number of K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educators. The report was presented to the U.S. Senate STEM Education Caucus on June 21, 2007. The report makes specific mention of Bridgewater?s Accelerated Post-Baccalaureate (APB) program, an innovative curriculum designed to help mid-career technology professionals make the switch to the teaching profession. Since December 2002, the college has endorsed 161 math and science teachers for initial licensure through the program.

'Veto-bait?'
From: Education Daily
Loan reform bill clears House but could face veto - TEACH grants in jeopardy Despite House passage of a student loan reform bill with a new $375 million teacher quality grant program, the measure could face significant challenges during conference with the Senate version. It also has been threatened with a veto by the White House. H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act passed Wednesday, would reduce subsidies to college loan lenders by $19 billion and redirect the funds into student financial aid programs. It would raise the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,200 and cut student loan interest rates. The bill's TEACH grants would also subsidize $4,000 annually in tuition for college students majoring in high-needs fields like math, science and special education who agree to teach in challenging schools for four years. As a budget reconciliation bill, H.R. 2669 contains procedural protections against a filibuster in the Senate. Additionally, if the bill is enacted with the TEACH grants in place, they would become mandatory spending programs not subject to the annual appropriations process. The grants are a priority for House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif, who originally proposed them in 2005 as part of a larger teacher support package. But President Bush and Republican lawmakers object to making the programs mandatory entitlements. White House officials said Tuesday that Bush will veto the bill unless Congress yanks the mandatory language for TEACH and the other proposed grants. They said bill's savings would go to universities rather than to students entering college in the form of Pell Grant awards. The bill "fails to target aid to the neediest students currently in college and creates new mandatory federal programs and policies that are poorly designed and would have significant long-term costs to the taxpayer," the veto threat stated. Though the bill cleared one hurdle yesterday, the TEACH grants still could be cut during conference with the Senate. The Senate loan bill does not include the program. Jane West, vice president of government relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said her organization has been lobbying senators to retain TEACH during conference. "We have been working very hard on the Senate side," she said. "I know there have been conversations directly between the leadership in the House and the Senate to retain these grants. I'm very optimistic about it.?

Recent caucus events highlight importance of STEM ed
From: The Triangle Coalition
On Thursday, the House Diversity and Innovation Caucus held its inaugural event, launching the caucus with a luncheon highlighting the vast underrepresentation of women and racial and ethnic minorities in STEM fields and STEM education programs. At the launch, Congressman Silvestre Reyes, a founding and influential member of the caucus, announced that more than 60 members of congress had joined and pledged their support for programs to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He pointed out that according to the U.S. Census, 39 percent of the population under the age of 18 is a racial or ethnic minority. In a separate event last week, the Senate STEM Education Caucus hosted the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education for a briefing entitled "Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness." The well-attended morning briefing featured a panel of education policy experts, business leaders and exemplary STEM teachers. The panelists presented thoughts on how the congress could legislate improvements in teacher effectiveness. In particular, Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond highlighted a recent report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future and focused on the need to retain STEM teachers once they're recruited to the field. She suggested service scholarships (as opposed to post-hoc forgivable loans) to cover the cost of high-quality pre-service programs for those who agree to teach in a high-need field or location for at least four years; higher-quality pre-service programs, which have been shown to lead to greater teacher retention; and expanded in-service professional development and mentoring and improved working conditions, all of which have also been shown to encourage greater retention. The panelists presentations are available online, here.

Math and Science
From: Education Week
A new report highlights different strategies being taken by teacher education programs to train mathematics and science teachers, addressing a topic that has become a prime focus of elected officials and educators across the country. The document, produced by the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, provides descriptions of 50 teacher-education programs around the country. Although the report does not identify any single program or approach as most effective in swelling the ranks of math and science teachers, it says that more institutions are establishing stronger ties between colleges of education, which focus on teacher preparation, and academic programs, which are devoted to training undergraduates in specific academic subjects. Barriers between those academic departments sometimes prevent talented math and science undergraduates from considering teaching careers, advocates for improved teaching have argued. Those intrauniversity divides also make it more difficult for aspiring teachers to obtain vital content knowl-edge in math and science before entering the classroom, some say.

Congress schooled on STEM teaching crisis: STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
From: The Silicon Investor
The lack of a systemic approach to recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has contributed to a shortage of highly qualified instructors in these fields--and this shortage, in turn, threatens the nation's ability to compete in a global economy: So said speakers at a June 21 briefing on Capitol Hill. Hosted by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and the U.S. Senate's STEM Education Caucus, the briefing sought to convince members of Congress and their staffs of the need for national strategies and solutions to attract and retain teachers in the STEM disciplines--subjects that are vital, participants said, to preparing students to participate in an increasingly global society. "It is well known that the country's ability to succeed in the global economy is lagging and that we are losing our unrivaled edge in mathematics, science, and innovation to competitor nations," said Sharon Robinson, AACTE's president and chief executive.

Improving Content Area Literacy
From: the NCTE
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Report ?Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness? was released as part of a Congressional Briefing last week. The document highlights more than 50 programs at institutions across the country dedicated to increasing the number of effective K?12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators. Why does this matter to those of us who teach English language arts and composition? NCTE?s ?Teaching Composition: A Position Statement? provides the answer: In the classroom where writing is especially valued, students should be guided through the writing process; encouraged to write for themselves and for other students, as well as for the teacher; and urged to make use of writing as a mode of learning, as well as a means of reporting on what has been learned. The classroom where writing is especially valued should be a place where students will develop the full range of their composing powers. This classroom can also be the scene for learning in many academic areas, not only English . . . . Teachers in all academic areas who have not been trained to teach writing may need help in transforming their classrooms into scenes for writing. The writing teacher should provide leadership in explaining the importance of this transformation and in supplying resources to help bring it about. [emphasis mine] (?The Scenes of Writing?)

AACTE Hosts Event on Preparing STEM Teachers
From: NCTM
As part of its annual Hill Day events, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), together with the Senate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus, held a well-attended congressional briefing on the importance of preparing teachers to teach in the STEM disciplines in the broader effort to address the country?s competitiveness issues. The event featured remarks from exemplary educators, including secondary classroom teachers Valdine McLean and Lisa M. Suarez-Carabello, renowned author of ?The Marshall Plan for Teaching,? Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University, and Robin Willner of IBM, who provided a business perspective on the critical role of effective STEM teachers in educating our nation?s future workforce. Ms. Willner also spoke of her company?s efforts to get experienced employees into classrooms to share their expertise. Their remarks touched on the complex challenge of sufficiently preparing educators in these fields, as well as retaining them with sufficient supports and encouragement. AACTE also released a new report, titled, ?Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness,? which discusses the issues involved and points to best practices nationwide. For information on the event, the remarks of the speakers, and the report, visit www.aacte.org/Governmental_Relations/aacte_day_on_the_hill.aspx.

AACTE Holds Press Briefing to Discuss STEM Teacher Preparation
From: CCSSO
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) this morning hosted a briefing on ?Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness? in the Dirksen Senate Building on Capitol Hill. Presented in conjunction with the Senate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus, the congressional briefing featured a panel of two teachers of science and mathematics, IBM Vice President Robin Willner, and Stanford University Education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond. The speakers discussed the critical shortage of STEM teachers and the importance of STEM teacher preparation to educating the future workforce and sustaining a competitive American economy. The event also marked the release of the AACTE publication Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness, which highlights 50 teacher preparation programs across the country dedicated to increasing the number of effective K?12 STEM educators. According to AACTE President and CEO Sharon Robinson, the document provides impressive examples of programs for the benefit of policymakers and further research. Click here for more information, including written remarks of the panelists, speaker biographies, and a PDF version of the new publication.

Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness
From: Teacher Leaders Network
On June 21, two TeacherSolutions team members participated in AACTE?s Annual Day on the Hill, which as this year's focus, considered Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educator preparation. Exemplary secondary STEM teachers, Lisa Suarez-Caraballo (OH) and Valdine McLean (NV), will share their success in the classroom and provide recommendations to policymakers on how to address the critical shortage of effective STEM teachers. To investigate this topic further, review the testimony of Suarez-Caraballo and McLean. You can also read the insights of Robin Willner, IBM's Vice President of Global Community Initiatives, and an overview of the STEM issue from Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University. Find coverage of AACTE's Annual Day on the Hill in eSchool News online.

Advocates mull future of HEA funding
From: Education Daily
Lobbyists are taking different points of view about the meaning of proposed cuts to the teacher programs in the Higher Education Act. Both education committees have thrown bipartisan support behind programs to recruit and retain teachers in high-needs schools in various bills, including the Senate's HEA reauthorization and the House budget reconciliation bill. Appropriators, however, appear poised to make further cuts to existing teacher programs governed by Title II of HEA. Stakes are higher for the teacher programs this year because of the potential for changes to their structure and focus during HEA reauthorization. "There are great things in the Senate HEA reauthorization bill with the focus on clinical preparation and teacher residency programs. We are really pleased with that direction," said Jane West, vice president of government relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. "But we are disappointed with the funding levels." "We know we're in a time of distributing very scarce dollars, but ¿ the funding cuts represent a threat to our continued reform," said AACTE president Sharon Robinson. On the other hand, the House's version of the budget reconciliation, H.R. 2669, would create a TEACH loan relief program worth $375 million over five years for prospective teachers who agree to teach in high-need areas. If retained, the grants will not be reliant on the annual appropriations process. The bill also would be protected from a filibuster in the Senate. "By going beyond what reconciliation required in terms of the $750 million for deficit reduction and going after the lender subsidies, they've created new revenue sources to support a lot of activities that we believe have been ignored or underfunded," Cowan said. "I think it's a pretty clear sign that appropriators and authorizers are working together to be as creative as possible to address the need to recruit and retain high-quality teachers."
Mentoring, support crucial for STEM teachers

Stakeholders say congressional funding necessary for teacher retention
From: Education Daily
Math and science teachers need not only good preparation before they get in the classroom but also mentoring and support that follow them into the first few years of teaching. That was the key message of stakeholders last week at a packed briefing sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Senate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Caucus. "Induction, induction, induction," said Valdine McLean, a high school science teacher at Pershing County (Nev.) High School. "I cannot say enough about the importance of not leaving new teachers alone to flounder in their first few years of teaching." Stakeholders said congressional funding for induction is particularly crucial to retaining teachers in the STEM fields where students are more likely to be taught by out-of-field teachers. "Out-of-assignment teaching is at epidemic proportions," said Sharon Robinson, AACTE president. Thursday's panel coincided with AACTE's annual Day on the Hill, during which more than 160 teacher college deans and faculty members from 30 states met with their congressional delegations to share success stories of how their institutions improved STEM teacher preparation. Their lobbying comes at a crucial time. House and Senate appropriators appear to be considering less money for teacher preparation grants in the Higher Education Act that include induction programs and partnerships

Senate Panel OKs Higher Education Bills Aimed at Boosting Teacher Preparation, College Access
From: Education Week
The Senate education committee today approved sweeping bills aimed at encouraging colleges to partner with struggling school districts to provide extensive classroom experience for prospective teachers, and boosting college access for disadvantaged students. The teacher-training provision, part of a broad, long-awaited measure reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, would combine the three current grant programs that help states and universities prepare and recruit K-12 teachers into a single initiative that would enable colleges to collaborate with high-need districts. ?There?s a lot of potential here, particularly for school reform,? said Jane E. West, the vice president of government relations for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. ?You?re going to attract teachers who are already committed to teaching in low-income schools. ? What a great way to turn around a school that?s in need of improvement.? But the ?challenge is going to be funding,? Ms. West added. The measure doesn?t authorize or recommend a specific amount of money for the teacher-training grants, and the type of programs it encourages schools to develop can be expensive to operate, she said.

Panel advances student loan reforms - Bill includes incentives to recruit and retain teachers
From: Education Daily
The student loan reform bill that the House Committee on Education and Labor cleared Wednesday evening by a 30-16 vote includes several proposals of interest to K-12 educators and to school administrators. By and large, members' debate honed in on the hot button issue of student loan reform. H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act, would reduce federal subsidies to college loan lenders by $19 billion over five years and transfer $18 billion of the savings to financial aid programs geared toward making college more affordable to students -- a key priority for both parties. It would direct $750 million in savings to deficit H.R. 2669 is a "reconciliation" bill, which complies with instructions from the FY 2008 budget resolution. House leaders hope to enact it ahead of the Higher Education Act reauthorization. Many stakeholders had not expected the committee to incorporate K-12 proposals into the reconciliation bill, which enjoys procedural protections usually reserved for deficit-reduction purposes. So when the committee endorsed plans to package incentives to help recruit and retain teachers, it came as welcome news to many stakeholders. "Using reconciliation as a vehicle to address the critical and persistent teacher shortage is very wise," said Jane West, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's vice president of government relations and external affairs. H.R. 2669 includes a TEACH grant proposal worth $375 million over five years, which Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the committee chairman, first introduced in 2005 as part of a larger package.

Panel to act on teacher-recruiting tool
From: Education Daily
In a step that came as welcome news to stakeholders representing teachers' colleges, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, promised to provide as much as $16,000 in tuition assistance to college students who pursue teaching careers. The committee is scheduled to mark up the proposal today as part of a larger package of student loan reforms under consideration. Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, called Miller's decision to include grants for prospective teachers in the student loan package a "strategically important gesture" that will enable lawmakers to consider loan and teacher tuition programs at the same time. She said it would help make education programs viable options for college students and would ultimately help districts hire qualified teachers. "It would give us a chance to compete for our share of the talent pool," Robinson said.

AACTE to release STEM report
From: Education Daily
Education and business leaders will convene this month to discuss the importance of providing quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for teachers. The session will focus on Preparing STEM Teachers: The Key to Global Competitiveness, a report by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, that AACTE will present in conjunction with the Senate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Caucus. If students are going to enter the workforce and thrive in the world's increasingly competitive economy, they need well-trained teachers to guide them, educators say. The event, hosted by Sharon Robinson, president of AACTE, will include Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University, Robin Wilner of IBM and secondary STEM educators Lisa M. Suarez-Carabello and Valdine McLean. AACTE will release its report at the event, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at 325 Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C.

Federal Laws? Impact on Teacher Quality, Preparation Weighed
From: Education Week
A lack of federal investment has kept colleges of teacher preparation from consistently pursuing systemic and comprehensive change, the president of an umbrella group for such colleges told a congressional panel last week. Sharon P. Robinson, the president of the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said at a House education subcommittee hearing that teacher education has changed dramatically over the past several years as a result of reforms launched by the states, universities, and the federal government. These have resulted in a stronger curriculum that helps new teachers better serve diverse students, and apply what is learned in courses to the classroom. Still, she added, the types of changes sought by the federal government in the Higher Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, which call for more accountability and greater investment in professional development, have been slow to come.

A Failure To Work Together
From: Diverse Issues in Education
There is little coordination between federal K-12 and higher education programs charged with teacher training, even though such efforts could improve education for poor and minority students in low-quality public schools, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee was told Thursday. Both the Higher Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act fund separate teacher education and improvement programs but with different rules and approaches, said George A. Scott, director of education, workforce and income security issues at the U.S. General Accountability Office. ?It?s not clear to the extent these programs complement each other, and not much is known about how these laws are aligned,? he said. Schools of education are changing their approaches as needed to help improve the content knowledge and skills of prospective teachers, said Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. ?There is considerable work to be done,? she said. ?But we are not standing still.?

Congress Talks About Teacher Prep
From: Inside Higher Ed
Last year alone, Congress appropriated $2.89 billion through the No Child Left Behind Act and $59.9 million through the Higher Education Act to fund teacher quality and preparation initiatives nationwide. At a Congressional subcommittee hearing Thursday, elected representatives and witnesses discussed strategies for getting the most out of that spending. The reauthorization of the two acts ?presents a unique opportunity to improve these laws so that they operate in a more integrated fashion,? Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D.-Tex.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness said at the hearing. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, offered a host of recommendations to incorporate in the two acts, among them investments in a new fellowship program that would provide service scholarships for teaching in high-need fields and high-need schools, investments in partnerships among schools of education, schools of arts and sciences and K-12 schools, and support for the development of teacher performance assessments. In her written testimony, Robinson describes a number of state assessments that measure ?whether new teachers can actually teach? before they become teachers. ?A modest investment? on the part of the federal government could enable the continued development of these teacher performance assessments, Robinson said ? adding that the TEACH Act recently reintroduced by Rep. George Miller (D.-Calif.) calls for just such an investment. Like Fallon, Robinson also advocated for a targeted investment in the development of data systems and a need for ?state-of-the-art? mentoring programs.

Subcommittee puts Title II funds under microscope
From: Education Daily
Members of the House Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness Subcommittee on Thursday debated strategies for leveraging limited federal dollars to maximize improvements in teacher preparation, induction, and professional development. While preliminary, the discussion could ultimately underpin the full committee's priorities for Title II teacher quality programs in both NCLB and the Higher Education Act. With the HEA reauthorization delayed last year, Congress has a unique opportunity to reauthorize the Title II programs in tandem. At the hearing, George Scott, Government Accountability Office's Director of Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues, testified that the programs' aims are similar, leading to the possibility of "overlap and duplication" of efforts among grantees. Subcommittee leadership concurred, revealing a bipartisan desire to overhaul and better coordinate teacher quality funding. "It is not clear how complementary these two programs are," said Chairman Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas. Ranking member Ric Keller, R-Fla., added Congress "needs to look into how efficiently the K-12 Title II funds are spent." Witnesses Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; Janice Wiley, Deputy Director of the Region One Education Service Center; Daniel Fallon, Carnegie Corporation program director; and Emily Feistritzer, president of the National Center for Alternative Certification, had no lack of suggestions. They proposed dedicated funding for: Better state data systems, which would be designed to track teachers from their preparation programs into schools. Stronger clinical fieldwork experiences, especially in high-need urban school districts. Professional development programs tied to specific state standards and curricula. Sustained induction programs for new teachers. Performance-based assessments for teachers that include components requiring teachers to reflect upon and change their practices.

UCF to Honor Founding Father of Laser During Commencement Weekend
From: The University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida will honor Nobel Prize winner Charles Hard Townes, a pioneer of the laser, with the dedication of the new Townes Laser Institute on Friday, May 4, and at a commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 5. During the final ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 5, College of Education graduates will hear from Sharon P. Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Following the May ceremonies, UCF will have awarded about 169,000 degrees since starting classes in 1968. Guests must have tickets to attend the commencement ceremonies. For guests without tickets, live telecasts of all of the ceremonies will be shown at the Fairwinds Alumni Center across from the UCF Arena. The ceremonies also can be viewed online at http://webcast.oir.ucf.edu/.

Wichita State Dean Chosen To Lead Baylor's School Of Education
From: Baylor University
Dr. Randall O'Brien, executive vice president and provost at Baylor University, has announced the appointment of Dr. Jon M. Engelhardt, who currently leads the College of Education at Wichita State University, as dean of Baylor's School of Education. His professional memberships include serving as Wichita State's chief institutional representative for the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), where he was formerly a member of that organization's board of directors, chair and member of the fiscal committee for the Association of Teacher Educators, founding member (and past president) of the Research Council for Mathematical Learning, chair of the Council of Education Deans (Kansas), and current/past member of Great City Colleges of Education, Kansas Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, National Council of Teachers for Mathematics, National Education Association and various associations.

Envisioning a New Ed.D.
From: Inside Higher Ed
Lasting improvements to the K-12 school system may well end up starting in the classrooms ? and so colleges of education are logical starting places for education reform. Yet, while teacher education gets plenty of scrutiny, a new, nationwide initiative goes straight to the top of the food chain in an attempt to catalyze change in the education of education?s leaders. The initiative will focus on re-evaluating capstone experiences, re-imagining the Ed.D. dissertation, crafting coherent and distinct admissions policies for both degree paths and rethinking everything from the basic course requirements to the oral examinations. ?In other words, we?re going to solve every problem in the next three years,? Imig, the former long-time leader of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, says with a laugh.

Search for dean ends
From: The Rebel Yell
UNLV?s College of Education has ended the search for a new dean and selected Dr. M. Christopher Brown II. Brown, who will begin work at UNLV July 1, comes from his current position as the vice president of programs and administration with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). He is also on leave of absence from Pennsylvania State University College of Education. Formerly an elementary school teacher in South Carolina, he has an extensive curriculum vitae showcasing his involvement with more than 90 publications, books and journals pertaining to education. He obtained a bachelor?s degree from South Carolina State University, a master?s from University of Kentucky and a doctorate from PSU. As stated on his AACTE biography, Brown was honored with the American Society for Higher Education?s Promising Scholar/Early Career Award in 2001 and the American Educational Research Association Committee on Scholars of Color Early Career Contribution Award in 2002.

NCLB 'universal design' language endorsed
From: Education Daily
Twenty-seven advocacy organizations have endorsed proposed language that would encourage states to incorporate the principals of universal design for learning into state academic content standards and require them to consider UDL in the design of assessments and teacher professional development.UDL is a framework for designing curricula and assessments accessible by students of different cognitive abilities. It provides flexibility in the way information is presented and allows for differentiation in how students demonstrate knowledge of what they have learned.Groups that support the language include the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the National School Boards Association. In addition, many advocacy organizations for students with disabilities also support the proposal, including the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

PROGRAMS
From: Birmingham News
Sharon Robinson, president and chief executive of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, is the Curtis Distinguished Lecturer for the 17th annual James P. Curtis Lecture, 7 p.m., Thursday, Graves Hall Auditorium, University of Alabama. She will present a lecture entitled "Teaching: Building a World of Learners."

M. CHRISTOPHER BROWN SELECTED AS NEXT DEAN OF COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
From: The University of Nevada
UNLV President David Ashley announced today that M. Christopher Brown II, Ph.D., has been selected as the next dean of the UNLV College of Education. Brown, who currently serves as vice president for programs and administration with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), will assume his new role at UNLV effective July 1, 2007. ?Christopher Brown comes to UNLV with an exceptional professional record,? said UNLV President David B. Ashley. ?His experience with the AACTE, which prepares teachers and school leaders for higher education positions, gives him a unique perspective for this position. He is an individual with great energy and talent - his leadership will allow the college and its faculty to further excel.? Brown began his career as an elementary school teacher in South Carolina. He received his B.S. in elementary education at South Carolina State University and his M.S.Ed. in educational policy and evaluation from University of Kentucky. He earned his Ph.D. in higher education from The Pennsylvania State University, where he is currently on leave from his faculty position in the College of Education to serve in a senior leadership role with AACTE

NCATE Support Poses No Conflict for Teacher Group
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education
To the Editor: ?Teacher-College Group Presses for Single Accrediting Body" (March 7, 2007) quotes one individual who questions as a conflict of interest the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education?s financial contributions to the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the professional accrediting body for teacher preparation. Accrediting bodies are composed of the professionals they represent, and, as such, are supported wholly by their respective pr of essions. Without the support of the profession, in the from of dues to pr of essional member organizations, as well as fees to accredited institutions, specialized accrediting bodies such as NCATE (and those in medicine, law, engineering, social work, and other fields) likely would not exist. AACTE itself contributes 5 percent of NCATE?s total budget. NCATE has a total of 33 member organizations, each of which contributes to quality assurance in educator preparation through the mechanism of NCATE accreditation. Accreditation developed in the United States as the pr of essions developed, but this country does not have a central ministry of educatopm that promulgates standards. Thus, each pr of ession has developed standards for the preparation of professionals, along with a mechanism to evaluate those programs of study. Randy Hitz Dean Graduate School of Education Portland State University Portland, Ore. The writer is the chair of the board of directors for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

UNT receives innovative technology award
From: The University of North Texas
The University of North Texas has earned the Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). "This award represents a national review by technology teacher educators who recognized UNT's work as innovative and of high quality," said Dr. Mary Harris, professor of teacher education and administration at UNT and a principal investigator for the grant that funded the award-winning online curriculum. Harris accepted the award Feb. 27 at the AACTE's 59th Annual Meeting and Exhibits in New York City.

WOMEN SHAPING HISTORY: Freedom Writers: Erin Gruwell
From: Education Update
Recently, at the Hilton Hotel, the AACTE (American Association for Colleges of Teachers Education) kicked off the opening night of their annual meeting of administrators, principals, and teachers, and its ?Challenge for Change? with the inspiring and heartfelt words of Erin Gruwell. Jeff Gorrel, chair of the Committee on Membership Development and Capacity building of AACTE, introduced the keynote speaker as a ?teacher who valued and promoted the diversity of her students who had been hardened by exposure to gang-violence and drugs, triggering unfathomable change. She inspired her students to see themselves and to act as creative and responsible citizens who could build community and thrive as members of that community.?

AACTE Warned of Efforts to Harm Public Education
From: Education Week
Diane Ravitch, no friend of the current state of teacher education, got a standing ovation from an unlikely crowd last week: a roomful of deans and directors gathered here for the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.In a speech titled ?The Future of Teacher Education in a Hostile Environment,? the New York University professor and noted education historian spoke about what she sees as attempts to cast aside public education. ?Today, we face a situation that can be described as a crisis,? Ms. Ravitch told many of the 2,600 conferees. ?People in the past did not say public education needs to be dismantled, but today, there are critics who feel the public education system is obsolete.?Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research and policy group, told the deans during a session on the NCLB law that the reauthorization will not be quiet. ?It is going to be a ball, at times,? said Mr. Jennings, noting that organizations that were excluded the last time, such as the teachers? unions, will ask for a voice this time around.At the gathering, the teacher-college association discussed an innovative idea for its members to consider in helping schools fight teacher shortages: training prospective teachers abroad and importing them to U.S. colleges, where they can receive their credentials to become fully certified in local schools.At a session on establishing a collaborative teacher education program between India and the United States, Om Pathak, who helped set up several public schools in India, said his country has the world?s largest English-speaking population, and a large number of postgraduates, especially in the fields of mathematics and science, who are trainable and deployable as teachers. Besides, he added, teacher-preparation costs are significantly lower in India than they are in the United States.Mwangaza Michael-Bandele, a senior director at AACTE who moderated the discussion, said association leaders are ?excited about the collaboration? and are working on how best to make it happen.

Hats off
From: AZ Central
What: Arizona State University's College of Teacher Education and Leadership received a Best Practice Award for Effective Partnerships by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. ASU was honored at the association's Annual Meeting and Exhibits in New York City on Feb. 27. Background: The award recognizes ASU's collaboration among schools, colleges and departments of education. Reflections: "The community-based teacher-preparation model used by our College of Teacher Education and Leadership is a prime example of the positive impact on both parties that occurs when university and community come together," said Michael Crow, ASU's president.

Teacher education efforts earn national award
From: Arizona State University
ASU's College of Teacher Education and Leadership has a long-standing commitment to Arizona's education community through a variety of collaborations, outreach and programs. For its commitment, the college received a ?Best Practice Award for Effective Partnerships? by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). ASU was honored at AACTE's 59th annual meeting and exhibits in New York. The award recognizes ASU's outstanding partnership collaboration among schools, colleges and departments of education, local schools or school districts and other community entities that have demonstrated measurable contributions to the achievement and learning of prekindergarten through 12th-grade students.

Teacher-College Group Presses for Single Accrediting Body
From: Education Week
The umbrella group for teacher colleges wants a single accrediting body to elevate the status of teaching as a profession, but the move is under fire from some members who see it as a blow against the smaller of the two groups that judge teacher education programs. Members of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a Washington-based group that represents nearly 800 teacher colleges, voted 158-151 at the group?s annual conference here last week to renew a resolution calling for a single accreditor. Although the resolution has been on the books for a while, it wasn?t controversial when last voted on five years ago because the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, or NCATE, founded in 1954, was the only major player on the scene. The Teacher Education Accreditation Council, or TEAC, formed in 1997, was still a newcomer.

Teacher Association Backs 1 Accreditor
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is trying to promote a strong accreditation system to improve teacher training and to ward off possible government moves to impose new public-school teaching standards. But when the group's leaders tried last week at their annual meeting to renew a resolution stating that there should be only one accreditor for all teacher-training colleges, the result was an unusually divisive confrontation. The association's officers said that the resolution was not meant to favor the established accreditor over its younger rival, but many members of the group feared it was. The resolution passed by a slim margin ? 158 to 151 ? seemingly undermining its effect and raising questions about the group's strategy.

New Graduate School of Education Dean: Andrew Porter of Vanderbilt
From: The University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Andrew C. Porter, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Leadership Policy and Organization and Director of the Learning Sciences Institute in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, has been named Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His appointment is effective August 1, 2007. A nationally-known scholar and educator, Dr. Porter is an expert in quantitative methods. He also has a deep understanding and appreciation for the important role that historical and qualitative approaches play in understanding the processes of education and human development. He has also served as Chair of the Publications and Editorial Advisory Board of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.

AACTE?s first taste of the National Teachers Hall of Fame
From: Emporia State University
In the Big Apple, The National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) spiced up the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) with a sponsored panel and the ascension to Chair-elect of the AACTE Board of Directors by Dr. Kay Schallenkamp, of long-time NTHF board member and current president of Black Hills State University in South Dakota. While not exactly a coup, Dr. Schallenkamp?s commitment to AACTE predates her current position and tenure as president of Emporia State University (1997-2006). Joining NTHF and AACTE just made sense as Schallenkamp noted that ?in addition to honoring individual teachers each year, the NTHF mission includes advancing the teaching profession.

$3M grant to aid online teacher education
From: eschoolnews
Western Governor's University receives Labor Department funds to help train rural educators Western Governors University, a private, nonprofit online school founded and supported by the governors of 19 western states, will receive $1 million per year for three years from the U.S. Department of Labor to test a new teacher education model. The program's goal is to help rural school systems find and retain highly qualified teachers in hard-to-staff disciplines such as math and science. WGU will offer online scholarships for rural teaching candidates, as well as academic support and mentoring following graduation from the program. The program allows individuals to continue residing in their communities while accessing their classes online. WGU will partner with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to implement and evaluate this rural teacher initiative. The project will include working with states, workforce investment boards, one-stop career centers, and rural school districts to identify and prepare potential teacher candidates.

Professor to join education board
From: The San Francisco Chronicle
Stanford education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond will join the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in March. The association is a national voluntary association of higher education institutions and other organizations dedicated to quality education for teachers. Darling-Hammond, considered a leader in the field of education, launched the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute and the School Redesign Network at Stanford and served as faculty sponsor for the Stanford Teacher Education Program. She has also worked at Columbia University, where she was the founding executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, a panel that produced an influential 1996 report

"Stakeholders mixed on teacher funding priorities
From: Education Daily
The budget justifies the shift in funds, saying most teachers are highly qualified and it is therefore appropriate for those funds to be used for TIF purposes. Jane West, vice president of government relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said her organization supports more Title II targeting, but not at the expense of overall teacher quality money. Instead, the budget reflects a lack of unity in federal teacher quality policy, she said. "You've got a limited pot of money, and a real significant challenge in relation to teachers -- critical shortage areas, teachers ready to retire, terrible teacher turnovers, a misdistribution of teachers," she said. "I think you really want to target your money to address them in a systemic kind of way, and I don't see a systemic kind of initiative."

'Scientifically based' reading not measured by teachers' tests
From: Education Daily
Similarly, Title II of the HEA requires states to report the percentages of teachers exiting programs who pass licensure exams, but does not mandate particular cut scores. "I think when these cut scores are all over the place, it creates the same dilemma we have with adequate yearly progress, where you've got 50 different standards and definitions of proficiency," said Jane West, vice president for government relations for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Another HQT loophole?
From: Education Daily
For example, ED rulemaking allowed teachers on alternative certification routes to be considered highly qualified for up to three years, if they were enrolled and making progress in a program. Thus, unlike teachers in traditional programs, they did not have to be certified or have demonstrated content competency before entering the classroom. Groups such as the Center for Teaching Quality and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education have said that opened a major quality loophole. Like regular teacher prep programs, alternative certification varies in quality, and CTQ executive director Eric Hirsch said alternative certification programs proved an easy way for states to deal with teachers on emergency certifications. "The light is not fully shown on the inequities that still exist, because now we don't call them emergency waivers; we just enroll these teachers in an alternate route program," he said. "Ultimately, there are ways within this system to not fully address the teaching gap provisions that the law was intended to address." AACTE VP for government relations Jane West agreed. "You can just be working towards your certification, and I think for them [highly qualified] is a really disingenuous label," she said.

Higher Education Act May Finally See Action
From: Education Week
?I think it?s all about teachers now,? Jane E. West, the vice president of government relations for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said of the effort to improve education. ?There just seems to be an increasing consensus that we really need to address the critical shortage of teachers, and we need to move from thinking about highly qualified teachers to thinking about effectiveness. Knowing your content doesn?t necessarily mean you can instruct well.?

Speaker Spotlight: Sharon Robinson
From: ACSD
A lifelong civil rights activist and current president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Sharon Robinson believes that to serve the whole child teachers need mastery of content, skill, and professional ethics. You'll learn more about these three components and their roles in preparing whole teachers to address the needs of all learners at Robinson's 2007 ASCD Annual Conference session, Preparing the Whole Teacher to Teach the Whole Child.

The Power of Influence
From: Education Week
Kati Haycock: On the policy front, teachers and teacher educators mostly play a role through their associations. In the case of teachers, that's mostly through either the unions or, to a lesser extent, the subject matter associations. In the case of teacher educators, of course, that is mostly through AACTE. The unions, of course, have a lot of influence. The others are less influential in general, but often play a strong role around particular provisions. Unfortunately, we still don't have good vehicles to engage individuals through other than the associations. As for your question about who will replace teacher retirees, that's still an open question.

AACTE Defends Teacher Education
From: Education World
Teacher education programs may have their flaws, but schools and states need to build on their strengths rather than start from scratch, according to Dr. Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Included: Descriptions of some innovative teacher education programs.

Upcoming Events
From: Education Daily
AACTE and NAEYC to host online conference - The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the National Association for the Education of Young Children will host a Web conference focusing on candidate assessment in early childhood education Dec. 5-7. The conference will feature a mix of prerecorded and live presentations. The latter will allow question-and-answer and chat exchanges. View at http://www.aacte.org/Events/web_conferences.aspx

Breaking Down The Ivory Tower
Study Finds Ed Schools in Poor Shape
From: The Washington Post
Sharon P. Robinson, president and chief executive of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said that proposal was off-base. "We need to be more inclusive than that," she said in a statement. "Like other professions, education must rely more heavily on the less selective institutions to build the bulk of its workforce."

Teacher education called weak
From: The Herald Net
A new report says colleges must better prepare educators. "The findings are sobering, and we take them seriously," said Sharon Robinson, president and chief executive of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents 800 schools. She said Levine's motives are true and his "tough love" findings have credibility.

Teacher training is chaotic, study says
From: USA Today
"The findings are sobering, and we take them seriously," said Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents 800 schools. She said Levine's motives are true and his "tough love" findings have credibility.

But she took issue with some ideas, such as shifting more teacher training to the top doctoral universities, where Levine said the programs are strongest. Bolstering programs at public colleges and universities makes more sense, Robinson said.

Study: Teacher training chaotic
From: Dallas Morning News
"Teacher education right now is the Dodge City of education: unruly and chaotic," said Levine, who now heads the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. "There's a chasm between what goes on in the university and what goes on in the classroom."

"The findings are sobering, and we take them seriously," said Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents 800 schools. She said Levine's motives are true and his "tough love" findings have credibility.

But she took issue with some ideas, such as shifting more teacher training to the top doctoral universities, where Levine said the programs are strongest. Bolstering programs at public colleges and universities makes more sense, Robinson said.

Study Says Teacher Training Is Chaotic
From: Los Angeles Times
The response from Levine's peers was mixed. Representatives of the teaching profession embraced many of Levine's themes but took exception to some ideas as misguided or elitist.

"The findings are sobering, and we take them seriously," said Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents 800 schools. She said Levine's motives are true and his "tough love" findings have credibility.

But she took issue with some ideas, such as shifting more teacher training to the top doctoral universities, where Levine said the programs are strongest. Bolstering programs at public colleges and universities makes more sense, Robinson said.

New Critique of Teacher Ed
From: Inside Higher Ed
Calling that part of Levine?s proposal ?elitist,? Robinson, the AACTE president, said it?s unwise to abandon programs at the colleges that produce the greatest number of teachers. ?Like other professions, education must rely more heavily on the less selective institutions to build the bulk of its work force, incorporating the growing first-generation college-going populations,? Robinson said in a statement. ?If we intend to overcome the teacher shortage and produce the education work force that the nation needs, preparation must be accessible and affordable.?

Report slams teacher-education programs
From: eschoolnews.com
Despite some examples of success, the majority of today's teacher-education programs are engaged in a "pursuit of irrelevance," having failed to keep pace with substantial changes in technology, student demographics, and global competition, according to a new report from the non-partisan Education Schools Project. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education said it welcomed the report and agreed with some, though not all, of its recommendations.

Sharon Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), commended Levine for the study. She called the findings "sobering" and added, "We take them seriously ... there is no one from whom we would rather receive this study's 'tough-love' findings. We agree with some, but not all, of his recommendations."

Robinson said teacher education already is undergoing a dynamic transformation. She referred to an AACTE publication, "Teacher Education Reform: The Impact of Federal Investments," which documents some of those changes.

Study says teacher training is chaotic
From: The Boston Globe
"The findings are sobering, and we take them seriously," said Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents 800 schools. She said Levine's motives are true and his "tough love" findings have credibility. But she took issue with some ideas, such as shifting more teacher training to the top doctoral universities, where Levine said the programs are strongest. Bolstering programs at public colleges and universities makes more sense, Robinson said.

Prominent Teacher-Educator Assails Field, Suggests New Accrediting Body in Report
From: Education Week
Sharon P. Robinson, the president of the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, or AACTE, a group that represents about 750 colleges of education and that is a member institution of NCATE, called the recommendation for redesigning accreditation ?over the top.?

?NCATE has given every indication that it is capable of reforming and changing and implementing and embracing new ideas and innovation, so I don?t understand the evidence that would put forth such a dramatic recommendation,? she said.

Report: Teacher prep programs inadequate
From: Education Daily
Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education welcomed the report, saying she particularly supported the need to enhance the clinical development component in most programs. "Universities have to go off campus, provide the opportunities to learn skills of practice in a setting of practice with highly skilled practitioners," she said. Still, Robinson said it's time to move away from finger-pointing toward finding solutions. "What is needed now is action."

Report Blasts Teacher-Education Programs as Outdated and Low-Quality
From: the Chronicle of Higher Education
Already the report has raised hackles. While the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education agrees with some of the suggestions, it balks at the idea of doing away with the current accreditation system. "We would not support wiping out 50 years of forward progress in improving the quality of preparation programs," said Sharon P. Robinson, the group's president, in a written statement. Instead, she said, that progress should be built upon. She also rejected the suggestion that programs be expanded at what she called "high-cost, highly selective, elite institutions that attract few teacher candidates." Instead, she advocated what she called the more "inclusive" approach of improving quality at the less selective institutions, which train more of the nation's teachers.

Teacher ed gets failing mark; Report says colleges set standards too low
From: The Chicago Tribune
Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, criticized its "implicit elitism" that suggests expanding programs at highly selective institutions rather than bolstering the programs at the regional state colleges and universities, which produce about 80 percent of the teacher workforce. But Robinson also called the report "sobering" and urged college officials and policymakers to focus on solutions. "There's a point at which further analysis gets in the way of progress, where discourse about already known problems overshadows the efforts of those who are inventing and implementing solutions," she said.

Report Critical Of Training Of Teachers
From: The New York Times
Dr. Levine's report also said teachers should be trained for five years, with four years in a traditional subject like English or chemistry and one year of learning how to teach. He suggested that education programs be refocused as professional schools. Several critics said it would be impractical to shut down programs at less selective universities. ''We should not abandon the schools that produce the highest number of teachers,'' Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, said at the news conference. ''Rather, we should focus on them.''

Rulemaking could affect teacher colleges
From: Education Daily
The future of teacher preparation colleges could be a focus of new Education Department regulations. In a Federal Register notice published August 18, ED announced plans to form negotiated rulemaking committees to create rules for Higher Education Act programs, including Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants. Jade Floyd, communications manager for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education , said that the organization would be closely watching the rulemaking. It would be serious for a college of education not to be able to enroll financial aid recipients, she said. "Their productivity, the number of graduates is going to drop" until they meet state criteria, she added.

Entrepreneur Offers Alternative Teacher Training at New College in Chicago
From: Chronicle of Higher Education
Sharon P. Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a professional association for colleges and other organizations that train teachers, says the real test of the American College of Education will be whether the teachers it trains are able to improve student learning. "The data will speak, and we will be listening," Ms. Robinson says.

A Platform to Promote Teacher Ed
From: Inside Higher Ed
The event, sponsored by the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, was a response to increased interest by members of Congress in learning details about federally funded Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants Program for States and Partnerships, said Jane E. West, vice president of government relations with AACTE

Sharon Robinson, president of AACTE, said it?s important for lawmakers to hear about teacher education program that produce results. ?In those cases, Congress is receptive,? she said.

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic-Teacher training programs need to be revamped
From: The Daily Dispatch
Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, responded to the report by saying that teachers colleges have not rejected the research "but the community has to find a way to accept this work in a way they can use."

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