Addressing shortages in a state’s teacher labor market can present unique challenges and requires access to comprehensive data and an understanding of available policy levers. To support informed policy, the Education Commission of the States has compiled a national comparison of state policies related to teacher recruitment and retention, with a focus on shortages in Read more about 50-State Comparison: Teacher Recruitment and Retention[…]
The Learning Policy Institute and Bank Street Graduate School of Education have announced the launch of Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab), an initiative to help educator preparation programs ensure that new teachers and leaders are able to provide K-12 students with education that helps them develop skills like critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and being able to Read more about EdPrepLab Will Help Educators Develop the Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions to Support All Students in Learning Deeply[…]
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) has released a free, user-friendly data tool that helps states, educator preparation programs (EPPs), and districts to identify and visualize diversity gaps across the entire educator career continuum, from “future teachers” graduating from high school and entering preparation programs, to preservice teachers entering the educator workforce, Read more about Insights on Diversifying the Educator Workforce[…]
Each year a significant number of aspiring elementary teachers, having successfully completed their formal preparation, are still unable to become licensed professionals. That’s because an alarming number of candidates fail their licensing tests, far surpassing the failure rate for other professions’ entry tests, bar exams, and boards. The fact that more candidates fail than pass Read more about A Fair Chance: Simple Steps to Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce[…]
A new report from Educators for Excellence New York outlines the importance of teacher preparation and offers recommendations for increasing teacher diversity. Ready for Day One and Beyond is a new paper written by teachers on the Educators for Excellence New York Policy Team. The paper starts with two important questions: 1. What Read more about Recommendations to Strengthen Teacher Preparation & Diversity[…]
Recently, Susanne Nobles, writing for the Christensen Institute, explored the topic of virtual field experiences as a method for infusing diverse classroom experiences in all teacher preparation programs, regardless of location. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The dilemma is this: Preservice teachers need to practice teaching many times and in many places and ways. Read more about Disrupting teacher prep through virtual field experiences[…]
Recently in Getting Smart, Katherine Prince of Knowledgeworks discussed a new foundation for readiness for work in the 21st century. Excerpts of the piece appear below: From today’s vantage point, we can identify two critical drivers of change shaping the future of readiness for further learning, work and life: the rise of smart machines and Read more about Preparing All Learners for an Uncertain Future of Work[…]
Writing for CRPE’s Thinking Forward collection of essays, authors Michael DeArmond, Christine Campbell and Paul Hill have published a piece that explores new teacher roles that enable teachers to focus on soft skills and personalization. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Above all, emerging ideas from the field about how to make teaching more doable Read more about The Uncertain Future of Teaching[…]
Education Week recently released data on the nation’s shortage of special educators. Excerpts of the article appear below: The number of special education teachers nationally has dropped by more than 17 percent over the past decade, a worrisome trend in a career path that has seen chronic shortages for years. An analysis of federal data Read more about Shortage of Special Educators Adds to Classroom Pressures[…]
Since its founding in 1990 to help staff classrooms in low-income communities, Teach For America has been attacked for devaluing public education by recruiting teachers to spend a minimum of two years in the classroom. A member of the Philadelphia City Council recently called TFA a “gimmick.” But TFA’s most recent information about its more Read more about Staying Power: TFA Alumni in Public Education[…]
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has announced its new ISTE Standards for Educators: Computational Thinking Competencies (CT Competencies). CT Competencies focus on the knowledge, skills and mindset needed to bring computational thinking to all K-12 content areas and are designed for all educators, including those who are new to computer science. The Read more about ISTE Announces New Computational Thinking Standards for All Educators[…]
School districts and teacher preparation programs both play critical roles in setting educators up for success in the classroom. However, too often they work in isolation. By creating a partnership around shared goals, they can build a stronger, more diverse workforce–and provide a better and more equitable education experience to students. But how should they Read more about Tools for Strong District-Teacher Preparation Program Partnerships[…]
For the past two years, Education First has facilitated a community of practice of five teacher preparation technical assistance centers–Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, National Center for Teacher Residencies, TeacherSquared, TeachingWorks and University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Prep–working to reimagine the way teachers are prepared for the classroom. As part of Read more about New Tools and Resources for Reimagining Teacher Preparation[…]
Recently in Education Week, Madeline Will wrote about the challenges that the CAEP standards have faced in the past five years and the goal of strengthening teacher preparation. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, which was created by a 2010 merger between two national accrediting bodies, officially Read more about CAEP: A Bold Set of Teacher Preparation Standards Faces Challenges[…]
Recently in The 74, Kate Walsh wrote about the power of school districts to fix their own teacher pipeline, including the portion of the pipeline coming from traditional teacher preparation programs. Excerpts from the piece appear below: A growing number of school districts are embracing the teacher residency model as a solution to their shortage Read more about District Power to Fix the Student Teacher Pipeline[…]
Teaching is one of very few professions that expects new employees to be masters of their craft — where they handle all of the responsibilities of long-serving veterans — on their first day on the job. Historically, new teachers have received limited exposure to life in the classroom. Even today, most traditional preparation programs require Read more about Realizing the Potential of Teacher Residencies[…]