"Transformations in Educator Preparation: Effectiveness and Accountability"

Event materials:

• Congressional Briefing Packet
• Press Release: "AACTE Releases Policy Recommendations for Reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act"
• White Paper: "Transformations in Educator Preparation: Effectiveness and Accountability"

What is Day on the Hill?

Day on the Hill provides AACTE members with the opportunity to come together in our nation's capital and meet one-on-one with Congressional leaders to advocate for federal policy and funding that supports educator preparation. The two-day event includes an orientation for AACTE members to prepare them for their Hill visits, an evening reception on Capitol Hill with several Members of Congress and their staff, a briefing the next morning on Capitol Hill on this year's theme "Transformations in Educator Preparation: Effectiveness and Accountability" followed by visits with Members of Congress and their staff and a debriefing at AACTE headquarters. Click here to see a preliminary agenda.

Who should attend Day on the Hill?

We strongly encourage institutions to send a team to Day on the Hill that could include your faculty, your K-12 partners (such as principals and superintendents who love your program), your best graduates, and others who can speak well to the quality of your program. Third party support of your program resonates well with Congressional Members and their staff.

How should I prepare for Day on the Hill?

Leading up to Day on the Hill, AACTE will provide participants with extensive preparation regarding setting up visits with Members of Congress, understanding the federal education policy context, preparing leave-behind materials, and conducting successful visits. Participants are expected to set up visits with their respective Congressional delegation ahead of time for June 22 and to have developed a meaningful leave-behind for those visits.

Why the theme "Transformations in Educator Preparation: Effectiveness and Accountability"?

Given the significant changes underway in university-based preparation programs, AACTE wants to highlight members' efforts to focus their programs on effective preparation practices and to show how institutions of higher education are documenting and communicating their successes. The Day on the Hill Congressional briefing will feature speakers from educator preparation programs that serve as models of excellence in communicating evidence of effectiveness and accountability of their programs' quality – essential components to illustrating the value of educator preparation and moving the profession into the future.

Where should I stay in Washington, D.C.?

AACTE has reserved a room block at the Omni Shoreham Hotel at 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The orientation on June 21 will take place at the Omni Shoreham. All other events will take place on Capitol Hill or AACTE headquarters.

As part of the new AACTE Holmes Scholars Program, AACTE will also be adding a professional development conference for Holmes Scholars to the Day on the Hill schedule. All regular Day on the Hill activities will be part of the conference, and Holmes Scholars can attend Day on the Hill for free. For more information or to register a Holmes Scholar for AACTE's Day on the Hill, contact Alicia Ardila-Rey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .