American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting to Convene Over 2,000 Teacher Educators February 23-25

(February 12, 2016, Washington, D.C.)– The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) will host the nation’s premier conference for educator preparation this month featuring over 700 presenters. The AACTE 68th Annual Meeting, to be held February 23-25 at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., will provide attendees access to the field’s latest resources and tools, cutting-edge research, best practices and dynamic leaders. More than 2,000 educators from schools, colleges and universities across the country will be in attendance.

“Beginning with pre-events and running through sessions large and small, this conference will provoke new insights on problems of practice through multiple perspectives,” said Sharon P. Robinson, Ed.D., president and CEO of AACTE.

Themed, “Meeting the Demands of Professional Practice: Tough Questions, Tough Choices,” the conference will offer attendees hundreds of concurrent sessions to choose from that will explore issues impacting the educator preparation profession, organized into four session strands:

• Professionalism: Values in Action
• Engagement: Hard Choices in Connecting With All Stakeholders
• Programs and Practices: Making Hard Choices Through Critical Reflection, Review, and Innovation
• Assessment: Hard Choices in Program Improvement

The opening session will feature Pedro Noguera, one of the nation’s most important voices on the state of education and the implications for our democratic society. Six interactive major forums presented by expert panelists—including National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples—will tackle questions around teacher shortages, learning science, clinical practice, the digital divide, standards for entry into teaching and strategies to diversify the educator workforce. The closing session will highlight a panel discussion with education leaders Carole Basile, Tony Bryk, Dan Domenech, Cheryl Redfield and Nancy Zimpher, who will articulate a new vision for how to serve learners by focusing on some of education’s toughest questions. For a full list of sessions and events, see the online schedule.

“Our conference is high-energy and focused on improved learning outcomes for all students,” said Robinson.

The conference is made possible by premier and featured sponsors: LiveText, University of Nevada Las Vegas College of Education, Edthena, Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Taskstream, Teachscape, and TK20, as well as several other generous supporters.

Registration is still open. Three-day general admission: $510 for members, $695 for nonmembers and $115 for students. Visit www.aacte.org to register and to learn more about the schedule, sessions, speaker biographies and sponsors and exhibitors.

Media interviews are available for featured speakers, AACTE senior officials and select AACTE member institutions in attendance. To register for media credentials, send your name, title, name of media organization or publication, address, phone number and e-mail address to Jerrica Thurman at jthurman@aacte.org.

Media are also invited to the pre-event press conference on Educator Preparation Programs Addressing Teacher Shortage in Nevada, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PST Monday, February 22, 2016 at the Stan Fulton Building Ballroom on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Read media advisory here.

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AACTE: The Leading Voice on Educator Preparation
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is a national alliance of educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are profession-ready as they enter the classroom. Its over 800 member institutions represent public and private colleges and universities in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Through advocacy and capacity building, AACTE promotes innovation and effective practices that strengthen educator preparation. Learn more at www.aacte.org.