Addressing the Teacher Shortage: Capacity and Degree Trends in Educator Preparation

Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were significant teacher shortages in many communities.  Since the pandemic, teacher retirements and other departures from the profession have accelerated.  Can American higher education meet the demand for new teachers, particularly in high-demand fields such as special education, STEM, and foreign language?  What do trends over the last decade portend for the future of educator preparation?  This webinar will review the findings from two new AACTE issue briefs that address these questions:

• Institutions Offering Degrees in Education:  2009-10 to 2018-19
• Degree Trends in High-Demand Teaching Specialties:  2009-10 to 2018-19

Joining report author Jacqueline King will be three experts in high-demand teaching specialties to discuss the outlook for meeting school needs in these essential fields.

Presenters:

Jacqueline E. King
Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D., is an independent consultant who works with both PK-12 and higher education leaders to improve student outcomes. She previously served as director of higher education for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and as assistant vice president for policy analysis at the American Council on Education, where she founded the ACE Center for Policy Analysis.  She is the author of Colleges of Education:  A National Portrait (AACTE, 2018) and of several AACTE issue briefs.

Erica McCray
Dr. Erica D. McCray is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Director of the School of Special Education, School Psychology, & Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida. Currently, Dr. McCray is a Co-Director for the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center.  She’s also a co-Principal Investigator on an NSF project aimed to broaden participation in engineering.  Prior to becoming university faculty, Dr. McCray served as a special educator for students identified with behavioral and learning disabilities in Title I elementary and middle schools.  She has been recognized on multiple levels for her teaching and research, which focus on the influence of diversity in educational practice and policy.

Catherine Ritz
Dr. Catherine Ritz is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Program Director for Modern Foreign Language Education and Curriculum & Teaching at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Ritz taught French and Spanish at the secondary level for many years, is a National Board Certified teacher of French, and was the Director of World Languages in a public school district in th

e Boston area before joining Boston University. Dr. Ritz serves on the boards for the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA) and the Northeast Conference for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), and is Vice President of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).

Michael Steele
Michael D. Steele is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is currently the President of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. A former middle and high school mathematics and science teacher, Dr. Steele has worked with preservice secondary mathematics teachers, practicing teachers, administrators, and doctoral students across the country. He has published several books and research articles focused on supporting mathematics teachers in enacting research-based effective mathematics teaching practices.