Listen in as NACCTEP Executive Director Julie Ferin chats with Dr. Ashleigh Thompson, University Dean of Education for CUNY about how the colleges within the CUNY system are positively affecting the teacher landscape in New York City. Dr. Thompson shares how the colleges interact and collaborate with each other and with the high schools to provide warm transfers on students' journeys to becoming teachers. The CUNY structure is positively affecting not only the diversity of the teaching field in New York City, but also the teacher retention rates. To find more information on the CUNY education programs, please visit

Dr. Thompson also reflects on her experience in France and Germany as a Fulbright scholar and how it opened her eyes to new experiences and new ways to look at the education field. She shares these experiences in an article titled Claiming a Pedagogy of Interruption through International Experiences

Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation, AAQEP, President and CEO Dr. Mark LaCelle-Peterson joins us in this episode to discuss how AAQEP's success to date plays a role in updating their accreditation standards for the next seven years. Dr. LaCelle-Peterson shares with NACCTEP Executive Director Julie Ferin how feedback from programs that have been accredited has helped to shape the standards for 2025. The updated standards include language that more fully defines all the types of programs that can qualify for AAQEP accreditation. He also includes why he feels that the non-traditional students in many community college programs have as much value as those students in a traditional, direct from high school to college, program.

For more information, please visit aaqep.org.

In this episode, Calvalyn Day discusses the origins of Kappa Delta Pi's The Rooted Teacher podcast with NACCTEP executive director Julie Ferin. Mrs. Day shares how the podcast was born out of a need for self-care that many teachers, both new and seasoned, were looking for during and after the pandemic. Filled with tips and advice to help new teachers feel rooted in the profession and to re-root seasoned teachers.

The Rooted Teacher is your go-to guide for thriving both in and out of the classroom!  Packed with practical tips, The Rooted Teacher Podcast empowers teachers at every stage. Enjoy microlearning videos, live Q&As with Calvalyn, and free monthly screensavers and phone lock screens. Tune in, share, and join a vibrant community of educators committed to growth and inspiration! https://www.kdp.org/teacher-resources/the-rooted-teacher-by-kdp

This new 2024 research report on teacher well-being is very insightful and gives current data on teacher well-being. It is titled The Teachers are Not All Right: Improving the Mental Well-being of Teachers and Their Students. A larger share of teachers now say mental health has a negative impact on teaching, according to the third Merrimack College Teacher Survey.

https://www.edweek.org/research-center/reports/the-teachers-are-not-all-right-improving-the-mental-well-being-of-teachers-and-their-students/2024/08

The Rooted Teacher is available via the KDP website and through your preferred podcast provider.

NACCTEP Educational Partner, the IRIS Center, is back to share its latest online offerings. Listen as Sarah Semon discusses the recent release of six updated modules related to behavior, executive functioning, progress monitoring, and Bookshare, an organization that provides
accessible educational materials to students with print disabilities. Sarah also shares information about the interactive High Leverage Practice Tool and new Coursework Planning Forms for Faculty.
 
Check out the new modules here:
  Bookshare: Providing Accessible Materials for Students with Print Disabilities 
 Behavior Principles: The Basics of Understanding Student Behavior 
 Executive Functioning (Part 1): Understanding Why Some Students Struggle 
 Executive Functioning (Part 2): Strategies to Improve Students’ Academic Performance 
 Progress Monitoring: Reading 
 Progress Monitoring: Math 

Sign up for the IRIS e-Newsletter to receive updates and announcements about new releases.

For questions about these or other resources, please contact: [email protected]

Welcome back for NACCTEP's first podcast of the 2024-25 academic year as we listen to Dr. Lennon Audrain, our board President who is returning for a second two-year term, discuss the exciting events NACCTEP has planned for the coming year. The 2024 NACCTEP Fall Institute will culminate a week of discussion board interaction with a expert panel on Community College Apprenticeships. This hallmark event is free to all who wish to attend and offers professional development hours for a fee.

In conjunction with the AACTE Annual Meeting, February 21st - 23rd, 2025 in Long Beach, California, NACCTEP will again host a pre-conference on the afternoon of February 20th featuring discussions on the latest topics in teacher education such as bachelor programs, apprenticeships, articulation agreements, etc.

Additionally, NACCTEP will host its inaugural Community College Teacher Education Leadership Institute across multiple Fridays in the spring of 2025. This institute is designed for both those in current leadership roles as well as faculty, adjunct faculty, and those interested in moving into leadership roles.

Keep an eye out on our website, nacctep.org, as well as in our bi-weekly NACCTEP News emails for more information on all of these events.

Dr. Steve Bautista, Coordinator and Counselor for the Center for Teacher Education at Santa Ana College as well as Vice President of ACCCTEP, the Association of California Community College Teacher Education Programs, discusses his journey to working with teacher candidates. During his conversation with NACCTEP Executive Director Julie Ferin, he talks about how ACCCTEP was formed on the model of NACCTEP in 2003. Steve also shares the inspiring, full-circle story of 2022 California Teacher of the Year Alondra Diaz, an alumna of Santa Ana College's program and partnership with Chapman University to produce bilingual teachers.

When meeting with new students, Steve asks what their dreams are, a question inspired by Jeff Duncan-Andrade who speculated, "How can you educate children without knowing what their dreams are?"

Sarah Moore, former President of Middlesex College's Alpha Theta Zeta chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, KDP, talks with NACCTEP Executive Director Julie Ferin about re-careering from nursing to teaching and how KDP brought her the sense of community she needed as a community college student. From one of her first days on campus, Ms. Moore sought out the camaraderie of other student members of KDP whom she calls her chosen family. Describing the chapter as a unique gift that fulfilled her need for mentorship and community, she goes on to describe her journey not only to becoming a teacher, but to becoming the best teacher she can be through her experiences as a member and office holder in her KDP chapter. Noting the numerous scholarship, grant, and guidance opportunities, Ms. Moore also shares the beneficial activities like hosting a TB testing clinic on campus through the Department of Health and the Teacher Shower this July to provide recent graduates with supplies for their new classrooms. Mr. Whited emphasizes the value that having a sense of community that KDP can provide at the community college level is only the beginning of the benefits of having a KDP chapter at a community college.

New Chapter Interest Form (https://wkf.ms/3TYaOj7)

KDP Member Benefits (https://www.kdp.org/membership/your-kdp-membership-benefits_)

Join KDP (https://www.kdp.org/membership/join-kdp)

KDP Mission and Vision (https://www.kdp.org/about/who-we-are)

The Phoenix Union High School district recognized that during the pandemic educator stress levels rose exponentially and created the Health and Wellness Specialist position. Dr. Erika Collins-Frazier is the first to take on that role in 2021 and has seen the interest and success of health and wellness efforts grow each school year. Employing strategies such as micro-learning, monthly webinars with expert presenters, and Thursday morning meditation sessions are helping teachers and staff to "Slay the Day". Assessing the needs of the teachers through regular surveys allows Dr. Collins-Frazier to measure the success of different strategies. She talks about how reminding teachers that recognizing emotional intelligence applies to more than just the students in the classrooms. The use of intentional conversations and validating each others' feelings aids in feeling valued which can lead to greater retention of teachers. Calling stress a raw coping power, she encourages staff to embrace it and work through stress with different breathing techniques and self-reminders to loosen the tension in one's shoulders and jaw.

Valerie Sakimura, Executive Director, and Jim Heal, Senior Program Director, from Deans for Impact join NACCTEP Now to discuss their work to equip future teachers with the tools to create rigorous, equitable, and inclusive classrooms so that all children thrive. For nearly 10 years, their organization has supported close to 200 teacher preparation programs and school districts in preparing aspiring and novice teachers to enact instruction grounded in a scientific understanding of how students learn.

Through their Impact Academy fellowship, they offer deans and program leaders a community of practice to discuss and work through the challenges that different educator preparation programs face. Additionally, they offer one-to-one coaching as a part of this academy that kicks off and concludes with in-person meetings in June of each year.

Applications for the coming cohort are open through the end of March 2024. Information and a link to the application can be found on their website at: https://www.deansforimpact.org/programming/for-educator-preparation-leaders/impact-academy

Robert Parker, Manager of Strategic Partnerships for 240 Tutoring shares what inspired founder and CEO Scott Rozell to create 240 Tutoring in October 2010. He also discusses the individualized nature of their test preparation courses from benchmark assessments at the beginning of a course to providing guidance on incorrect answers in order to learn the concepts necessary to successfully pass the tests. Each course also has an alignment tool to help candidates see where each of the standards for the test are included in the course.

In addition to their current offerings, Mr. Parker shares that they will be nationwide by the end of 2024 as they include New York state. They will also be updating courses to be more dynamic and expanding to include more disciplines such as art, music, business, and Spanish. Additionally, they are piloting a job matching concept in Texas that will help districts and candidates connect. He also shares other exciting additions to help with retention and for program administrators to improve their programs.