National Association for Alternative Certification

Secretary's Eighth Report on Teacher Quality
The U.S. Department of Education released "Preparing and Credentialing the Nation's Teachers: The Secretary's Eighth Report on Teacher Quality". Find the report here...

NAAC mourns the loss of Dr. Martin Haberman who died on January 1, 2012 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Haberman was a life long educator, researcher, and writer, and a founder of the national alternative certification movement. He was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With his passing, "educators nationwide and beyond lost an educational icon," writes Delia Stafford, president of the Haberman Educational Foundation. Read more...

Elections: NAAC members are invited to nominate candidates for the 2012 Board elections (Deadline: January 10). More info..

Call for Pilot Sites: The National Quality Indicators for Nontraditional Teacher Preparation Programs (QIs) are a tool for program self-assessment and continuous improvement, currently being pilot tested in programs across the country. The Quality Indicators are being developed by NAAC in conjunction with Project KNOTtT and The Ohio State University (OSU), through a federally funded Transition to Teaching (TtT) partnership led by OSU. NAAC is seeking additional nontraditional teacher preparation programs to participate in pilot testing of the QIs in 2012. Interested programs should complete the survey at the link below. The information collected through this survey will be used by the National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC) and The Ohio State University (OSU) Project KNOTtT team to determine which programs will be selected for participation and ensure that the programs selected as pilot sites meet the needs of the researchers for validating the instrument. Completing this survey does not guarantee that your program will be selected to participate in the pilot test.

Call for Reviewers: NAAC is hosting a workshop for professionals interested in becoming reviewers for the National Quality Indicators for Nontraditional Teacher Preparation Programs. More info..

Conference: March 1-3, 2012 in Bethesda. Maryland. Early bird registration deadline: January 13. Registration

Transition to Teaching Grants Awarded, September 22, 2011
The U.S. Department of Education awarded $12.8 million to alternative certification programs. Read more...

Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement: Evidence from Teach for America, July 2011
In this July 2011 paper, Will Dobbie from Harvard University explores whether information on teacher characteristics collected at the time of hire can predict student outcomes. Read more...

Conference:
To download the 2012 Call for Proposals, click here.

NAAC Statement of Support for InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards, April 22, 2011
The National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC) commends the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) on the release of the “InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue.” Read the full statement...

More about the InTASC Standards

Sacramento Bee Editorial, April 21, 2011
Last year, "the California Teacher Corps – a coalition of the state's alternative route to certification programs – partnered with school districts to provide pink-slipped and laid-off teachers retraining to move into the high-need fields of math, science and special education. Through these efforts, 1,500 pink-slipped teachers shifted into high-need teaching positions...While lawmakers continue to debate immediate solutions to prevent deeper cuts, we also need to continue to build a strong talent pipeline for the future by helping teacher preparation programs focus on recruitment" argues Catherine Kearney in this recent editorial in the Sacramento Bee. Read more...