This week is National School Choice Week – a national movement of grassroots organizations calling for more educational options. Here at AAE, we support National School Choice Week because we support educators in all settings and encourage teachers to pursue the school and setting best suited to their needs and interest.As part of National School Choice Week, AAE has profiled teachers throughout the country to showcase their own unique setting and choice. Today we are profiling Mr. Ronnie Flowers, a traditional district public school teacher at a high school in Arkansas.   Continue Reading...

This week is National School Choice Week – a national movement of grassroots organizations calling for more educational options. Here at AAE, we support National School Choice Week because we support educators in all settings and encourage teachers to pursue the school and setting best suited to their needs and interest.   Continue Reading...

This week is National School Choice Week – a national movement of grassroots organizations calling for more educational options. AAE supports National School Choice Week because we support educators in all settings and applauds their individual choices about where they practice their profession.   Continue Reading...

AAE Executive Director Gary Beckner op-ed on school choice options as featured on the Washington Times website:   Continue Reading...

AAE is pleased to present our new video showcasing teacher choice in action!Teacher's Choice presents portraits of four American educators who've selected non-standard paths. Teachers at a charter school, an online school and a parochial school are all featured, as well as a teacher at a traditional district school who declined membership in the local union. Their journeys have only one thing in common -- the options less traveled.   Continue Reading...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his annual State of City address this week, and in it, described a new bold vision for education in the Big Apple. As the largest school system in the United States with over one million teachers and students, the plan is being hailed as a big step that will likely usher in a new era of reform in the city.   Continue Reading...

Reformers and education advocates for years have touted the key to success for students, regardless of grade level, is whether they have access to an effective teacher. Study after study has shown that with effective teachers, students are not only put in positions to succeed, but can potentially make tremendous gains in closing achievement gaps.   Continue Reading...

NCLB Turns 10  After years of controversy, headaches in states and districts, and heated rhetoric from politicians on all sides, No Child Left Behind, the cornerstone piece of federal education legislation turned 10-years-old this week. What began as one of the nation's largest and most publicized pieces of bi-partisan legislation championed by then President George W. Bush and unlikely liberal ally, the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has produced mixed results and long delays in reform for American students and teachers.   Continue Reading...

AAE Executive Director Gary Beckner letter to the editor as featured on the The Connecticut Post website:   Continue Reading...

AAE will once again join with other like-minded groups in signing on to National School Choice Week this January 22-28, 2012. Here at AAE, we recognize that School choice is a vital component of the education reform movement. Every education setting is a choice. AAE applauds that there are more career options than ever for teachers, allowing educators to match their vision of education with schools that share that same vision.   Continue Reading...

As young students, everyone remembers bringing their teacher a gift during the holiday season. Everything from tins of holiday cookies to homemade paper weights are given every year from students across the country without fail. This year, however, a law in Alabama is making waves for its harsh penalties for teachers who accept gifts from students over a mere $25, raising questions nationwide about holiday giving and whether accepting gifts as an educator is appropriate.   Continue Reading...

A new report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington sheds light on the status of charter school unionization nationwide. In a climate where charter schools laws are changing dramatically and teacher union membership is declining, the prospect of charter schools unionizing has become a very real threat to the flexible, innovative environments these schools were meant to cultivate. This report attempts to analyze the status of unionization by examining why teachers unionize and the diverse collective bargaining agreements of unionized charters, however it misses the mark in addressing the disconnect between the charter movement and bargaining agreements in general.   Continue Reading...

With the teaching profession growing and evolving, one theme that remains constant is the fact that effective teachers are the key to student success. With over half of the current teacher workforce retiring in the next ten years, attracting new and seasoned professionals to the classroom will be one of our greatest challenges. As we explore new avenues for teacher preparation, for-profit alternative certification programs have caught on and are growing exponentially in states across the country.   Continue Reading...

With the overhaul of No Child Left Behind taking longer than expected, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration introduced an NCLB waiver plan back in September that would allow states to apply for regulatory relief in exchange for key reforms. In the months following, while 11 states applied for the waivers, over half of the proposals did not outline specific teacher evaluation components.   Continue Reading...

In the wake of budget shortfalls and traditionally low salaries, teachers are taking on second and third jobs in record numbers, the Associated Press reports. In 1981, about 11 percent of teachers were employed by a second job. That number has risen to about one in five today; a phenomenon that experts claim is a direct result of an ailing economy and pay freezes for educators nearly nationwide.   Continue Reading...

As reported by AAE, a poll released in late summer by Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup highlighted some interesting facts about the changing public perceptions regarding teacher unions. While clearly the American people are seeing the growing disconnect between teachers and unions as evidenced by this poll, the typical American voter is also becoming more and more informed about public education reform and the need for change in our struggling system.   Continue Reading...

AAE Releases National Membership Survey

Last week, AAE released its annual member survey about key education issues. Polling member teachers from all fifty states, survey results show progressive stances toward education and labor reform, particularly with regard to school choice, technology, attracting new teachers to the workforce, and collective bargaining.

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As reported last month on the AAE Blog, President Obama warned that without his now since failed jobs bill, nearly 280,000 education jobs would be lost this year alone. In reality, since the recession hit, a culture of anxiety regarding teacher layoffs and the effects on our nation's schools has set in nationwide. With the federal government repeatedly coming to the rescue, regardless of need, a new report for the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) examines the real numbers behind teacher jobs and reports of massive lay-offs.   Continue Reading...

What started in February as a battle over budget shortfalls and forced unionism has grown into a full scale ballot referendum in the key swing state of Ohio. The question known as "Issue 2" will ask voters to either accept or reject a sweeping collective bargaining law that Governor John Kasich signed in March, less than three months after his election day. Tomorrow, Ohioans will go to the polls to vote on the referendum, a case study in the near nationwide debate over union power and the sustainability of the current collective bargaining system.   Continue Reading...

Teach for America (TFA), a non-profit organization that recruits top college graduate to teach in high-need schools after an intensive training has been showing steady gains in student test scores for years in urban districts and states across the county. According to the state card on teacher training released earlier this week, Teach for America participants outperform veteran teachers in Tennessee and recent graduates from traditional colleges of education.   Continue Reading...