(May 2, 2014, Washington, D.C.) – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) applauds the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2014 National Teacher of the Year Sean McComb, the three additional finalists and the colleges of education that helped prepare all of them for their highly successful careers.

(April 29, 2014, Washington, D.C.)  – On April 24, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that the Department of Education will indeed move forward on publishing regulations that the Obama Administration believes will transform teacher preparation for the better. These regulations represent just one dimension of the Administration’s efforts to create a federal ratings system for higher education. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) agrees wholeheartedly with Secretary Duncan that teacher preparation programs are a critical component of the U.S. educator pipeline. We disagree, however, about the current state of teacher preparation and what the appropriate federal role should be.