A university in the California Central Valley and three rural district partners designed and implemented a rural teacher residency (RTR) to address the urgent need to prepare and increase retention of qualified educators serving students in rural communities. The RTR program prioritized building partnerships through data use and continuous…

This article addresses the need to uncover and examine implicit biases of early childhood educators through the development of critical consciousness. As a key point of entry to the school system, preschool has the capacity to be an on-ramp to inclusive education, where diversity in its many forms is seen as a benefit to all and a natural part of…

In this article, we share preliminary data of our small pilot study utilizing Democratic Queer Theory framework (Camicia, 2016) and mixed methods data collection sought to understand if teachers are implementing LGBTQ+ curriculum in elementary schools. When evaluating the data collected, we found that California credential candidates are not…

I teach in a multiple subject credential program that requires all preservice teachers to complete a course specifically focused on arts curriculum and instruction. Based on my experiences in other credential programs throughout California, arts curriculum and instruction is often combined with another content area like social studies. My arts…

Seven weeks into the spring semester, we were learning what it means to build community in our online classes and then, our lives quickly and drastically changed. School districts shuttered their doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and K-12 teachers moved to distance learning. This was a challenging moment for our school systems and many…

Education is an act of love. One may argue however, that because it is such a personal act, it is difficult and nearly impossible to achieve it in an authentic manner beyond the face-to-face interaction of teacher and student. Yet, we now live in a time in which education has been transmitted to a virtual platform. This paper highlights how I…

This essay presents a case of collaborative learning and lesson design between general and special education teacher candidates through a synchronous online class during the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a theoretical framework of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for inclusive history-social studies teaching and detail how we used the framework…

My first year as a tenure-track professor has been nothing short of a jaw-dropping experience. From navigating the social and political environment with colleagues and administrators, to building meaningful relationships with pre-service teachers, the COVID-19 pandemic and all its attendant challenges prompted me to examine common institutional…

Teachers in the US have historically served affective roles of uplift and civic engagement (Fultz, 1995; Gere, 2005), but reforms in the last century privileged technical aspects of the profession (Buchanan, 2015). The COVID-19 crisis, which shifted learning online and isolated students, revealed the limitations of a technical focus in teacher…

A sociocultural context of interruption and instability illuminated our teacher candidates' funds of knowledge and identity (e.g., Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014) during the global pandemic of 2020. Their expertise, skills, and self-understandings strengthened both the mentor-teacher candidate relationship and student engagement. Teacher…

The purpose of this study is to discover the experiences and supports that influenced the development of teaching effectiveness at different career stages of National University alumni who were identified as County Teachers of the Year in California. National University is the second largest private, nonprofit institution of higher learning in…

In this article, the authors discuss the creation of an Urban Dual Credential Program (UDCP) at a large, comprehensive state university in California, a program meant to prepare dually-certified teachers in general education (California Multiple Subject Credential) and special education (California Education Specialist Credential in mild/moderate…

From 1998-2000, Carol Bartell served as President of the California Council on the Education of Teachers. However, election to office in this organization is generally a six-year commitment, because an individual will serve for two years as President Elect, two years as President, and two more as Past President. In this article, she expresses that…

After being a steady member of the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) for 14 years as a faculty member, program director, department chair, associate dean, and even as a mother, Cynthia Grutzik was nominated to run for President-Elect of CCTE in 2010. She was in a unique situation as she came into the CCTE presidency: two women had…

In this brief article, David Wampler describes how nearly 30 years with one institution (University of California, Davis) and one organization (California Council on the Education of Teachers or Cal Council) provided him with an incredibly positive and productive professional experience. Herein, he describes his years with CCET in terms of four…