Education Dean advises congressional leaders at Aspen Institute in D.C.

Janel Shoun-Smith | 

McQueen at the announcement of the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learnign and Innovation.

Dr. Candice McQueen, Lipscomb University’s dean of the College of Education, was invited by the prestigious Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., to participate as one of five experts who informed senior congressional staff members on education issues on Nov. 16.

McQueen participated in the Aspen Institute’s Education & Society Program, a seminar for senior congressional education committee staff. The November seminar focused on teacher education and preparation issues entitled “The Missions and Roles of Teacher Preparation Programs.”

McQueen and other national experts explored four critical issues related to teacher preparation:

  • The role of state and federal policy in teacher preparation program quality and accountability;
  • Missions of current teacher preparation programs;
  • Preparing teachers for effectiveness in the 21st century; and
  • Managing the new teacher pipeline: Who gets to become teachers?

Joaquin Tamayo, assistant director for the Aspen Institute, noted that McQueen was invited to participate “given the significant work she is doing in improving teacher quality.” The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.

“The congressional education committee staff asked important questions about the federal government’s role in teacher preparation and how states can improve the accountability for all teacher education programs,” McQueen said. “The discussion was not only thought-provoking, but professionally rewarding as I was able to share the great work we are doing at Lipscomb and in our state to improve how we recruit, select, prepare and retain teachers while working on improved accountability measurements.”

McQueen presented the significant work of both Lipscomb University and the state of Tennessee in improving teacher preparation, program approval and teacher licensure. She presented along with other national experts, including David Monk, dean of the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University; David Steiner, dean of the School of Education at Hunter College in New York; Meredith Curley, dean of the College of Education for Phoenix University; and Charles B. Reed, chancellor of California State University.

Last month, McQueen was invited to serve on a panel for the America Diploma Project Leadership Meeting in Alexandria, Va., to discuss the work of Lipscomb and the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation in creating Common Core Standards resources and training for all teacher preparation programs in the state. McQueen has also been quoted in Education Week and U.S. News and World Report about the positive results Lipscomb’s College of Education has had on the Tennessee Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs.

McQueen also serves as the founding director for the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation. The institute recently received a $1.2 million grant to train Tennessee higher education faculty who prepare teachers. Institute staff members are creating Common Core Standards video resources, a web-based portal for video access, and targeted Common Core training for higher education that will occur in five regional locations this spring.