Initiatives

Policy
The PA&ER Committee disseminates information about issues in educational policy by providing updates to the NASUP membership via association email. The PA&ER Committee alerts members to educational funding opportunities and key policy documents that affect PK-20 partners. 

The following are issues addressed by the committee previously: 

AACTE Clinical Practice Commission Report (Released January 2018)

Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence (February 2018)

Gary B. v. Whtmer Lawsuit (November 2018) 

Advocacy
The PA&ER Committee advocates for PDSs and for NASUP by regularly participating in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s annual event, Washington Week. During this event, AACTE provides training on policy and advocacy, updates participants on initiatives affecting education and particularly teacher education, and supports participants in meeting with their national legislators. During this event, NASUP Leadership representatives meet with AACTE representatives and the Association of Teacher Educators to discuss points of synergy and potential opportunities for policy and advocacy in teacher education. 

Another area of advocacy is PDS research. The PA&ER Committee has been collaborating with the American Education Research Association to elevate and amplify research in and on PDSs. To advance this cause, they co-created the first inter-organizational position called the PDS Research Relations Liaison. 

External Relations
In addition to policy and advocacy, the PA&ER Committee works diligently to build and maintain relationships with other educational organizations in order to advocate for PDSs. To date, NASUP has been collaborating with the following organizations on various initiatives targeting PK-20 educational issues: 

Kappa Delta Pi is an international honors society in education. NASUP and KDP have been discussing opportunities for NASUP members to receive access to KDP’s online resources at a reduced rate. 

The American Association for Employment in Education is an organization that provides resources and networking opportunities to support employment in education. NASUP has distributed AAEE’s annual survey about educator supply and demand. NASUP and AAEE are considering other points of synergy like the Job Fair held at the annual NASUP conference.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is an organization that represents institutions of higher education and educator preparation programs. NASUP representatives have participated in AACTE’s events, particularly Washington Week. Both organizations continue to engage in conversations about potential opportunities for collaboration.

The American Education Research Association PDS Research Special Interest Group brings together researchers interested in conducting research in and on PDSs. NASUP and the AERA PDSR SIG share the common interest of advancing PDS research. They created the first inter-organizational position between the two organizations called the PDS Research Relations Liaison. They also have worked together to provide a PDS research forum at the annual NASUP conference. They continue to work together to advance research in and on PDSs.

The Association of Teacher Educators is an organization of teacher educators who are committed to high quality teacher preparation and ongoing professional learning. NASUP and ATE have a strong relationship, which includes a joint task force that has resulted in several positive outcomes for NASUP members, like successful back-to-back conferences and joint Clinical Practice Fellows Symposia beginning in 2019.

The National Coalition of Educators is a coalition of eleven national PK-20 professional organizations that support the education profession. They share a collective commitment to high quality teacher preparation. NASUP participates as one of those eleven organizations.