As we prepare to meet in New Orleans next week NACCTEP is checking in with Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, AACTE. During this discussion we hear how her first year in the position has advocated for the reinstatement of grant funding for educator preparation, how she has traveled to 32 states to learn more about their policies and regulations as part of her state strategy, and how community colleges and universities are addressing the affordability of entering the teaching profession.

Additionally, Dr. Holcomb-McCoy gives a preview of one of two new initiatives that will be introduced at the 2026 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, a call to action around a new federal policy roadmap. She also talked about how innovation and technology is leading AACTE to create a new professional development platform for both members working in higher education teacher preparation programs, but also for graduates of those programs as they enter the teaching field. These are just some of the ways that she, and AACTE are reclaiming the narrative around the strength of educators and the importance of education.

The NACCTEP Pre-conference will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2026 alongside AACTE's other pre-conferences at the Sheraton New Orleans. The 2026 AACTE Annual Meeting will follow from February 20th - 22nd at the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street. There is still time to register!

#StrongerTogether

Listen in as assistant professors Theresa Robinson and Melissa Lebowitz from the Community College of Baltimore County share the latest updates on their programs. From receiving a Feds2Eds grant to develop programming for displaced government workers to enter the teaching workforce to the Degrees to Succeed partnerships with nine institutions, CCBC is making great strides throughout educator preparation. They also have mock classrooms being set up on both the Essex and Catonsville campuses with all the latest technology that they expect to be ready for use this spring.

Also discussed is how AI can be responsibly and ethically used in the classroom. This includes incorporating assignments that require the use of AI to create rubrics or to create letters that can be compared to one's own version.

The conversation also turns to how the Baltimore County Public School System has created two programs to introduce middle school/junior high students to community college instructors, administrators, and athletes who look like them in order to show that their futures are wide open.

In this first episode of 2026 NACCTEP chats with Rebecca Saiz - Executive Director of Lone Star College Educator Preparation Program, Dr. Christina Puente - Department Chair, and Dr. JeQuila Broussard - Lead Field Supervisor from Lone Star College about how they've transitioned from a checklist driven evaluation system for teacher candidates to a reflective system. This new method allows the college supervisor to become a coach guiding and encouraging the teacher candidates on their journey to becoming an effective teacher. As part of the transition, a common vocabulary comes into play so that both the supervisors and the teachers can communicate successes, expectations, and room for improvement, or "Glow, Grow, and Go" as they've termed it.

A further discussion of this system will be held at an interactive roundtable during the NACCTEP Pre-Conference in New Orleans on the afternoon of February 19, 2026. For further information on the 2026 NACCTEP Pre-Conference, please visit https://www.nacctep.org/professional-development-events/2026-pre-conference