ATE | 2024 Elections

ATE 2024 Election

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Second Vice President Candidate

Valerie Wright

Candidate for the Office / Position:
2nd Vice President (Officer Seat on Board of Directors)

Statement:
In responding to the question what significant issues may confront ATE, I can think of at least four that would need to be addressed. First and foremost, is maintaining and increasing membership, especially in our state units. I strongly believe that our state units are the very foundation of ATE. We need to support them by whatever means possible. If our state units are robust and active, so will ATE. Second, we need to provide more outreach and professional development beyond our conferences. Offering online professional development throughout the year at an affordable cost will keep us in the hearts and minds of educators and let them know that we are more than a conference. Third, we need to address head-on the issue of teacher recruitment and retention. This is a national issue that is having profound effects in our PreK-12 classrooms, as well as in our teacher prep programs. Lastly, we need to bring back the honor and joy of teaching. In a world full of political and social strife, we need to do our best to emphasize how rewarding teaching can be. Afterall, one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. (Malala Yousafzai).

Biographical Notation:
Dr. Valerie Wright has been a Professor at Saint Leo University since 2002. Currently, she is Co-Chair of the 2025 Conference Planning Committee for New Orleans, and a member of the ATE Commission on the Reexamination of Teacher Education Standards. Dr. Wright is Executive Director of FATE, as well as the Executive Secretary for SRATE. Over the years, Dr. Wright has served in several leadership positions at SLU, such as President of the University Senate, President of the Faculty Union, and as Chair on the Curriculum Committee. Dr. Wright is also a co-advisor for the Florida Future Teachers of America.

Board of Directors At-Large Candidates

Becky Fredrickson

Candidate for the Position:
At-Large Representative (Board of Directors Seat)

Statement:
Some significant issues facing ATE currently are reflective of those that are facing education and higher education as a whole. The first of my concerns is the need for advocacy for education and against political interference in education. Politicians are increasingly instrumentalizing education; adversely affecting both students and teachers. This has led to the banning of books, stifling of conversations, and threatening of funding. As a national platform, ATE has the potential to increase collective voices to champion education.

Another significant issue facing ATE is the need for continued support and membership. Presently, 3 out of every 10 people working in higher education are 55 or over (Kim, 2023). This demographic trend highlights the existing shortage of higher ed faculty, and projections indicate these shortages will potentially worsen future years. This scarcity of teachers may result in an insufficient number of faculty to adequately prepare the next generation of teachers. A diminishing pool of faculty may indicate these shortages may intensify, making this issue a crucial one; resulting in fewer faculty to participate and become members of ATE.

Kim, J. (2023). Future labor shortages and the university as a workplace. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/learning-innovation/2023/06/12/future-labor-shortages-and-university-workplace#:~:text=Higher%20education%20staffing%20shortages%20will,education%20are%2055%20and%20over.

Biographical Notation:
Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Fredrickson has served in multiple capacities supporting education over the past 30 years. This includes serving as a classroom aide, teacher, administrator, and higher education faculty and leader. Her research, service, teaching, and leadership all focus on making education accessible to underserved communities. A key initiative supporting this involves collaborating with community colleges statewide to facilitate seamless transfer from the community college to the university. In addition, she incorporates the principles of JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) into every aspect of her work.

Lori Fulton

Candidate for the Position:
At-Large Representative (Board of Directors Seat)

Statement:
One of the most significant issues confronting ATE moving forward is how we continue to support teacher educators in today’s and tomorrow's educational environment. The rich 100+ year history provided on ATE’s website shows how the Association has evolved to maintain relevance within the ever-changing framework of education. Our field is constantly shifting and ATE must continue to evolve and advocate for our profession, emphasizing important issues like inclusion, diversity, and equity, in order to be relevant for the next 100 years. My nearly 15 years in ATE, in a variety of roles, has allowed me to experience some of these changes firsthand, such as re-examining our Summer Conference and engaging ATE members in between our Annual Meeting and Summer Conference through different initiatives. As we move forward, it is important that the membership has a voice and that multiple perspectives are considered when making decisions about our future and how to best support our membership. I am excited for where ATE is headed and would be honored to serve on the Board, if elected to do so.

Biographical Notation:
Lori Fulton is a Professor in the School of Teacher Education (STE) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She taught elementary school for 20 years in Las Vegas and served as a field-based educator within UHM’s PDS partnership. She is Associate Director of the STE, conceptualizing and actualizing STE’s vision of teacher education. Since joining ATE as a graduate student, she served on the Honors and Awards Committee, two Commissions, two Task Force groups, and several conference planning committees. Equity and access are essential to the future of teacher education and a core piece of all her endeavors.

Romena M. Garrett Holbert

Candidate for the Position:
At-Large Representative (Board of Directors Seat)

Statement:
ATE promotes advocacy, equity, leadership, and professionalism in teacher education. ATE is confronted by such issues as defining the roles and settings of teacher education, providing guidance surrounding teacher education, and responding to a changing social landscape. My contributions across my 20+ year membership reflects my beliefs on these issues. I support ATE's work to support teacher educators' accomplishments. I have contributed to ATE texts that help expand the definition of “teacher educator” and recognize school-based teacher educators' support for teacher candidates and advancement of established educators' learning. I support ATE aim to provide guidance to teacher educators through roles including service on the Standards Task Force, the Task Force on Mentor Teachers, and the Commission on the Re-Examination of the Standards. Initiatives advocate for quality, equity, and professionalism and skill enhancement across careers. Providing voice and recognizing successes within a changing social and media landscape is also central to ATE work that I support through roles including contributing to the development of media to announce the Distinguished Program in Teacher Education award, Chairing the Awards committee/ developing web-based data collection/evaluation methods, and a survey of the ATE membership on the Standards to support individual and collective voice.

Biographical Notation:
Romena M. Garrett Holbert is an Associate Professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Her research examines the development of classroom community and design/implementation of supports to preservice/practicing educators. Romena has Chaired the ATE Task Force on the Standards for Teacher Educators, the DPTE Selection Panel, and has served on planning committees, the Mentor Task Force, Professional Journal Committee, Diversity, and Newcomers. At WSU, Romena serves on Steering and Strategic planning committees, curricular, policy, and scholarship committees, and is a peer evaluator. Romena also supports bidirectional benefit to p-12 and university level learners through grant funded initiatives.

Christine Ralston

Candidate for the Position:
At-Large Representative (Board of Directors Seat)

Statement:
It is time to take change of the narrative about the teaching profession and teacher preparation. It is time to tell the story—the full story—of our profession as teachers and teacher educators. We need to address pressing issues about working conditions, policy, and accountability. I once heard someone say, “What is best for students sometimes really sticks it to teachers.” The truth is you cannot do what is best for students if you are “sticking it” to their teachers. We are not going to point fingers, but we are going to address the real and present barriers that include the perception, the preparation, and retention of teachers in service to our P-20 students. For effect, this will take our full membership and representation from both our history in teacher preparation and advocacy for the future of our profession. This is an opportunity for us to collaborate across related roles and responsibilities to increase membership and amplify our impact.

Biographical Notation:
Christine Ralston is the assistant department head, Curriculum and Instruction, at the University of Arkansas. As a first-generation college student, she persevered to Purdue University’s PhD in Educational Leadership writing an award-winning dissertation on collaborative data driven decision making. Her participation in Clinical Practice Fellows (CPF) solidified her relationship with ATE and she is co-chair of the 2024 CPF Symposium. In service to other first generation college students interested in education, she leads a team at the University of Arkansas as PI for Razorback Strong Teachers for Arkansas Rural Students (STARS) funded through the Teacher Quality Partnership grant in 2023.

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