Restructuring AMTE & Reflecting on the 20th Annual Conference

In the 2016 AMTE Annual Business Meeting, I shared the ongoing work of the Board of Directors with respect to restructuring our organization and do so again here to bring awareness of this most significant initiative to all our members. Over the past 2 years the AMTE Board of Directors has been analyzing the structure of the organization with respect to our mission and goals, the growth of the organization, and meeting the needs of our members while maintaining focus on the advancement of AMTE as the public voice for mathematics teacher education. This analysis was prompted by the Board’s commitment to maintaining, as well as advancing, AMTE’s status as the lead organization in mathematics teacher education over the next 25 years and beyond.

What have we learned?

• AMTE is growing.
• AMTE must be solidly positioned for a proactive stance in the policy arena.
• AMTE must have a structure that continues to strengthen our collaborations.
• AMTE must have a structure in which we can engage more members.
• AMTE needs more and better ways of supporting our members.

We also learned that there are gaps in the way in which our current structure promotes the Board’s execution of the AMTE mission and goals, specifically with respect to our goals focusing on:

• Equitable practices in mathematics teacher education, including increasing the diversity of mathematics teachers and teacher educators;
• Effective policies and practices related to mathematics teacher education at all levels; and
• Professional growth of mathematics teacher educators.

What is the Board doing about it?

As a result of this analysis, the Board was convinced the organization needed to be restructured. We are now engaged in that process. The Board established the AMTE 2016 Strategic Priorities to frame the ongoing work in 2016 as we reflect on history of AMTE and celebrate the accomplishments our organization in achieving its current status and then going beyond to strengthen AMTE’s position. As such the 2016 AMTE Strategic Priorities are:

• Reflect on AMTE’s impact and celebrate the past 25 years as an organization, and
• Strengthen the AMTE infrastructure to support our individual and collective capacities to advance mathematics teacher education for the next 25 years.

We are preparing to have the plan completed and in place in fall 2016 and expect to implement the new structure in 2017 at the close of our annual conference. Throughout 2016 we will provide updates on the Board’s progress with the restructuring. The plan for communication is to post information on the AMTE website, through social media via the AMTE communications committee, and via ongoing work of board liaisons with AMTE committees. AMTE members are encouraged to contact me or any board member via email with questions about the restructuring.

20^th Annual Conference

It is with pride that I reflect upon the success of the 20th Annual Conference of AMTE. In this newsletter you will find information about the conference attendance as well as other conference highlights. Certainly it is the people who invested countless hours throughout the year planning and then executing the conference experiences who made this event such a success. Therefore, I close with a huge thank you and a well–deserved recognition to these very special individuals

Thank You!   

Christine Thomas, President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 Conference Leadership Team

Conference Director: Susan Gay, University of Kansas

Assistant Conference Director: Carol Lucas, University of Central Oklahoma

AMTE Executive Director: Tim Hendrix, Meredith College 

Program Committee Chair: Shannon Dingman, University of Arkansas

Program Assistant Chair: P. Holt Wilson

Program Immediate Past Chair: Dustin Jones, Sam Houston State University                 

2016 Conference Program Committee Members

David Barker, Illinois State University

Dana Cox, Miami University

Rick Hudson, University of Southern Indiana

Courtney Koestler, Ohio University

Ann McCoy, University of Central Missouri

Jill Newton, Purdue University

Robert Powers, University of Northern Colorado

Stacy Reeder, University of Oklahoma

Farshid Safi, University of Central Florida

David Slavit, Washington State University, Vancouver

Wendy Smith, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

2016 Local Arrangements Task Force

Mark Ellis, Chair, California State University, Fullerton

Carol Brouhle, California State University, Fullerton

Dave Chamberlain, Capistrano Unified School District

Wendy Cheek, Tustin Unified School District

Maria Garcia, Wiseburn Unified School District

Brian Hightower, Orange County Department of Education

Shari Kaku, Independent Math Coach

Anna Kwak, Azusa Unified School District

Erin Klopfer, Brea Olinda Unified School District

Naseem Madalia, Anaheim City School District

Jenny Mcgough, Azusa Unified School District

Kelly Nelson, Snowline Joint Unified School District

Michele Ogden, Irvine Unified School District

Barbara Post, California State University, Fullerton

Leisa Sievers, Victor Elementary School District

Julie Spykerman, Anaheim Union High School District

Nita Walker, Santa Ana Unified School District

Celebrations Tasks Force