Message From The President

Dear NACCTEP Members:

As we approach the annual NACCTEP national conference in Reno, Nevada from March 13-15, I am privileged to report the extensive efforts being made by the Executive Board on behalf of the NACCTEP members.

The Board has been working on a strategic plan for the past year, and is making progress in its review of critical issues such as the recruitment and retention of association members, marketing opportunities, and strengthening funding. A strategic planning update will be provided at the 2009 NACCTEP Business Meeting on Sunday, March 15.

NACCTEP is an Affiliate Council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). As the Affiliate Council representative, the NACCTEP President meets semi-annually with other AACC Council representatives and has a seat on the AACC Commission on Academic, Student, and Community Development. I had the privilege of representing NACCTEP at the November 2008 Councils and Commissions meetings in Washington, D.C., where members of other Councils reported working on the same issues as NACCTEP - membership, marketing, and funding!

NACCTEP is working diligently to participate in discussions regarding the national need for highly qualified mathematics and science teachers and professionals. The partnership between NACCTEP and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that will produce three Pre-Conference faculty institutes on Earth and space science for community college faculty instructing future teachers is off to a fast start. The first Pre-Conference institute, Cosmic Science, had immediate interest on the part of our membership and filled up very quickly. Look for information about the next two institutes to be held prior to the 2010 and 2011 NACCTEP national conferences, in future NACCTEP publications.

In October 2008, NACCTEP was invited by the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) to be a part of a panel for the National Mathematics Panel Forum in Washington, D.C. The Forum was sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education and the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences (CBMS).  NACCTEP was one of about eighty organizations present at the Forum, all working toward improved teaching of mathematics.

In November 2008, a National Science Foundation-funded symposium in Arlington, Virginia also addressed the teaching of science and mathematics. In a group of twenty-five individuals invited from across the United States, it was affirming that NACCTEP was at the table. There was formative discussion at this event and afterwards about a possible role for NACCTEP in accumulating information about assessing teacher education programs, and promoting mathematics and science teacher education at community colleges.

It is heartening to see that NACCTEP is being recognized for its standing and influence in the national arena. Your NACCTEP membership is strongly validated in this regard, and we appreciate your continued support.

And finally, congratulations to Ray Ostos the new NACCTEP Executive Director. Ray has provided stable leadership to the organization for the last year as the Acting Executive Director, and we are excited to continue working with him to promote the community college role in teacher recruitment, preparation, retention, and renewal.

I greatly look forward to seeing many of you at the Reno conference!