A Past President's Reflection

It was my great honor and privilege to have served as President of the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) between 2010 and 2012, as part of a six-year term of office. As an active member of CCTE for more than a decade before, during my early years as a tenure-line faculty member at Loyola Marymount University, I always felt CCTE was an authentic professional learning environment at which rich dialogue and collaboration about research and policies related to the preparation of pre- and in-service teachers could take place with colleagues from around the state. As I became more active in the organization, first as conference co-chair for several conferences and then as a member of the Board of Directors, I experienced amazing insights, garnered support and encouragement from my colleagues and peers, and became engaged in opportunities to test out ideas and propose initiatives, conferences, and planning together, all in order to build on the collective strength of our organization.
As I look back on these years, review the messages, reports, and documents I wrote over the course of that time, it seems to me that there were four critical areas of focus that were my priorities for the organization during my tenure as President: (1) annual strategic planning; (2) collective leadership in teacher education policy; (3) ensuring a fiscally sound organization; and (4) Sustaining and strengthening our alliances. In this reflective essay, I will address each of these areas and describe what occurred within CCTE during that time.