2026 Annual NYACTE/NYSATE Conference

10:30am EDT

When and Why Teacher Candidates Use Technology and Their Perceptions of Its Impact on Student Engagement

Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT

We report on a small scale study examining how teacher candidates and recent graduates make instructional decisions about the use of technology in their lessons and how they perceive the impact of these instructional choices on student engagement.

Speakers

Christina Pfister

Siena University

Allison D. Karcher

Siena University

Kaitlyn Agneta

Siena University

Grace Barber

Siena University

Natalie Eppedico

Siena University

Raelynn Peliel

Siena University

Dillon Waldron

Siena University

Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

11:30am EDT

Bridging the P-20 Divide: A 10-Year Longitudinal Analysis of Regional Teacher Preparedness and Multimodal Innovation

Wednesday October 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm EDT

Orenda Room

The panel presents a 10-year longitudinal study evaluating teacher preparedness and hiring trends across the Mid-Hudson region. Presenters share how K-12 and higher education institutions leverage regional employer data to adjust curriculum, apply resources, enhance teacher induction programs, and develop innovative partnerships to address localized educator shortages.

Speakers

Nancy Hackett

SUNY New Paltz

Roberta Greene

Mid-Hudson School Study council

Sunny Duerr

SUNY New Paltz

Olga Dejesus-Diaz

Touro University

Wednesday October 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

11:30am EDT

Critically Reading Multimodal Mohawk Stories in the Fifth-Grade Literacy Classroom

Wednesday October 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm EDT

Hathorn Room

This presentation shares how a cross-disciplinary team designed and implemented multimodal 5th grade lessons analyzing films about Haudenosaunee histories and stories. Findings suggest instruction influenced student awareness of Indigenous representation (e.g. noticing absence of Indigenous culture) and development of critical multimodal literacy skills (e.g. considering a storyteller’s identity).

Speakers

Laurie Miriam Rabinowitz

Associate Professor, Skidmore College

Jessica Somerville-Braun

Assistant Professor - Education Studies, Skidmore College

Krista Senatore

Schuylerville Central School District

Sharon Xu

Skidmore College

Adam Tinkle

Skidmore College

Wednesday October 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

2:15pm EDT

Using Asset and Needs Assessments to Improve Educator Preparation in Reading

Wednesday October 21, 2026 2:15pm - 3:05pm EDT

Hathorn Room

Using qualitative interviews and grounded theory analysis of community asset and needs assessments, this presentation examines how the perspectives of students, families, and educators can inform reading instruction and educator preparation. Findings demonstrate the value of intergenerational collaboration in strengthening school-university partnerships and preparing responsive literacy educators.

Speakers

Jessica Benton

SUNY Plattsburgh

Kathryn Alton

Assistant Professor, SUNY Plattsburgh

SUNY Plattsburgh

Teri Deyo

SUNY Plattsburgh

Megan Lawless

SUNY Plattsburgh

Emily Hoeh

Assistant Professor, SUNY Plattsburgh

Emily Hoeh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh. She earned her doctorate (PhD) in Special Education from the University at Buffalo, as an Office of Special Education Programs research fellow. Her professional experience... Read More →

Wednesday October 21, 2026 2:15pm - 3:05pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

3:15pm EDT

Constructing Alternative Pathways to Teacher Certification: Opening Doors Through P-20 Partnerships

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:05pm EDT

Orenda Room

This panel explores how the Central NY Alternative Teacher Certification Program utilizes P-20 partnerships to provide flexible online programing and candidate support to enable access to teacher certification for TAs and substitute teachers. It highlights how P-20 systems are critical to creating these pathways to teacher certification for nontraditional candidates.

Speakers

Andrea Lachance

SUNY Cortland

Mandy VanDonsel

SUNY Cortland

Colleen Viggiano

Onondaga-Cortland-Madison (OCM) BOCES

Kristen Foland

CiTi (Oswego) BOCES

Cindy Walters

Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga (TST) BOCES

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:05pm EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

3:15pm EDT

Future School Leaders: A BOCES-Higher Ed Partnership Building Strong, Context-Embedded Leaders a regionally responsive program

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:05pm EDT

Coesa Room

This panel presentation explores a partnership between Bank Street Graduate School of Education and Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES to strengthen educational leader preparation. Grounded in progressive pedagogy, authentic fieldwork, and regional context, the collaboration prepares aspiring leaders to advance equity, innovation, reflective practice, and responsive leadership in changing suburban communities.

Speakers

Lydia Colón Bomani

Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Valentine Burr

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Lynn Allen

Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES

Keturah Proctor

Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES

Mary Ford

Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:05pm EDT
Coesa Room

Panel Presentation

10:45am EDT

From General Feedback to Curriculum-Based Coaching: Using Mixed Reality Simulations to Develop HQIM-Aligned Teacher Practice

Thursday October 22, 2026 10:45am - 11:35am EDT

Hathorn Room

The presentation explores how the use of BranchED’s Mixed Reality Simulation (MRS) can operationalize Education First’s Meaningful Shift #3: “From General Feedback to Curriculum-Based Coaching.” Specifically, the work investigates how multimodal simulation environments enable candidates to practice high-leverage instructional behaviors, engage in structured reflection cycles, and receive curriculum-anchored feedback before entering high-stakes classroom environments. The presentation also examines how MRS supports movement across the Teacher Candidate-to-HQIM Practitioner Learning Continuum by strengthening teacher candidates’ confidence, responsiveness, and ability to transfer rehearsal-based learning into authentic teaching settings. At the center of this work is the belief that effective teacher preparation requires opportunities for interactive practice, emotionally safe risk-taking, and aligned coaching experiences that mirror the instructional realities candidates will encounter in classrooms using HQIM. This presentation, therefore, explores simulation as a scalable and practice-centered approach to strengthening coherence between educator preparation and district instructional expectations. Attendees will engage in reflective discussion around how simulated learning environments can support adaptive instructional expertise, curriculum literacy, and equitable access to authentic teaching practice before full classroom responsibility.

Speakers

Nicole Dobbins

BranchED

Deirdre Armitage

Dir. Clinical Collaborations, College of Staten Island, CUNY

Contessa McNulty

New York City Public School - District 31

Walt Stepnowski

College of Staten Island, CUNY

Christopher Bejar

New York City Public School - District 31

Thursday October 22, 2026 10:45am - 11:35am EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

10:45am EDT

Looking at the POG as Policy from Candidate to Teacher

Thursday October 22, 2026 10:45am - 11:35am EDT

Orenda Room

NYSED’s Portrait of a Graduate Framework (POG) promises to inspire change in curriculum and teaching across the K-20 spectrum. In K-8, schools are preparing students to be ready for high school and career, while colleges are receiving the newly conceived HS graduates and also preparing the next generation of teachers. NYSED’s NY Inspires Initiative calls on the field to reimagine not only our state requirements for high school graduation, but the intricate series of experiences before and after the completion of high school. It may spawn new policies or regulatory change. In this panel presentation, experts from various disciples will discuss how the POG fits into curricular planning for this new state initiative.

Speakers

Kathy R. Doody

Professor, Buffalo State University

I am the coordinator of the Exceptional Education Early Childhood (B-2) Students with Disabilities Program. This graduate program prepares pre-service and in-service teachers to work with young children with disabilities. My research interests center around autism spectrum disorder... Read More →

Amanda Merritt

SUNY New Paltz

Jennifer Wolfe

Oceanside High School

Laura Spenceley

SUNY Oswego

Joette Stefl-Mabry

Professor, University at Albany

Joette Stefl-Mabry, PhD is a Professor of Information Sciences and Technology in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany. Her areas of research focus on program evaluation, educational assessment, curriculum design, and... Read More →

Leah Lembo

policy analyst, NYSUT

Joanne M. Stiles

SUNY Potsdam

Thursday October 22, 2026 10:45am - 11:35am EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

11:45am EDT

Course-Embedded Literacy Micro-Credentials: Challenges and Opportunities in Curriculum Development in Teacher Education

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT

Hathorn Room

As Educator Preparation Providers (EPPs) engage in curricular redesign to include the components of the Science of Reading, they face challenges of ensuring consistent candidate learning across courses and faculty. This panel shares the development of course-embedded literacy micro-credentials designed to strengthen literacy preparation while creating coherence across early childhood and childhood education programs.

Speakers

Bobbie Kabuto

Associate Professor, Queens College, CUNY

Marcela Ossa Parra

Queens College, CUNY

Anna Malyukova

Queens College, CUNY

Ted Kesler

Queens College, CUNY

Kristin Anderson

Doctoral Lecturer, Queens College, CUNY

Ann Ebe

Director of Professional Practice & Community Partnerships, Queens College, CUNY

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

11:45am EDT

How do Key Assignments help our Program?

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT

Orenda Room

The special education faculty at SUNY Geneseo rewrote the Teaching Students with Disabilities Programs All Grades to meet the new certification in New York State. We also needed to think about the key assignments for our classes and the skills we wanted to measure to meet the Standards for the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). We wanted to be sure to develop key assignments that would meet AAQEP Standards but also meet the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards as well so that we could apply for recognition from CEC as well. (Although we have faced some funding issues, we are hopeful this will be a priority for the 2026-2027 academic year). The overarching goal we had to referring to for our assignments was making sure we prepared students for the changing workforce they would enter and created problem solvers who could teach all students. Our key assignments reflect a broad range of skills and start in Block I of our program and culminate in Block VI, student teaching. We would like to share our thought process with you and the rubrics developed.

Speakers

Susan Salmon

SUNY Geneseo

Annmarie Urso

Professor of Special Education, SUNY Geneseo

Teacher Education, Assessment for Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia, Best practices for teaching students with Learning Disabilities, IEP development, Special Education Program development, my grandkids, and dog!

Michael Rozalski

SUNY Geneseo

Jennifer Waddington

SUNY Geneseo

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

2:00pm EDT

AI & Student Support in Teacher Education: How 5 Practitioners Are Navigating the Shift

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT

Hathorn Room

This panel explores how artificial intelligence has reshaped, supported, and at times complicated the ways educators and student support professionals work with students. Panelists will reflect on the benefits and challenges of AI use in advising, teaching, communication, accessibility, feedback, and relationship-building, considering where AI has enhanced student support and where human connection remains irreplaceable. Together, the discussion will examine how institutions can thoughtfully integrate AI while keeping student well-being, belonging, and individualized support at the center of educational practice.

Speakers

Gina Riley

CUNY Hunter College, CUNY

Jason Riffaterre

Hunter College, CUNY

Veshno Kumar

Hunter College, CUNY

Valerie Lyons

Hunter College, CUNY

Sofy Solomon

Hunter College, CUNY

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

2:00pm EDT

Teacher Residency Apprenticeships: Redesigning, Rethinking, and Reimagining Teacher Preparation

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT

Orenda Room

This presentation examines the development and implementation of a residency apprenticeship teacher preparation program at St. John Fisher University. Presenters representing district and university personnel will discuss university and district partnerships, program redesign, supervision structures and restructuring, implementation challenges, and early outcomes related to teacher preparation and candidate support.

Speakers

Kathleen A. Broikou

St. John Fisher University

Allison Bosworth

St. John Fisher University

Rich Ognibene

St. John Fisher University

Jean Ann Hunt

EDHUBNY

Joseph Englebert

Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES

Thursday October 22, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

3:00pm EDT

Anchored in Community: Growing Sustainable Partnerships Through Seed Grant Innovation

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT

Orenda Room

Three faculty-led initiatives in early childhood education, teacher pipeline development, and literacy support for multilingual learners showcase how seed grants can transform innovative ideas into enduring partnerships. Panelists will share lessons on leveraging internal funding to advance equity, strengthen professional learning, and deepen an institution's role as a community anchor.

Speakers

Maria Mavrides Calderon

Hunter College, CUNY

Megan Demarkis

Coordinator, Hunter College, CUNY

Megan Demarkis, MSW (Silberman School of Social Work), is a bilingual educator, community organizer, and coalition builder with more than 25 years of experience in NYC public education, youth development, and immigrant advocacy. She has dedicated her career to building programs that... Read More →

Christine Rosalia

Associate Professor of TESOL, Hunter College, CUNY

Teacher Professional Development (P-12 and adult teachers of English language learners/ Multilinguals),
Integrating Educational Technologies and Computational Thinking into Teaching and Learning/ Technoskepticism
Service-Learning

Virginia Gryta

Hunter College, CUNY

Jody Polleck

Hunter College, CUNY

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Orenda Room

Panel Presentation

3:00pm EDT

Navigating the Changing Waters: Empowering Faculty through Innovative Mentorship

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT

Hathorn Room

This panel presentation will explore the impact of innovative and collaborative mentorship as faculty members navigate the different stages of a career in teacher education. A model for leveraging cross-generational knowledge will be discussed and five central themes will be explored: disconnect, isolation, institutional expectations, collaboration, and empowerment.

Speakers

Joanna Weld

Faculty Fellow, Niagara University

Mary Lou Stahl

Assistant Professor, Niagara University

Richard Violanti

Assistant Professor, Foundations and Pedagogy, Niagara University

Jeff Faunce

Faculty Fellow, Niagara University

Maria Nader

Niagara University

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

4:00pm EDT

Beyond Observation: Building Sustainable, Partnership-Driven Fieldwork for Prospective Teachers

Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT

Hathorn Room

Using a collaborative self-study methodology, we examine the design, implementation, and outcomes of a fieldwork model situated within a high school–university partnership. Drawing on reflective journals, stakeholder feedback, field notes, and program artifacts, we analyze the model from multiple perspectives to identify its affordances, challenges, and implications.

Speakers

Mara Markinson

Assistant Professor of Secondary Mathematics Education, Queens College, CUNY

I am a member of the mathematics education faculty at CUNY Queens College.

Melanie Waller

Queens College, CUNY

Leslee Grey

Queens College, CUNY

Agnes Montesinos

East-West School of International Studies, NYC Public Schools

Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Hathorn Room

Panel Presentation

4:00pm EDT

Integrating the Science of Reading in Educator Preparation

Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT

Orenda Room

In this panel presentation, we will consider work underway at The City University of New York (CUNY) to integrate culturally responsive, evidence-based practices for teaching literacy that are grounded in the Science of Reading (SoR). We will describe work underway at 5 CUNY colleges under the Path Forward initiative, including comprehensive redesign of coursework, assessments and clinical experiences to further integrate evidence-based practices aligned with the SoR across the trajectory of candidate learning experiences. We will also consider CUNY Reading Fellows (CRF) as an example of SoR-aligned literacy fieldwork for pre-service educators. We will describe training for pre-service educators in SoR aligned reading interventions that incorporate strategies for diverse learners and techniques for ongoing support to ensure program fidelity and culturally responsive techniques. We will describe processes for data collection and analysis, impacts on pre-service educators and striving readers, and examine outcomes for multilingual learners and other subgroups. We will also describe multimodal approaches used with pre-service educators such as virtual classroom features for remote instruction, and hands-on materials used for in-person instruction.

Speakers