Dear Association Leader –
I hope this email letter finds you and your association doing well. As summer heat and humidity fade to
the cool nights of fall the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE) is
putting the final touches on its Teacher Education Assembly (TEA). It is at a PAC-TE sponsored
luncheon just prior to the TEA that our group, the Keystone Consortium of Educational Associations
(KCEA), meets to discuss items of common interest of our parent associations in the K-20 environment.
On behalf of PAC-TE, I am writing to invite your association to send you or one of its other leaders to
work with us at our annual KCEA luncheon to be held October 28 beginning promptly at 11 AM. This
luncheon marks the start of our annual Teacher Education Assembly (TEA), being held this year from
October 28-30, 2015 at the Best Western Premier Hotel and Conference Center in Harrisburg. During
last year’s luncheon, we began the discussion of student teaching assessment noting that PDE was
moving toward a third party assessment of student teachers; however, recently, that issue has been
placed on a back burner by Secretary of Education Rivera. Therefore, I am suggesting that we take
time this year, during our fourth annual meeting, to continue our discussion related to the overall
student teaching experience…from preparation to final evaluation and assessment. We would also
welcome agenda items sent to my attention via reply email.
Following our luncheon session, we invite you or your representative to attend any session he/she
would like throughout Wednesday and/or Thursday, including our Wednesday keynote session
featuring the inspiring Marilyn Cochran-Smith and our Thursday general session featuring Dr
Troy Hutchings (Topic – “I Was Afraid I Was Going to Get into Trouble. Yet, I Wish I
Could Do More.”: Competing Tensions within the Teaching Profession). If the person representing
your association would like to join us Wednesday evening for our annual banquet, please have him/her
register at: https://www.pac-te.org/public-fall-conference-2015-registrfation so we may have your
representative’s meal choice and payment ahead of time (ost is $33/person).
On Thursday, in addition to Dr. Hutchings remarks on ethics we invite you or your representative to
join us to hear from Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera beginning at 4:30 PM followed by a
reception for the Secretary from 5:40 - 6:30 PM in the Harris Room withKCEA and PAC-TE
leaders.
On behalf of PAC-TE, we hope that you or another leader from your association will be able to
attend the Wednesday working luncheon and the Thursday afternoon program and reception
with the Secretary of Education as well as any other sessions he/she may choose including
more than 60 small group sessions throughout the conference (link to the full program and
lodging infohttps://www.pac-te.org/public-fall-conference-2015-program . If, however, your
representative is a faculty member in a teacher preparation or educational leadership program
at a Pennsylvania institution of higher education, we ask that he/she please register for the full
conference (https://www.pac-te.org/public-fall-conference-2015-registration).
PLEASE REPLY TO ME NO LATER THAN 16 OCTOBER if you or another member of your
association will be able to attend so we can adequately prepare for the KCEA luncheon and
reception for the Secretary, including the person’s –





name
institution or agency
email address
position the person holds in your association,
which of these events the individual will attend
o KCEA Working Luncheon, 11:00 – 11:50 AM, Wednesday, 10/28
o Secretary of Education Remarks and Reception, 4:30 – 6:30, Thursday, 10/29
We look forward to continuing our work together to improve education for ALL students in
Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
C. Jay Hertzog, Past President
PAC-TE
(doctorjay80@gmail.com)