Prepared To Teach

Teachers are every bit as important as doctors. Just like doctors, they need to work alongside accomplished professionals to learn their craft. Borrowing from medical preparation, residency models pay aspiring teachers to work in classrooms with expert educators for a full year before they graduate. There, they gain firsthand experience and apply theory to practice in a safe, supervised learning environment.

All teachers need hands-on practice and pedagogical knowledge before entering the classroom. Prepared To Teach partners with preparation programs, districts, and schools to develop residencies that provide both. The best part? We bring financial models that work within existing budgets to design strong residency partnerships.

We rely on proven strategies to make high-quality teacher preparation more accessible. All of our partnerships are about creating common-sense programs that work for everyone—teachers, faculty, school leaders, aspiring educators, and students. Learn more about the residency model, funding for teacher candidates, and how we work with local institutions below.

Research shows that when aspiring teachers are paid to practice for a year before leading a classroom, everyone wins—teachers stay longer, schools are stronger, and families have access to excellent education.

Three important things happen when residencies pay teacher candidates:

• More people from underrepresented backgrounds, including aspiring educators who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, can afford to enter the profession.
• Aspiring teachers have more time and energy to focus on learning the art of teaching.
• New teachers graduate with more confidence in their skills and commitment to the profession.

Funded residencies make better teachers, and better teachers help students, schools, and communities succeed. But each context is different. The best residency model for New Mexico isn’t necessarily the best for New Jersey.

With that in mind, the Prepared To Teach team has spent five years working with districts and preparation programs across 20+ states. We’ve designed flexible models that help programs achieve financial sustainably. Our next step is to share the ideas with districts, preparation programs, and policymakers throughout the country.