Aspiring teachers need yearlong paid residencies

Schools need great teachers, and great teaching starts with preparation. Paid residencies provide the foundation teachers need and deserve, with pathways for everyone. Prepared To Teach helps states, districts, and programs design affordable, sustainably funded residencies that attract and retain strong, committed teachers.

Residencies disrupt inequities

Well-prepared teachers strengthen schools

Schools with large populations of students with disabilities, those from low-income communities, multilingual learners, and students of color disproportionately have underprepared teachers who leave the classroom at high rates. Residencies build deep partnerships in schools with high turnover and hard-to-staff positions, creating a pool of committed teachers who are often from the communities they serve. Graduates remain in the profession, stabilizing schools.

Shifting the status quo is possible 

As with every profession, teaching takes time to master. Most preparation programs offer clinical practice to build knowledge and skills through unpaid work in schools. Simultaneously, a growing number of fast-track programs offer full-time teaching jobs to individuals at full pay, but with little or no preparation. The former offers a solid but unpaid foundation; the latter sacrifices preparation but provides a financial incentive. 

Aspiring teachers should not have to choose between financial security or adequate preparation for their careers. Fortunately, redesigning preparation in collaboration with district partners to meet both instructional and hiring needs creates sustainable funding streams to reduce financial burdens—without sacrificing quality.

Our partners lead change across the nation

Partnerships we’ve worked with across the nation are shifting toward sustainably funded teacher residencies. To realize their goals, they collaborate to restructure programs, revise curriculum, design meaningful school-based roles for aspiring teachers, strengthen mentor teacher roles, and prioritize instructional investments.

Central New Mexico Community College
Dallas College
Eastern New Mexico University
University of Northern Colorado
University of South Carolina
Virginia Commonwealth University
Western Washington University
Ferndale School District
Mount Vernon City School District
Adelphi University
Aldo Leopold Charter School
Aztec Municipal School District
Bloomfield Schools
Canisius College
Carlsbad Municipal Schools
Central Consolidated School District
Cobre Consolidated School District
The City University of New York: College of Staten Island
Deming Public Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools
Farmington Municipal Schools
Gadsden Independent School District
Gallup-McKinley County Schools
Highlands University
Las Cruces Public Schools
Lordsburg Municipal Schools
Los Lunas Schools
NYC Department of Education
Oswego
Pecos Cyber Academy
Rio Rancho Public Schools
Silver Consolidated Schools
San Juan College
Syracuse City School District
Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools
Tularosa Municipal School District
Washington Education Association
Western New Mexico University
California State University, Dominguez Hills
UCLA Center X
LAUSD
Rossier School of Education, USC
Inglewood Unified School District
High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Richardson Independent School District

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Resources Hub

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