Sustainable Residencies at Scale
August 2020
Implementing Sustainable Teacher Preparation Residencies at Scale
University School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation (US PREP) exists to disrupt inequities in PK-12 districts
by supporting colleges of education in transforming their educator preparation programs. Each coalition provider commits to transforming their programs to adhere to the quality objectives outlined in the US PREP Developmental Framework. Among the commitments that US PREP’s twenty-one coalition members have made is a commitment to improving clinical practice of their teacher candidates. All providers commit to establishing a sustainable, full-year residency for each of their teacher candidates within their partnership district schools.
For several years, Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative has helped districts and schools extend the reach of
excellent teachers and reallocate existing funds to pay sizable teacher leader stipends and pay for paraprofessionals. A third-party study has shown dramatic results for students in Opportunity Culture classrooms. The cornerstone role in Opportunity Culture Schools is Multi-Classroom Leadership, in which carefully selected teacher leaders lead teaching teams. Multi-Classroom Leader teams can be designed for residents to be funded by reallocation of existing dollars during the Opportunity Culture design process.
Public Impact and US PREP recently joined forces to bring together high-quality teacher prep residencies and Opportunity Culture design
This work started with the University of Texas Permian Basin and two partner districts: Ector County ISD and Midland ISD. As a result, in the 2020-21 school year, 10-15 teacher candidate residents will receive sustainably funded stipends of about $24,000 plus benefits, while completing a full-year residency in a multi-classroom leader’s team. This structure meets immediate personnel needs of the school
districts, ensures high-quality development of novice teacher candidates, and establishes a sustainable, scalable staffing model that positively impacts student achievement.
Over the next two years, Public Impact & US PREP will work together to support coalition members and their school district partners with implementing sustainable residencies at scale. Starting in August, the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Tarleton State University will work with their district partners to design new school staffing models to include residents. To learn more, click here.
