Teacher Residency Programs

Unlike most traditional teacher residency programs, residency programs offer financial incentives to attract and retain high-quality candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The financial incentives may include:

• Salary and benefits. Some programs offer a wage and benefits, such as insurance.  
• Living stipends. Other programs offer stipends. The amount of money you’ll receive varies, and may cover the cost of tuition, transportation and other living expenses. 
• Discounted tuition. 
• Student loan forgiveness. You may not have to pay back some or all of your student loans if you commitment to teach in the district for a specified time period.
• Immediate employment. Most teacher residents teach in high-need schools, making it more likely that you’ll get a job faster. 
• Professional earning potential.

As a certified teacher, you’ll do much more than develop lesson plans. You’ll create an inclusive classroom culture, build relationships with students, and ensure that all students have access to high-quality instructional materials.

As a teacher resident, you learn through observation and gain firsthand experience, taking the lead gradually and with plenty of feedback.

Teacher residents can look forward to: 

• Teaching under an experienced mentor
• A close linked partnership between the university and school district
• Continued mentoring after you become a teacher
• A stipend or salary during the course of the residency term
• Increased teaching responsibility 
• The opportunity to serve as a lead teacher

Mentor teachers are the foundation of the residency program model. Mentors provide the right amount of support as you gain knowledge, skills and experience.

Residents can count on mentors to: 

• Provide support and guidance in and out of the classroom
• Collaborate on curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Actively model best practices in instruction
• Provide observations and feedback
• Review lesson plans weekly
• Discuss classroom practice and student achievement 
• Provide ongoing professional development

The National Center for Teacher Residencies outlines how teacher residency programs improve teaching by providing high quality, hands-on learning. And that has a profound impact on students.

Here’s how you’ll make an impact: 

• You’ll be better prepared to create an inclusive classroom and connect with diverse students and families. 
• Your students will benefit. Students have shown greater achievement levels with residency teachers. 
• You’ll build a deeper, longer lasting relationship in your community. Residency teachers tend to work in the same district for a longer period of time.