About UTRU

Urban Teacher Residency United (UTRU) is a not-for-profit organization that serves a growing national network of innovative teacher preparation programs.

Founded in 2007 with the financial backing of Strategic Grant Partners, UTRU works closely with school districts, not-for-profit organizations and universities to launch and support effective Urban Teacher Residencies.

About Urban Teacher Residencies

Based on the medical residency model, Urban Teacher Residencies are district-based education programs that pair master’s-level education coursework with a rigorous full-year classroom apprenticeship under the guidance of an experienced mentor teacher.

History

In 2004, the nation’s existing Urban Teacher Residency programs — the Academy for Urban School Leadership in Chicago, the Boston Teacher Residency and the Boettcher Teachers Program in Metro Denver — created an informal partnership to exchange best practices, share programmatic innovations and promote the concept of residency-based teacher preparation at the state and federal government levels.

In October 2006, these programs hosted a daylong symposium in Chicago focused on UTRs, the need for expanding such programs, and their anticipated impact on student achievement.

In 2007, with the financial support of Strategic Grant Partners in Boston, UTRU was established in support of this nationwide network of existing and emerging Urban Teacher Residency programs.

In summer 2008, UTRU launched the Residency for Residencies Program (RRP) and began promoting awareness of the Residency model, which led to early support from several national funders. Funds have been allocated to support network marketing, codification of the Residency model, and initial evaluation efforts.