FAQs: About Teacher Residencies and Residents

Q:What is an Urban Teacher Residency?

Urban Teacher Residencies are district-based teacher education programs that pair master’s-level education content with a rigorous full-year classroom practicum.

Building on the medical residency model, Teacher Residencies are based on the best of what we know works in teacher preparation, providing teaching candidates with both the underlying theory of effective teaching and a yearlong, in-school “residency” in which they practice and hone what they have learned alongside an effective veteran teacher in an urban classroom.

Q:Is there a difference between a master's degree from a Residency program and a master's degree from a traditional university program?

A master’s degree from a Residency program is granted by a respected, accredited university, and courses are taught by highly competent professional educators. In contrast to a university-based education program, the time frame for Teacher Residents’ coursework is not dictated necessarily by the length of the academic term, but rather by the demands of developing particular teaching competencies. Residents study, teach and reflect as part of a close-knit cohort. Members of the cohort go on to work in the same urban districts and remain close colleagues.

Q:How do Teacher Residency programs go about recruiting and selecting candidates?

Teacher Residents are selected through rigorous and often highly competitive processes: one in six applicants, for example, has been accepted to the Boston Teacher Residency. Residency programs recruit talented recent college graduates, career changers and members of the communities in which students live.

Residency programs work hard to attract and prepare talented teachers of color, as well as teachers in high-needs areas such as math, science and special education. Some programs work closely with a school district’s human resources department to project teaching vacancies and recruit candidates to fill those slots.

Q:Why did urban districts partner with not-for-profit organizations to design and implement Residency programs?

Urban districts found that many of their first-year teachers — whether they were prepared by traditional university programs or alternative “fast-track” certification programs — were arriving ill-equipped for the challenges of the urban classroom. Overwhelmed and underprepared, new teachers were leaving in high numbers, costing urban districts millions of dollars and perpetuating a “revolving door” of inexperienced teachers into and out of schools. The districts wanted a model that would prepare aspiring teachers for the urban classroom and give them the experience and support they needed to become effective teachers who stayed in the district for the long haul.

Q:How long do new teachers typically stay in an urban district?

Nationally, 15% of new teachers leave teaching within the first year, 30% within three years, and 50% within five years. In urban schools, approximately 50% leave within three years.

Q:Is the retention rate for new teachers prepared through a Residency program proving to be higher?

Early data are promising for those who successfully complete the preparation year and coursework. The Academy for Urban School Leadership in Chicago has produced 300+ graduates since 2002, with an 85% retention rate after three years. The Boston Teacher Residency program has trained 200+ graduates in the Boston Public Schools since 2003; 86% are still teaching in Boston. The Boettcher Teachers Program has produced 70+ new teachers since 2003, 96% of whom are currently teaching in urban schools in metropolitan Denver.

Q:How does teacher turnover affect children and taxpayers?

Study after study has shown that students taught by experienced teachers achieve greater academic success than students taught by first-year teachers. The costs to children who spend a disproportionate amount of their educational careers in the classrooms of new teachers can be staggering.

The financial costs to taxpayers associated with teacher turnover are also high. While estimates vary widely, researchers calculate the cost at anywhere between 25% and 200% of the annual salary and benefits of a teacher who leaves. In a recent publication, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future pegs the average cost to recruit, hire, prepare and lose a teacher at $50,000.

Q:Why do teachers leave?

Studies show that many first-year teachers leave not because of insufficient salaries, but because of a perceived lack of professionalism, collegiality and administrative support in their schools. Interviews with first- and second-year teachers in Massachusetts showed that few novices reported they received sufficient guidance about what to teach and how to teach it. In the first year, teachers are in “survival mode,” often struggling with classroom management and spending an inordinate amount of time trying to find relevant and useful materials for their curriculum.

Q:What kind of support and preparation readies new teachers for success in the classroom?

Contemporary learning theories argue that adults learn best through active participation and effective professional development that combines theory with hands-on practice. Most professional preparation programs reflect this reality. For example, medical residents must practice their craft in teaching hospitals under the instruction of skilled professionals. Similarly, new teachers need a rigorous clinical element in their preparation if they are to become confident and effective professionals.

Q:How do Teacher Residencies compare with alternative teacher certification programs?

While some alternative teacher certification programs are successful at attracting new teachers to the profession, they generally provide recruits with only a few weeks of preparation before entering the classroom.

Q:All university-based teacher preparation programs require student teaching. How is a "Residency" any different?

Student teaching requirements for university-based programs can be as short as 10 weeks and are rarely longer than a college semester. In contrast, Residents typically work in the classroom four days per week for an entire school year. In addition, Residency programs prepare and coach mentor teachers to guide the learning and development of the Residents in their classrooms. Mentor teachers become skilled teacher-educators whose work complements what the Resident is learning in his or her own coursework.

Q:Why do Residencies serve particular urban districts?

Each urban district has its own curriculum and set of reform initiatives. Each city has its own history, communities and dynamics. Residents who come to know the city and learn its district-specific initiatives enter their first year of teaching focused on the children, families and teaching — not on learning the norms and initiatives of a new district.

Q:Isn't good teaching good teaching in any school community?

Residencies provide excellent preparation for any aspiring teacher. However, in urban schools, which tend to have a high concentration of low-income students and students of color, the stakes are higher and the challenges are greater. Thus, Urban Teacher Residencies are carefully designed in the following ways to prepare new teachers to meet the special challenges they will face in urban schools:

• Helping Residents develop a strong and abiding belief that every child can achieve at high levels
• Encouraging Residents to form constructive partnerships with families and community-based organizations to boost student achievement
• Preparing Residents to teach children with disabilities and those who speak English as a second language
• Creating a teaching profession based on reflection, continuous improvement and professional collegiality that provides a supportive adult learning culture in school settings, which can often be chaotic and impersonal
• Giving Residents tools for teaching a highly mobile population where 30% of the class may change over the course of a year
• Helping Residents seek to understand, appreciate and build on the cultural strengths of their students

Q:What do you mean by "network standards" for effective UTRs?

UTRU has developed standards, or a common framework, outlining the program design elements that our network believes to be essential for a high-functioning Residency program. They are practice-based standards that are shared and promoted by our partners and used to ensure quality and support learning.