This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The Teach/Here Teacher Residency Initiative (TRI), a partnership between the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the Public Education Foundation, and Hamilton and Knox County Schools, is developing a teacher residency model as an innovative alternative pathway to attract, prepare and retain high potential math and science teachers for high need, urban public schools. The alternative pathway is being designed to incorporate components identified in the research literature as being critically important guiding criteria for successful teacher residency programs, including 1) direct pairing of the program with school system needs, 2) seamless flow between teacher preparation and induction into in-service teaching, 3) preparation for the challenges found in schools serving high poverty communities, 4) year-long residency as a part of the preparation, 5) mentoring provided by teacher leaders, and 5) access to community-based non-profit institutions that can reduce bureaucratic processes. Activities taking place during the planning process for submission of a full proposal to the Teaching Fellows/Master Teaching Fellows track, include 1) defining and refining the conceptual framework for the program, 2) determining the target number of recruits and developing marketing and recruitment plans, 3) developing program and curriculum components that incorporate the training and professional development content for mentor teachers, 4) identifying host school sites and mentor teachers where the residency apprenticeship classrooms will be located, 5) initiating professional development with mentor teachers, and 6) developing local partnerships with business and community groups to create necessary support structures for the Teacher Residents. The project team is also planning ways to document the efficacy of the initial Urban Teacher Residency programs in Hamilton and Knox County Schools, so that if the program model is effective, it can be disseminated as a resource for other programs seeking to implement alternative teacher preparation programs for mathematics and science educators who are capable of succeeding in hard-to-staff schools.
