Urban Teacher Residency Is Here

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By Aaron Collier | Feb. 25, 2010, 10:30 a.m.

According to Supply and Demand for Teachers in Tennessee, a study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the state will face a teacher shortage estimated at over 31,000 by the 2013–2014 school year. The study found that Tennessee must fill about 40 percent of all pre-K through grade 12 public school teaching positions in only four years.

Beginning this Friday, an initiative called Teach/Here aims to reverse the trend in Hamilton and Knox Counties by recruiting and retaining nontraditional teaching candidates through an urban teacher residency program. As the first of its kind in Tennessee, the initiative is the only two-site program in the U.S., and it is one of three sites in the nation to be awarded a planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Benwood Foundation has matched the $74,996 grant from the NSF, which is directing new funds toward university–district–nonprofit partnerships developing innovative ways of preparing expert math and science teachers.

For the Public Education Foundation (PEF), which is serving as the lead nonprofit partner, that means recruiting nontraditional teaching candidates from premier colleges and universities. Teach/Here will also recruit candidates from science, technology, engineering and math-related businesses locally and around the country. According to a fact sheet on PEF's website, Teach/Here aims to prepare candidates "to become effective math and science teachers, through rigorous, master’s level course work and a year-long classroom apprenticeship under the tutelage of a trained mentor-teacher."

To build, manage and direct the program, PEF has joined with the Benwood Foundation, the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, Hamilton County and Knox County schools and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Starting small, their combined efforts will secure 10 residents for each county in the first year, then gradually expand the program which is expected to become a model for other communities throughout Tennessee.

Starting From Scratch

On Jan. 1, Teach/Here's steering committee hired its first executive director, Cheri Dedmon. After 31 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in public schools, Dedmon was drawn to the new position because she saw it as an opportunity to start from scratch, an opportunity to design and create the initiative. She explained, "My heart has always been in the classroom. I know how important this is for students."

Dedmon explained that at the beginning of this school year, both Hamilton County and Knox County struggled through significant teacher vacancies in Math. According to Dedmon, baby-boomer teachers are retiring, and there is "no succession plan." Coupled with higher demand for math and science teachers to fill new state curriculum requirements as well as negative perceptions of the profession, the growing teacher gap has led to residency programs like Teach/Here, Dedmon explained.

According to Urban Teacher Residency United, "Roughly 50 percent of all urban public school teachers leave within the first three years." That percentage, however, is greatly reduced by Residency programs. "Statistics show that 85 percent of all residency graduates stay in their schools beyond those crucial first three years."

In Hamilton County, residents will spend their first year at two learning academy sites, Tyner Middle and Tyner Academy, in a yearlong classroom apprenticeship with a mentor teacher. During that time they will also be accomplishing master's-level coursework, which is being developed by the University of Tennessee. In their next three years, residents will be placed in high-needs urban schools and receive ongoing support from induction coaches, or mentor-teachers, while completing their masters degree.

The Sales Pitch

According to Dedmon, Teach/Here will combat the high turnover rate for incoming teachers at urban schools by offering candidates a nontraditional, hands-on training program that guarantees experience on the front end. Upon completion of the program, residents will earn a masters degree. According to Frances Haman-Prewitt, director of communications at PEF, the initiative is currently pursuing funding for stipends during the residents' first year.

Dedmon believes that Chattanooga will attract applicants because the city has become a great place for people to live and work. The initiative will also utilize web and social media marketing to target college seniors, she explained. On Friday, Teach/Here's website launches in conjunction with Google ads and postings on employment websites like monster.com. And Teach/Here recruiters will be speaking with seniors from colleges throughout Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

"The timing is right," Dedmon said, citing recent education reform in Tennessee. "Race to the Top is redefining teacher effectiveness." She explained that federal funding is becoming available for districts and organizations that are developing ways to identify effective teachers.

"We have the potential for being a national model for this," she added.