AN URBAN TEACHER RESIDENCY THAT CLOSES THE TEACHER QUALITY GAP

The teacher residency model is an innovative response to the longstanding challenges of how to recruit, prepare, and retain effective teachers in high-needs school districts. This paper presents an innovative teacher residency program that recruits candidates with undergraduate degrees in high-need content fields, immerses them in an induction program housed in urban schools, provides them mentoring and instruction founded on research, and continues to offer professional development during the early years of their careers. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evaluation of an Urban Teacher Residency program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Quality Partnership grant. This project teamed the university with two high-need school districts, all of which desired to recruit, prepare, and retain effective teachers in high-needs secondary schools. Specifically, this paper will examine: (1) retention of graduates in the residency program; (2) effectiveness of residents as measured by supervisors and independent evaluators, and (3) residents ability to help students make significant academic progress.