St Louis Teacher Residency

Resident Placement, Coaching, and Support: St. Louis Teacher Residency is designed as a two-year program leading candidates to earn their Missouri teacher certification in the areas of elementary or secondary language arts, math, or science at the end of their initial apprenticeship year. In their first year, residents spend the full academic year in a district or partner school, developing under the guidance of an experienced mentor teacher. Over the course of the year, teacher-residents move from a collaborative, co-teaching role in the classroom to an increasingly demanding, lead-teaching role. During their apprenticeship year, residents co-teach with their mentor four days each week. Every week, residents are observed by an instructional coach from the STLTR team. Coaches facilitate a meeting with the mentor and the resident, providing specific, targeted feedback on each teacher's strengths and areas of growth. The weekly coaching meeting is a significant lever in each teacher's growth and development and provides an important bridge between the residency's certification coursework and the work that is happening at each training site. In residents' second year, residents move into full-time lead-teaching roles and continue to receive bi-weekly observation and coaching from a member of the STLTR team. This year, in our fifth year of program operation, instructional coaches supported 28 residents completing their apprenticeship, and 18 residents working as lead teachers. In total, instructional coaches completed almost 950 observations of residents, logging over 2000 hours in our partner schools and training sites. In addition to the direct support provided to residents, STLTR also provides significant training and support to mentor teachers who are also working to develop their own instructional practice. Professional development for mentor teachers begins with 40 hours of training in the summer focused on instructional coaching, new teacher development, and content-specific instructional practices. During the school-year, mentors attend training with STLTR quarterly to continue their focus and development on prioritized instructional practices.

Resident Recruitment and Selection: Through a highly selective recruitment process, STLTR attracts a diverse group of talented college graduates, second-career entrants, and community members. This targeted effort is driven by the unique needs and goals of each school and district partner, particularly in high-needs areas such as science and math. STLTR believes that our residents and cohort should reflect the diversity of our city. As a result, each year STLTR works to recruit a cohort in which 50% of residents identify as people of color and 75% are career-changers. STLTR also works to maintain a rigorous selection process, with a goal selectivity rate of 25%. STLTR primarily cultivates candidates through attendance at career fairs, networking with local organizations and non-profits, and advertising campaigns. STLTR implements a rigorous selection process consisting of the submission of an initial application and essay questions, a phone interview, and attendance at a final selection day event. The culminating selection day includes multiple components including the presentation of a sample lesson, participation in a group discussion activity, a panel interview, and the submission of case studies. In the end, STLTR selected 28 new resident-teachers, maintaining a selectivity rate of 29%.

Certification & Master's Coursework: The St. Louis Teacher Residency model offers a unique synthesis of theory and practice, combining a yearlong classroom apprenticeship with a carefully aligned sequence of master's-level coursework. Residents train as part of a cohort - a peer group that provides ongoing support and collaborative learning throughout the residency year and beyond. During their apprenticeship year, every Friday, residents participate in their certification coursework which is designed to inform and enrich the apprenticeship experience. STLTR has organized its curriculum around five core competencies that, when taken together, comprise a framework for what it takes to prepare teachers who lead their K-12 students to dramatic student growth. Residents enroll in spiraling modules, each of which is associated with a core competency and STLTR's Vision for Effective Teaching. Modules range in length from two class sessions to an entire semester. With a modular format, it is possible to spiral ideas over the course of the residency program. This year, STLTR facilitated 23 certification modules. In order to ensure that residents are effectively prepared to work as lead-teachers, STLTR assesses residents' progress through performance-based assessments. These performance-based assessments occur throughout the school-year and assess residents' ability to implement skills and strategies in their classrooms and school placements. Residents are recommended for certification following the completion of their first year in the STLTR program. During the second year, residents begin their work as lead-teachers and continue their coursework with STLTR. In Year 2, residents enroll in the Master of Arts in Teaching & Learning program, facilitated collaboratively by STLTR and Washington University in St. Louis. Over the course of 4 semesters, residents take an additional 21 credit hours to complete their Master's degree.