June 7, 2022 — The National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) and the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) are working together to increase educator effectiveness and diversity by expanding the number of teacher residency programs available in Mississippi.
Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NCTR and MDE will analyze and document efforts to prepare diverse, effective and culturally responsive educators in geographical critical shortage areas in Mississippi, including areas serving low-income families, Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) students as well as students with disabilities who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is also supporting the development of five new teacher residency programs in Mississippi.
The Mississippi State Board of Education voted in December 2021 to award more than $9.8 million in grant funds to five university educator preparation programs. Those universities are Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi, and William Carey University. The MDE is using American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to cover the grants.
NCTR and MDE have shared a partnership since 2019; NCTR provides technical assistance and coaching to MDE to support the design, launch, and scale of the Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR).
In May 2021, NCTR facilitated a convening of MTR stakeholders, through a discussion titled, “Community Conversation: Recruiting and Retaining Black Male Educators in Mississippi and Beyond,” which allowed Black male educators and leaders to share their experiences from their career and residency programs. With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, MDE, MTR and the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), the discussion provided insight into how to center the assets and needs of Black male candidates to increase recruitment and retention efforts. The final report, “Recruiting and Retaining Black Male Educators: Leveraging Lessons from the Mississippi Teacher Residency,” is available on the NCTR website.