Levers for Teacher Residencies
Since its inception in 2007, NCTR has tied its work to standards for teacher residencies.
These levers build upon NCTR’s past standards and reflect the knowledge gained through working with dozens of high-performing residency programs in response to research-based practice findings focused on recruiting, preparing, and retaining highly effective day-one ready teachers.
Currently, the United States stands at an important turning point for both policy and practice in the area of teacher education. There were just a handful of teacher residencies around the United States when NCTR began its work. There are now over 100 programs around the country. As the teacher residency movement grows, NCTR is steadfast in its commitment to building and strengthening high-quality teacher residency programs to prepare, support, and retain more effective educators who represent and value the communities they serve.
In 2021, NCTR revised its standards. Now called the Levers for Teacher Residencies, NCTR’s consulting for emerging and existing teacher residency programs is based on the levers and designed to ensure successful implementation of programs using the interconnected eight levers below.
Partnership & Design
To understand and meet the needs of the school district and community, residency leadership must work in collaborative partnership with community members and organizational partners who represent the communities they serve.
Training Site Recruitment, Selection, & Support
An effective residency year experience requires that teacher residents have access to extensive opportunities to learn and practice at a training site where the school leadership understands and is committed to the vision and mission of the teacher residency program.
Mentor Recruitment, Selection, & Support
Mentor teachers serve critical roles in supporting and preparing teacher residents. To identify, recruit, and select cohorts of impactful mentor teachers who represent the communities they serve and successfully support and prepare teacher residents, programs set a programmatic vision, clearly articulate expectations of the mentor teacher role, and commit to providing ongoing mentor teacher support.
Resident Recruitment & Selection
The ongoing task of recruiting and selecting high-quality teacher resident applicants who can be successful in underserved schools and hard-to-staff subject areas requires articulating a clear value proposition that addresses a range of variables, including financial barriers. Translating your value proposition to teacher resident applicants effectively requires comprehensive, innovative, and data-driven recruitment and selection strategies that are aligned to the mission, vision, and programmatic needs.
Residency Leadership
Teacher residency leadership is characterized by leaders who are able to execute on a strategic vision, maintain reflective dispositions, build strong relationships with and influence a varied group of constituents, and advocate for the teacher residency model.
Residency Year Experience
The yearlong clinical experience, which aligns to the organization’s mission and vision, is designed around their effective implementation of High-Priority Resident Practices that facilitate student achievement. The clinical experience also includes a carefully orchestrated gradual release of teaching responsibilities where, by the end of the clinical experience, teacher residents are prepared with credentials and are confident to be teachers of record.
Financial Sustainability
Teacher residency programs must build a financial model that allows for long-term sustainability in service to the mission and vision. While short-term funding can play an important role in starting a teacher residency program, sustainable teacher residencies create the conditions to plan for and implement a long-term financial strategy with a concrete, multi-year roadmap.
Graduate Support
Teacher residency graduates benefit from ongoing group and individualized support and professional development, which may include continued instructional coaching, and other strategies to be attentive to their unique needs as new teachers of record. Teacher residencies also use post-residency data to enhance recruitment and the residency year experience, so that, ultimately, induction supports lead to enhanced graduate effectiveness and retention.