NCTR supports the design of new teacher residency programs and provides consulting to strengthen existing programs across the United States.

Our core commitment is to collaborate with teacher residency programs and their partners across the nation to build and strengthen teacher residencies to prepare, support, and retain aspiring educators who represent and value the communities they serve.

Our mission is to transform educator preparation

by advancing the teacher residency movement to prepare, support, and retain more effective educators who represent and value the communities they serve.

Shannon Gray is a teacher resident at the Memphis Teacher Residency. This photo was taken at Cornerstone Prep.

Our Commitment

NCTR believes that teacher residencies are the best way to prepare, support, and retain teachers who represent and value the communities they serve. NCTR is deeply committed to serving our teacher residency programs in effectively preparing educators to teach students across the nation–and keep educators in the classroom.

NCTR welcomes the varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of every individual and encourages them to identify challenges and enact solutions to teacher preparation. We honor and celebrate each individual’s strengths and aspire to provide resources and model best practices for our NCTR Network and Residency Design Academy (RDA) members that seek to improve the accessibility of teacher preparation pathways and ensure all students have access to quality teachers.

By the Numbers

Teacher residencies have grown in scale and influence in recent years, and the national teacher residency movement has never been stronger.

62

NCTR Network members

77

NCTR Network member programs

17

Participating Residency Design Academy teams

18

Teacher residency programs preparing to launch

1,344

Teacher residency training sites

2,225

Teacher residents enrolled in NCTR Network member programs for 2023-2024

9,002

Graduates of current NCTR Network member programs (Cumulative)

Selecting, Recruiting, and Retaining Teachers

Teacher residencies focus on schools that have a need to attract and retain well-prepared teachers for the classroom. Teacher residencies are designed to reduce the barriers that discourage aspiring educators from entering or remaining in the field and have been proven to support community needs in response to teacher shortages, quality in preparedness, and diversity.

Susan Banchero is a teacher resident at RTR Teacher Residency. This picture was taken at Ettrick Elementary School.

NCTR is Generously Supported By