June 10, 2025 — Did you know that the National Center for Teacher Residencies’ (NCTR) origin story began almost 20 years ago? And to think, it started with codifying the teacher residency model at four pioneer teacher residency programs located in Boston, Chicago, and Metro-Denver. The teacher residency movement has grown from just a handful to more than 440 programs across the U.S. (according to the Learning Policy Institute), and NCTR continues to consult programs to support the residency design and launch, mentor professional development, research and evaluation, and even sustain and strengthen existing programs, while providing access to the sharing of knowledge and experience of a network of teacher residency programs.
At NCTR, we are poised to meet the current and future workforce needs by advancing the teacher residency movement to prepare, support, and retain more effective educators who represent and value the communities they serve. Our roots are in innovation, and we continue to work with our residency members to implement cutting-edge changes in teacher preparation that are making a difference for aspiring teachers and ultimately the P-12 students they serve.
When you look across the arc of teacher preparation and the changes over time, getting to the proof point has been instrumental to the growth of the teacher residency movement. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, NCTR provides technical support to local districts, educator preparation programs, state education agencies, and the Department of Labor to implement the residency/apprenticeship model to meet their local workforce needs.
Sometimes the future might feel uncertain, and in those times, I think it is important to take stock of the principles and strategies that have helped us to make important shifts and continue to improve. I think there are three lessons that can help ground our work and propel us forward:
- We need to continue to develop partnerships that actively engage and leverage the unique skills and perspectives of each stakeholder to realize our shared goals. No one can do this work alone and we are better together.
- We need to invest in practice-based teacher preparation with the expert guidance and feedback from course faculty, course supervisors, district staff, and classroom-based mentor teachers, leading to well-prepared teachers for every student.
- Aspiring teachers need to be recognized and paid for the time and talent they contribute to our classrooms. We must provide salaries and stipends to every staff member in our schools who is contributing to our students’ success and well-being.
The teacher residency movement is strong and continues to serve the local need to improve teacher quality, address teacher shortages, increase teacher retention, and provide a pathway to teaching that addresses the financial barriers many aspiring teachers face.
We invite you to reach out to share your work and learn more about how you can design and launch a teacher residency/apprenticeship program or strengthen an existing one by contacting us. Let’s keep the movement growing strong!