NCTR Network Site Visits
January 9, 2024 — Thanks to the generous support of Cargill Philanthropies and hosts—University of St. Thomas, Dallas College, and Arizona Teacher Residency—NCTR successfully wrapped up three site visits this past fall. With a total of 65 attendees from 45 Network members, the visits provided an opportunity for clients to observe NCTR’s Levers for Equitable Teacher Residencies in action while engaging in collaborative sessions to learn about residency best practices from peer programs.
The momentum from Site Visits will continue with the NCTR National Symposium for Educator Preparation, Policy, and Leadership on Wednesday, April 17 to Friday, April 19, 2024 in Chicago.
Residency Design Academy Site Visits
The Residency Design Academy (RDA) team welcomed three RDA teams—Baltimore County Public schools with Loyola Maryland, Central Connecticut State University with Waterbury Public Schools, and UT Austin—to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit District Partner Teacher Residency (DPTR) of the University of New Mexico (UNM).
We had rich opportunities over the three days to explore DPTR’s program. We were guided by DPTR’s residency leaders and program team, including Director of Residencies Marjori Krebs, Ed.D.; Michael Basil, program coordinator with the College of Education and Human Sciences; and several professors, mentors, teacher residents, coordinators, human resources and union reps, UNM’s Dean of the School of Education, and more. They all shared relevant and authentic experiences and learnings that impacted and informed RDA teams that are in the design process.
The participant feedback reflected this and more:
“Talking with people who are both instrumental in running the residency programs but also those who teach, supervise, co-teach and residents themselves was so valuable.”
“It was excellent to have the opportunity to consult with our team as well as other teams to hear their experiences. It provided additional perspectives, insights and encouragement with the challenges (the feeling that we are not the only ones in this process).”
“The support that the NCTR staff provided by guiding our process, providing time for reflection, and all the other great ‘extras’ to make this a productive trip.”
At the end of January 2024, RDA will host a site visit for our RDA cohort of historically Black colleges and universities to see California State University-Bakersfield’s (CSUB) residency, particularly their BETR program. We look forward to replicating the New Mexico experience of deep learning and design productivity in California!