Chattanooga, Knoxville partner for new teacher residency program

Hamilton County Schools are desperate for qualified math and science teachers, and officials think they've found the perfect formula to supply more.

Beginning next summer, the school system is partnering with Knox County Schools, the Public Education Foundation and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to offer a teacher residency program that will give college graduates a chance to earn teaching credentials and a master's degree in one year.

Teach/Here is modeled after similar programs in Boston, Denver and Chicago. Leaders say they will recruit recent college graduates or career-switchers with math or science backgrounds, then train them to teach in Hamilton County Schools, especially the urban, hard-to-staff campuses.

Participants will spend four days a week in a classroom with a mentor teacher, and one day a week taking master's-level education classes.

"The way you prepare them right in the classroom, they understand the real life of a school," said Leslie Graitcer, senior director for teacher quality at the Public Education Foundation. "We believe you get a more highly qualified and well-trained teacher. And they feel more grounded and secure (in the classroom)."

Details have not yet been finalized, Ms. Graitcer said, so residents might take their one day of classes in Knoxville, Chattanooga, through video-conferencing or online.

At the end of the year-long program, the teachers each will be required to work in the Hamilton or Knox school systems for a specified time, likely about four years.

The National Science Foundation started an effort and offered startup grants to encourage school districts around the country to partner with nonprofits and form teacher residency programs. The Chattanooga-Knoxville partnership received one of the grants.

Initial funding will come from the science foundation's $75,000 award, and a matching grant from the local Benwood Foundation for $85,000. Officials will spend this school year planning and will implement the program with 10 to 20 teaching residents in summer, 2010, Ms. Graitcer said.

For years, UT's College of Education, Health and Human Sciences has offered a five-year intern model where students can earn a bachelor's degree in a content area, then earn a master's degree in education in year five.

Dr. Lynn Cagle, the school's associate dean for professional licensure, said the success of that program makes him eager to be a partner in the new teacher residency.

"In the fifth-year model, you don't have as much time in school," Dr. Cagle said.

"The model itself is not new to us, the procedures are just slightly different," he said. "We're always interested in something different that promises gains in the education field, especially in high-needs areas like math and science."

Tennessee will unveil new, more rigorous standards this fall, including an extra year of high school math and science. Dr. Cagle believes setting the bar higher will make it more difficult to keep those areas well staffed.

"It's going to exacerbate the shortage problem," he said. "We just don't seem to make enough progress on getting enough math and science teachers."

Sharon Vandagriff, president of the Hamilton County Education Association, said she'd like to see residency programs available for all teachers because of the emphasis on classroom training.

"These programs help prepare a teacher better for what they'll face in the classroom," she said.