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Jamie Parris
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Nearly 70 people from across the nation have applied for Chattanooga's first teacher residency program, and leaders still are recruiting for the 20 available spots.
Recent college graduates or career switchers with a strong background in math or science who are interested in becoming teachers have until Friday to apply for Teach/Here, officials said.
"We're trying to get really high-quality, talented individuals," program director Cheri Dedmon said. "It's the math folks that it's really a struggle to find. We'll probably have more science applicants. Every year the district has trouble finding math teachers."
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
* Bachelor's degree and strong content knowledge in math, engineering or one of the sciences, from an accredited college or university
* Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
* U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident
* Passing score from Tennessee state content examination (Praxis II) required before a participant can be placed in a Learning Academy
Source: teachhere.org
The 20 residents will be chosen May 21, Ms. Dedmon said. On "selection day," prospective residents will demonstrate a miniteaching lesson, participate in a group problem-solving activity and have two interviews with selection team members.
The program will place 10 students in Chattanooga and 10 in partner city Knoxville.
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. They may earn teaching credentials and a master's degree in one year.
The Public Education Foundation, another Teach/Here partner, has paid for a temporary full-time recruiter to answer questions and visit college campuses across the Southeast to drum up interest.
In Hamilton County, Teach/Here residents will follow mentor teachers at Tyner Academy and Tyner Middle, the district's two science and math magnet schools.
"We were looking for schools that had strong leadership and the capacity for mentors," Ms. Dedmon said. "(They're) going to become a training ground to prepare teachers for our district."
Jamie Parris, Hamilton County's director of secondary math and science, said Teach/Here will help with the constant dearth of math and science teachers. Residents' tuition is paid if they commit to teaching for four years in a high-poverty school in Hamilton or Knox counties.
"It's going to create a pipeline of great teachers," Mr. Parris said. "These residencies are going to reshape the way we train teachers."
Follow Kelli Gauthier on Twitter at twitter.com/gauthierkelli.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories:
Article: Teacher testers ready to start work
Article: Chattanooga, Knoxville partner for new teacher residency program
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
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