An anonymous local donor has contributed a $415,000, three-year grant to support TEACH/Here, an innovative teacher residency initiative that is preparing highly skilled math and science teachers for hard-to-fill positions in Hamilton and Knox County schools, the Public Education Foundation announced this morning.
"This donor has a strong commitment to high-quality math and science instruction, especially in light of the high tech jobs that are coming to our area," PEF President Dan Challener said in a news release.
TEACH/Here operates through a partnership among Hamilton and Knox County schools, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the Public Education Foundation, the news release stated. In its first year of operation, TEACH/Here has recently placed 10 resident teachers to work alongside highly successful and experienced mentor teachers at Tyner Academy and Tyner Middle Academy. Knox County Schools has another eight residents working with mentors in Knoxville schools.
Residents are recent college graduates or mid-career professionals who specialized in math- or science-related fields and have become interested in teaching. Similar to a medical residency program that provides "on-the-job training" for doctors, residents are placed in a mentoring relationship with a master teacher for one year, where they will work side-by-side with the master teacher in the classroom four days per week. On the fifth day, they will take classes from UT Knoxville to earn both a master's degree and a teaching certificate by the end of the program.
In addition to this generous anonymous contribution, funding to support the TEACH/Here initiative has been contributed by AmeriCorps; the Benwood Foundation; National Science Foundation (through the University of Tennessee at Knoxville); Tennessee Valley Authority; Hamilton County Department of Education and Knox County Schools, according to the news release.