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The Boston Teacher Residency: District-Based Teacher Education

Thu, April 27, 12:00 to 1:30pm, Grand Hyatt San Antonio, Floor: Second Floor, Lone Star Ballroom Salon A

Abstract

This paper describes the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) program’s effort to create a coherent teacher recruitment, preparation and induction program in a large urban school district, based in part on the medical residency model. The paper argues for several core principles in the creation of such a program: a) the program serves the school district, b) the program is structured to blend theory and practice, c) the program emphasizes the selection, recruitment and support of the mentor teacher and treats the mentors as teacher educators, d) the program creates an aligned set of induction supports which extend for the first three years of the new teacher’s career, e) the program treats student achievement as its ultimate outcome. Additionally, this paper focuses on changes in design principals and implementation in the long-standing residency program over time.
The alternative certification movement in the United States dates back roughly 25 years. Criticisms of university-based teacher education, including accusations of low admission standards and meaningless coursework, led to a call for deregulation of pathways to the classroom. Proponents argue that the way to increase the flow of qualified teachers into our nation’s classrooms is to remove as many of the unnecessary barriers that licensure and university teacher education programs represent. Most alternative certification programs are characterized by an accelerated route to the classroom, often consisting of a summer component before a candidate begins to serve as teacher of record (Tom, 2000). Nearly one in five new teachers in the United States now comes through an alternative route. The evidence on whether alternatively certified teachers are any better than those who enter through a traditional route is not conclusive in either direction (Walsh & Jacobs, 2007).
BTR does not position itself as part of the alternative certification movement. Rather, it is based on a lengthier apprenticeship model coupled with intense coursework. However, it is important to see BTR within the context of this movement because the alternative certification movement has opened up the field of teacher preparation, allowing a district to get into the teacher preparation business.
As BTR has developed, it has reached the conclusion that it should ultimately be measured by the academic achievement of the students in its graduates’ classrooms. Early findings of comparison of 269 BTR graduates to other new teachers in BPS show promising results. BTR graduates, although not as effective their first years in the classroom, soon exceed the non-BTR in impact on student learning (author citation, 2012).
This paper is significant because it provides transparency to the values, design and implementation of one urban teacher residency. It provides context for a 2012 study on the effectiveness of the program. Additionally, the paper analyzes the opportunities and challenges of sustainability in a context where teacher residencies close regularly due to the loss of grant funding.

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