Funding Strategies for Accessible High-Quality Residencies

• In Event: Disrupting Systemic Inequities: Why Teacher Residency Stipends Matter (and Are More Feasible Than You Think)

Abstract

Purpose and Perspective
High-quality teacher residencies can effectively recruit and prepare teachers of color who stay in teaching at high rates. Part of what enables residencies to do this is financial support for candidates. Financial barriers to teaching are high and disproportionately impact candidates of color, preventing many from entering the profession. Funded residencies remove financial barriers to quality preparation but require robust sustainable funding. To build financial stability, residencies are finding creative strategies to secure renewable, stable funding. Using Prepared To Teach’s “3 Rs” framework—reallocating resources, reducing costs, and reinvesting savings —we identified and described innovative funding strategies of six residencies across one state.

This presentation will focus on one of the six residencies to demonstrate how it reduced tuition costs while improving quality through a faculty-led redesign. We will describe how the residency moved from a 3-semester model with 11 siloed courses to a 2-semester model with 2 year-long integrated courses. The focal case will offer lessons for residencies or other teacher preparation programs looking to become more financially sustainable.

Methods and data sources
We analyzed residencies across one state using a case study approach. Residencies that received 2019 state grant funds were included in the initial sample. We analyzed state grant applications for innovations in budget or program design and identified a subset of potential study cases. We vetted this subset with state-level stakeholders familiar with the teacher residency landscape. The resulting sample included six residencies geographically and demographically representative of the state. We constructed cases based on semi-structured interviews with residency leaders about their unique funding strategies. This presentation will provide a deep dive into one of these cases.

Findings
Study data fit the 3 Rs framework well; every strategy across the six residencies fit into one of the three categories. This presentation’s focal case is a residency that reduced costs for candidates while increasing program quality. Faculty collaborated with partner district leaders to shift from a 3-semester program with 11 siloed courses to a 2-semester program with 2 year-long courses with integrated content. We will present descriptions of the original 3-semester program and the puzzle of practice that initiated the shift, followed by descriptions of the faculty’s collaborative process and the redesigned 2-semester program. Program shifts resulted in reduced costs for candidates, improved course content, and stronger connections between courses and clinical practice, as well as decreased candidate stress and increased faculty engagement.


Significance
Financial supports for candidates increase access to high-quality preparation but require stable funding strategies. The focal case has wide appeal and relevance to a range of stakeholders, offering lessons that can be applied in any residency or teacher preparation program.

Author

• Cathy Yun