How Did That Happen? Tracing the History of New Mexico’s Teacher Preparation Ecosystem Transformation

• In Event: Within Reach: A State Transformation Toward Universal, Paid, Sustainable Teacher Residencies in New Mexico

Abstract

Objectives: This portion of the panel will introduce and frame the context for New Mexico’s shift towards universal, paid, sustainably funded teacher residencies. Participants will learn of the development of teacher residencies, from a 15-person cohort to 300+ residents a year, and from district-sustained funding for the first cohort, through a competitive state grant of $1,000,000, to state-level, non-competitive funding of $20,000,000 a year. Key turning points in the timeline, including a statewide commitment to pre-service co-teaching models, research, and receipt of a federal Education Innovation and Research grant and an Apprenticeships Building America 2 grant will be shared.
Framework: The transformation of New Mexico’s preparation system has been facilitated within the theoretical framework of the diffusion of innovations (Rogers, 2003) through a statewide community of practice sharing features with networked improvement communities (Bryk et al., 2015), all with a view towards the economics of education, particularly the financial barriers that aspiring educators face with unpaid clinical practice (DeMoss et al., 2017; Levin et al., 2017; Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, 2020). By sharing and implementing promising practices from across the nation that address candidates’ financial needs and encourage recruitment from local communities, while simultaneously creating a coherent state system, New Mexico has been able to create more than just a place or a few pockets of improvement, but a whole state system for strengthening and funding teacher residencies. An emerging theory of change will be shared.
Modes of inquiry/Evidence: This section of the panel is based on historical document analysis, including the notes and agendas from two years of state communities of practice, research on candidates’ financial burdens in New Mexico, impact research from the pilot residency, and other extant documentation. Survey results on financial burdens of undergraduate and graduate candidates in teacher preparation in New Mexico; enrollments, demographics, graduation, and retention rates of residents; impact analyses of the pilot residency program.
Warrants: Unpaid clinical practice is not viable for most aspiring teachers, requiring significant increases in debt. Paid residencies with a living stipend of $35,000 greatly increase enrollment, diversity, and graduation rates in teacher preparation programs. Targeted local recruitment increases linguistic and racial/cultural diversity. The first residency program in the state has evidence of increasing retention of teachers in New Mexico.
Significance: Addressing the high turnover rates, under-preparedness of fast-track teachers-of-record, and demographic match between novice teachers and the students they serve is essential to ensure quality learning experiences for every student (Cardichon et al., 2020). Unpaid clinical practice requirements incentivize candidates without financial means to enter fast-track, teacher-of-record programs, which under-prepare them and lead to high levels of turnover in the profession. Paid residencies provide the opportunity to ensure all aspiring teachers are well-prepared before becoming teachers of record.

Author

• Karen DeMoss, Prepared To Teach