Reconstructing Equity-Focused Teacher Preparation Through Federal Grant Termination

• In Event: A Rallying Cry: Sustaining Equity-Centered Teacher Preparation in Light of TQP Grant Terminations

Abstract

The termination of our urban teacher residency and undergraduate pathway grants by the U.S. Department of Education marks a significant disruption to our university’s transformative approach to teacher preparation. These two interlocking initiatives were designed to address California’s acute teacher shortages in special education, STEM, and bilingual education, while simultaneously advancing workforce diversification and embedding culturally sustaining pedagogies (Paris & Alim, 2014) in urban classrooms. Further, these grants allowed for support to Community Based Organization (CBO) partners which supported the teacher candidates in the engagement of students outside of formal school settings (Nazar, 2019) enabling the development of a Liberatory Community Praxis (LCP).

Collectively, these two grants proposed the preparation of over 500 teacher leaders across credential pathways, engaging more than 276 graduate-level residents and at least 230 undergraduates through Grow-Your-Own (GYO) models and pre-apprenticeships. The deliverables were ambitious and tightly aligned to California’s teacher credentialing priorities and federal equity mandates. Deliverables included the reconceptualization of our already existing dual-credential pathways (Multiple Subject/Special Education), the development of a new PK–3 credential, three STEM Integrated Teacher Education Programs (undergraduate pathways), and the expansion of bilingual and inclusive education programs. Central to these efforts was the Literacy Leadership Laboratory (L3) and an academy for urban teacher leaders, both structured to provide embedded literacy support and leadership development across all pathways.

The urban residency program, funded to prepare 276 teachers over five years, provided stipends, induction, and master’s-level coursework rooted in Critical Equity Literacy (Green, 2017), Cultural Proficiency (Cormier, 2021), and Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005). It also delivered structured co-teaching models and embedded evaluation frameworks such as RT-360 (Proposal Author, 2019).Our other initiative, targeting undergraduate teacher pathways, aimed to implement a vertically integrated GYO pipeline through partnerships with five LEAs, two community colleges, and three CBOs. Deliverables included the implementation of apprenticeship models supported by the California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI), integration of mental health supports, and the development of community-based clinical placements in districts with dual-language immersion and special education shortages.

Despite the progress made, the abrupt cancellation of both grants has left a critical infrastructure without federal support. Our programs have responded through formal legal appeal, institutional reinvestment, and the pursuit of alternative funding streams from state and philanthropic sources. Data collected by our external evaluator throughout implementation documented high rates of candidate preparedness, retention, and community impact across both programs, validating the efficacy and necessity of these models.

This paper will offer an analysis of the pedagogical, organizational, and systemic consequences of the terminations and will articulate our continued efforts to sustain and scale its equity-centered innovations. Through the lens of LCP (Proposal Authors, in preparation), we will contextualize the significance of these programs as more than compliance mechanisms—as models of public, justice-oriented teacher education. In doing so, we contribute to a collective reimagining of the role of schools, teachers, and CBOs in advancing racial and educational equity in the preparation of teachers.

Authors

• A. Dee Williams, California State University - Los Angeles

• Leila Ansari Ricci, California State University - Los Angeles

• Kimberly A. Persiani, California State University - Los Angeles

• Marco A. Nava, Los Angeles Unified School District