Use Teacher Residency Grant Program funds, braided with other sources, to recruit and retain a diverse teaching workforce¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 2 studies (2 associational), q2–q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

For teacher preparation, residency, and shortages, the brief recommends residency strategies funded by braided sources: cover 'residency program staff costs, teacher preparation costs, stipends for mentor teachers (which can include housing stipends), stipends for teacher candidates, and mentoring and beginning teacher induction costs.' Diversity strategies include forming an IHE-LEA partnership 'that includes representatives of color,' leveraging braided funds such as Golden State teacher funds to make programs affordable for pre-service teachers of color, incentivizing expert teachers of color as mentors, and building resident recruitment pipelines within local communities, including paraprofessionals and after-school staff.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A strong collaborative partnership between the institute of higher education and the local education agency to guide the residency program
• Funding priorities include an applicant commitment to increasing teacher diversity and a higher share of unduplicated pupils

Constraints¶

• Written for California's Teacher Residency Grant Program and its funding priorities

Target Learners¶

• Teacher residency candidates, mentor teachers, and pre-service teachers of color

Target Learning Goals¶

• Teacher recruitment, retention, and preparation of a diverse, well-prepared workforce to serve students of color

Claims¶

• The Teacher Residency Grant Program supported nearly 1,400 funded residents through 2023, with residency programs graduating nearly 5,000 residents between 2021 and 2024, many in shortage fields and most residents people of color [+W]
• Most grant-funded residency programs have not yet broadened funding sources or adopted cost-reduction strategies beyond the one-time grant [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Build an after-school/OST-to-teaching pipeline to recruit teachers of color
• Invest in recruiting and retaining a diverse, EL-qualified educator workforce through bilingual teaching pathways
• Recruit classified school employees into teacher credentialing with braided funds plus individualized financial and non-financial supports
• Form partnerships with community organizations, higher education, and CTE programs to expand emergency staffing and build the talent pipeline
• State policy levers for sustaining yearlong, stipended clinical preparation: require or incentivize full-year stipended clinical experience, fund partnerships, and reduce testing fees
• Braid state, federal, and grant funds through a needs-based planning approach to address multiple educator workforce priority areas
• Build high-retention, supportive pathways into teaching for candidates of color
• Develop high-retention pathways — Grow Your Own programs and teacher residencies — to build and diversify local teacher supply
• Sustain and expand residency pathways through maintained state grant funding, financial aid, apprenticeship structures, and technical assistance
• Deploy service scholarships, loan forgiveness, and teacher residencies to staff high-need fields and schools
• Offer targeted service scholarships, loan forgiveness, and 1-year postbaccalaureate residency programs to rapidly expand the supply of well-prepared teachers in shortage fields and locations
• Expand transitional kindergarten and preschool by braiding UPK funds with hiring, culturally responsive curriculum, and community college partnerships
• District investment of LCFF funds in residency stipends written into Local Control and Accountability Plans as a workforce development strategy
• Five state policy actions to sustain and scale teacher residencies

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. (2022). Braiding Funds to Support an Effective and Diverse Educator Workforce. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED633297