New program puts teachers in training into classrooms, aims to diversify RCSD faculty
Some local teachers in training are spending more of their time in actual Rochester classrooms and getting paid in the process, part of a new residency-style program meant to develop teachers for needed specialty areas in urban districts.
The ROC Urban Teaching Fellowship Program is a collaboration among the Rochester City School District, Nazareth College and the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education. It is more immersive than a traditional teacher education program, with the students starting their placements in city schools on their very first day.
They work full-time alongside a master teacher and then do more typical coursework nights and weekends. Such programs exist across the country, including in Buffalo and Syracuse, but this is the first in Rochester.
"It's a fairly new avenue," said Kate DaBoll-Lavoie, dean of education at Nazareth. "Not everyone is able to do this one-year intensive program."
One of the first to join was Shaylee Picow, who began her teaching program at Nazareth this fall and found herself at the Children's School of Rochester (School 15) on the first day of the school year. Just a few months later, she has assumed responsibility for most of the math lessons in her fifth-grade classroom, among other responsibilities.
"That was my goal when I came to Nazareth was to work in the city with a diverse group of kids, so being in this program allows me to do that," she said. "It's definitely overwhelming to take on more responsibliity. ... You have to really want to be here to succeed."
The participating students — six this year and hopefully 20 next year — are chosen for an expressed interest in urban education as well as a specialty in a needed field, such as special education, bilingual education, math or science.
More diverse candidates
Teacher residency programs are gaining in popularity across the country, in part because they seem to do better at attracting diverse teacher candidates. According to the National Center for Teacher Residencies, about 45% of participants nationally are people of color, more than double the figure for traditional programs.
Residencies can also help foster better collaboration between teaching colleges and K-12 schools, something Nazareth and UR leaders said has been apparent locally.
"We're trying to create a kind of ecosystem among regional institutions with a stake in teacher education," said Kevin Meuwissen, an associate professor of education at UR's Warner School and its leader on the residency initiative.
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New York recently has created a certification pathway for teacher residencies (the local program is in the application process). The state Dept. of Labor is also spending $30 million to fund a residency program initiated through school districts rather than colleges.
RCSD will pay up to $200,000 for the program, using its federal American Recovery Plan money, funding a $10,000 tuition stipend for each participant. They also receive a salary from the district. There are currently prospective teachers placed at Schools 15 and 23 and East High School.
Danielle Branner is Picow's mentor teacher at School 15 and a 24-year RCSD veteran. She also serves as a mentor to first-year teachers in the district's Career in Teaching program. Having Picow assume more responsibility allows her to spend more time helping other young teachers in turn, she said.
"For some people, urban education is just really their calling," she said. "With the fellowship, you see the whole big picture. And it'll make your first year teaching much easier as well."
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: RCSD teacher residency program aims to grow, diversify faculty