How to Help Aspiring Teachers

A new report shows how to better ensure that teachers are entering the profession ready for the demands of 21st-century classrooms

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The goal is to ensure that teachers enter the profession ready for the demands of the 21st-century classroom. The first report from Bank Street College of Education’s Sustainable Funding Project looks at ways of reaching that goal through yearlong co-teaching experiences, commonly referred to as residencies, in classroom settings with experienced mentors.

The report—“For the Public Good: Quality Preparation for Every Teacher”—also identifies public funding streams to support residency programs nationwide and outlines how teacher preparation providers and school districts can establish mutually beneficial partnerships to support high-quality teacher preparation.

“Just like doctors in training, aspiring teachers need sustained clinical experiences alongside expert practitioners to build links between educational theory and practice so they are ready for the rigors of the job on day one,” said Karen DeMoss, director of the Sustainable Funding Project. DeMoss, Bank Street’s president Shael Polakow-Suransky, and the college’s dean of innovation, policy and research Josh Thomases recently wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in which they make a case for investing in co-teaching residencies as a professional necessity.

With support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the authors researched multiple sources worldwide in order to demonstrate how paid residencies can address a range of persistent challenges facing schools and districts. These include attracting a diverse group of promising teacher candidates, retaining effective teachers in schools serving low-income and diverse families, and creating a teacher development continuum with strong leadership and learning opportunities.

Download a free copy of the full report or download the executive summary


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