Key Takeaways

While the residency program is still in its early stages, there are three insights that can be gleaned from the first two years of implementation in the areas of program recruitment, administration, and partnerships.

Creative Outreach is Key to Recruitment

While CPS is committed to using the residency program as a tool for developing talent from within its own school buildings, staff in the talent office sought to cast a wider net when recruiting for the 2019 cohort to help engage more individuals from the community. They leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook to create buzz about the program and the strategy worked—20 percent of the enrolled cohort reported having found out about the program on social media. Part of this success was due to hiring a community teacher and communication engagement specialist who Felton characterized as “a genius in marketing [and] telling stories through digital media.” An advertising investment of less than $10,000 helped the district triple its leads and in the end over 300 individuals applied to the program.

Looking forward, the district will continue using social media and also engaging in community outreach. “Sending an email from a computer or having somebody scroll by your ad on Facebook is great. But it's not the same as actually being present in the communities where you'd like to see candidates come to work or from which candidates may come already,” Butts said. To that end CPS will engage in activities such as coffee chats and informational sessions across the south and west sides of the city. These expanded strategies will become even more critical in the future as the district is anticipating that it will need to refocus its recruitment strategy as the supply of paraeducators who have a BA degree dwindles, and so will be looking more to recruiting from within the local community.

Program Operations are a Heavy Lift

CPS is a very large school system with layers of processes to navigate in order to run a successful program (e.g., hiring, benefits, etc.). The residency program has many components that must work together to create a seamless experience for residents, which makes it quite labor intensive for the staff at CPS. Felton described the operation side of the program as a “beast,” given the many moving parts that require attention: resident pay, placement, benefits, and finding and supporting mentor teachers. Given the operational lift, he suggested that other districts who are thinking of starting a residency program have a good plan in place to support running it.

The bureaucratic nature of a large school system can also have implications for aspiring teachers. As the bilingual residency program grows in visibility and reach, the support offered to help candidates navigate the process may also need to deepen. “A special education classroom assistant … [who] has been a part of CPS … is somewhat familiar with the structures. Imagine coming into that system for the first time, and never having [had to] enroll in benefits, or anything at all. And there's just so many moving pieces,” Butts explained.

Partners Should Be Intentional About Ensuring Alignment

National Louis University has deep experience partnering closely with school districts across Illinois to ensure their curricula are aligned with local contexts. But the strength of these partnerships varies, in part due to time and communication. Scott Sullivan, an NLU faculty member who collaborates closely with Janet Lorch to oversee a different residency program with the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL)—a partnership that has spanned 16 years and counting—told us that since candidates spend most of their time as a resident in the PreK–12 classrooms where they will ultimately work, those field experiences often trump the learning in their graduate courses. In response, NLU strives to align its coursework as closely as possible with the district’s teaching and learning approaches through ongoing conversations and collaboration. This fact highlights a tension in designing residency programs that can both meet the needs of a district but also align with any evidence-based best practices taught as part of teachers’ preparation.

To help foster alignment and expectations, program partners have a signed memorandum of understanding that helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of each entity. In addition, they collaborated with NCTR to create a matrix that includes month-by-month expectations for the resident, mentor, and NLU faculty and field supervisors that helps provide a residency structure. It includes practices tied to state standards, evaluation, and coursework connections. For example, in September, residents are expected to learn school routines and begin leading daily classroom routines while also observing how their mentor teachers establish classroom culture. By October, residents and mentors must set up teaching roles and residents are expected to plan and lead at least one lesson in Spanish. And in December, residents should be leading at least two whole-group lessons per week while the mentor teacher plays the role of co-teacher and support. On the curricular side, residents in the early childhood education track are learning about how to model and lead discussions and how to model and lead interactive play. Throughout the fall semester, residents also prepare for the edTPA (one of the tests required for teacher licensure), with a test boot camp in December, so that they are ready to take the exam in April—a strategy that proved effective as all 11 residents in the first cohort passed the exam.