Description+of+Project

The Teaching Residency Program for Critical Shortage Areas (TRP-CSA) at Texas State University – San Marcos is a partnership to positively impact student achievement in mathematics and science in high needs schools by providing secondary mathematics, science and special education (SPED) teachers who have been carefully selected and have completed an intensive field-based preparation program. Specifically, the partnership will:   The TRP-CSA partnership is comprised of the Colleges of Education and Science at Texas State University –San Marcos and Austin Independent School District; Skillpoint Alliance, a business/education nonprofit community organization; and Pearson Teacher Education and Development, developers of TLINC, an innovative online teacher mentoring resource.
 * TQP-CSA Description **
 * recruit and select four cohorts (100 students total) of academically talented and diverse individuals with mathematics and science degrees,
 * provide Resident Teachers with a living-wage stipend while they participate in an accelerated field-based teacher preparation program that will enable them to earn teacher certification and complete a 36-hour master’s degree within 14-months,
 * facilitate the employment of program participants in high needs secondary schools upon completion of their preparation program,
 * provide program participants with induction support and continued professional development throughout their first two years of teaching,
 * collect, analyze and utilize a variety of data sources, including student achievement data, to monitor program effectiveness and to engage in a data-based continuous improvement process of program refinement,
 * maximize the use of partner talents and resources to support and enhance the TRP-CSA program and to ensure its continuation beyond initial funding.

Each TRP-CSA participant will spend four full days per week for the entire school year teaching along side a “master” teacher who will provide guidance and mentoring throughout the preparation program. One day each week will be spent in university classes and in professional development experiences designed and delivered by the partnership. Resident Teachers will be in graduate classes with other cohort members, and course assignments will frequently interface with and extend the experiences of participants as they work in schools. Upon completion of the program, each candidate will become certified in secondary mathematics or science (physical science 8-12, life science 8-12, or chemistry 8-12) and, in addition, will also complete a graduate degree with a major in secondary education and a cognate (minor) in special education which will provide them with specialized training to meet the learning needs of a diverse student population, including students with disabilities. After completing the introductory special education courses, candidates who have career aspirations to become a special education teacher can complete coursework and a master’s degree leading to certification with a major in SPED and a minor in General Education Methods and Materials, thus providing a cadre of highly qualified SPED mathematics and science teachers.

TRP-CSA is conceptualized to address the needs identified by the partnership, to incorporate key features of well-recognized Teacher Residency Programs operating in Boston (Newman, 2009) and Chicago (Berry, Montgomery, Curtis, Hernandez, Wertzel & Snyder, 2008), and to build upon the university’s previous successes of implementing and institutionalizing post-baccalaureate teacher certification programs for mid-career individuals and delivering teacher induction programs in partnership with school districts.