By Amanda A. Taylor-Uchoa

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JUNE 8, 2023 – Dr. Alma Rodriguez, dean of the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration (CEP) and Dr. Zulmaris Diaz, professor and director of Field Experiences in the CEP, recently were awarded a $1million grant to launch a sustainable, affordable teacher residency program for the UTRGV Educator Preparation Program.

The grant, awarded by three foundations – the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and The Meadows Foundation – began funding in fall 2022, with expected completion in summer 2025.

Rodriguez, principal investigator on the grant, said the project is meant to help design and implement a paid teacher residency pathway.

“The residency model we are implementing builds on existing sustainable residency models, including models being piloted in Texas and other regions of the country,” Rodriguez said.

“For our educator preparation program, we have designed and implemented a sustainable, scalable residency pathway for our teacher candidates, while partner school districts establish innovative staffing models that include jobs for year-long residents.”

Rodriguez said these year-long residents receive financial support from the school districts using a sustainable, budget-neutral approach, a model designed to meet the immediate personnel needs of each school district and ensure high-quality development of novice teacher candidates.

“This will also help establish a sustainable, scalable staffing model that positively impacts student achievement. Simultaneously, UTRGV teacher candidates are supported through compensation while completing their teacher preparation at the university,” Rodriguez said.

Dr. Zulmaris Diaz, professor in the UTRGV Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies in CEP and co-PI on the project, believes this program will help in educator retention numbers.

“Teachers who completed a residency model are more likely to remain in the teaching career, since they engaged in deep clinical training that allowed for multiple guided opportunities to practice their teaching skills,” she said.

“During the yearlong residency, the teacher resident gradually assumes greater responsibilities as they prepare to become highly equipped educators ready to teach on day one of their careers,” Diaz said. 

Rodriguez believes this is a mutually beneficial partnership between the university and area school districts. Central to the residency, is a shared responsibility and a commitment to produce highly qualified educators ready to enter the teaching profession. The structure is meant to reduce the first-year learning curve and the acclimation period most teachers experience.

“Through this grant, the UTRGV CEP is also building capacity to guide other school districts in the adoption of sustainable staffing models with residents in the future,” Rodriguez said. “This will allow our educator reparation program to offer more paid residency opportunities for our teacher candidates.”

Partnering school districts include Lyford, Los Fresnos, McAllen, Edcouch-Elsa, La Joya, Harlingen, and Vanguard Academies.

Rodriguez said the collaboration will build sustainable pipelines into the teaching profession for the entire Valley, and by designing a quality, paid teacher residency program, it will be easier to attract and retain students from partnering schools.

“We are committed to providing high-quality preparation embedding clinically rich experiences in partner school districts, so that our teacher candidates can be profession ready as soon as they graduate,” she said. “The teacher residency model is an opportunity for school districts to work closely with the university in the preparation of effective future teachers for the students of our community.”

THE FIRST COHORT

The first cohort of 28 residents graduated in the Spring 2023 semester. The cohort began in the Fall 2022 semester in the UTRGV Yearlong Clinical Teaching Residency pathway, which is a rigorous two-semester program in which teacher residents co-teach alongside a mentor teacher in a P-6 classroom while completing teaching methods courses. 

Under this pathway, mentor teachers, university faculty and teacher residents engage in deep clinical training that allows for multiple guided opportunities to practice teaching, while receiving financial compensation.

During the first semester of the residency, Diaz said, teacher residents attend their assigned placement three full days a week, with two days designated to complete UTRGV course requirements. During the second semester of the clinical teaching residency pathway, candidates complete four full days a week at the assigned placement and one day a week completing UTRGV coursework.

“The residency program helps school districts meet the shortage of teachers and help with retention, since the yearlong residency provides the district with the opportunity to onboard these teacher candidates and introduce them to the culture of the district,” she said.

Thanya Bravo, a Vanguard Academy teacher resident and graduate in this first cohort, said the program offered her a “behind-the-scenes look” into a teaching career.

“I feel like the most significant experience I had would be seeing the progress of the students, to see them from the beginning of the year up until now. It’s been an eye opener to see how they develop and how much they develop,” Bravo said.

Dalila Lopez, also a first-cohort graduate from Vanguard Academy, said her mentor teacher, Carol Palacios, a second-grade teacher from Beethoven Elementary in Pharr, made her feel welcome and included. 

“She's been such a really great role model, not just from learning the teaching strategies, the methods, the approaches, but also classroom management and supporting the kids in their social life,” Lopez said.

“It's not the same learning from books and articles, and it's so different being in the classroom. It's been a wonderful experience learning from such a wonderful lady. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor.”