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March 11, 2020
What's New at NCTR?

AACTE Learning and Networking
Last weekend, Jill Pitner, NCTR’s Chief Growth Officer attended the 72nd annual AACTE conference.  The meeting’s theme Disrupting Inequities: Education for Change aligns to NCTR’s theory of change to close the opportunity gap for historically marginalized students by preparing better and diverse teachers through a residency model. Highlights from the conference include NCTR Network partner presentations; opening keynote speaker Robin DiAngelo (University of Washington) discussing “white fragility;” and closing keynote speaker Rodney Robinson, 2019 National Teacher of the Year.  

Jill said of the experience, "One of the biggest take-aways from the conference is that if we want to recruit and retain more teachers of color we need to improve our preparation experience, and residencies are the best model for doing that. Teacher preparation must be inclusive and culturally responsive to enable teacher candidates to bring their full selves to the teaching profession. NCTR team members attend many webinars and conferences throughout the year to engage in the national dialogue to use teacher preparation and the residency model as a lever for equity." 

Reminder: Resident and Mentor of the Year Nominations
Due Sunday, March 16, nominations for two awards presented at the May Symposium—Resident of the Year and Mentor of the Year—are now being accepted for NCTR Partners through the NCTR Portal.  Please reach out to Kelly Riling at kriling@nctresidencies.org with any questions.
Partner Update

Now through March 16, Alder Graduate School of Education is recruiting instructors for the Summer 2020 term. Find the many regional roles, course descriptions, and links to apply for these teacher education positions here. 

California State University, Fresno’s newspaper included a feature on the Fresno Teacher Residency Program, highlighting the experience it gives Fresno State education students to immerse themselves in the Fresno Unified School District with qualified mentors, financial incentives, and more. 

Featured News 

TN Residencies Earned Glowing Marks on Educator Preparation Report Card

For the 11th consecutive year, The Tennessee State Board of Education performed a robust review of the Volunteer State’s 39 certifying educator preparation programs (EPPs), those at public and private institutions of higher education, as well as alternative providers including residencies.  For the annual Educator Preparation Report card published in February, the EPPs were evaluated by the three domains of Candidate Profile, Employment, and Provider Impact. 

Congratulations to NCTR partners at the Memphis Teacher Residency and the Nashville Teacher Residency who earned high scores for their development of teacher candidates, and those candidates’ impact in schools once teaching full-time.

Nashville Teacher Residency (NTR)—graduates of which obtain positions in Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville charter schools, and the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System—earned a rating of Exceeds Expectations in the domain of Provider Impact, and earned an overall score of Meets Expectations across all domain.  Provider Impact refers to program completers’ effectiveness in public school classrooms based on classroom observation scores, student growth measures (TVAAS), and level of overall effectiveness (LOE) scores. NTR graduates earned TVAAS and LOE scores higher than the state averages, indicating that these Residents’ full-time work in schools, paired with a proficient mentor teacher for at least three hours per day, prepared them to meet the needs of their diverse learners.  Notably, through NTR's first four cohorts, more than two-thirds of Residents have been teachers of color.

Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR) scored Exceeds Expectations overall, one of just three EPPs in the state to earn that designation, with all three domains sub-scored Exceeds Expectations, as well.  Lauded for the academic achievements and high-need endorsements of its cohorts, and also the completers’ scores quantifying their effectiveness in schools, MTR reflects employment statistics that are especially promising: not only are 97.2% of graduates placed as teachers of record in Memphis area schools after finishing the residency, their second- and third-year retention rates are also higher than state averages.  Currently training its 11th residency class, MTR boasts 331 residents and graduates teaching and leading in Memphis high-need schools.  For the second consecutive year, MTR’s Teacher Preparation Report card demonstrated the provider’s proficiency all across the board, aligning with great results for teachers and their students.
In the News
The Alliance for Resource Equity launched to empower and coordinate education stakeholders
EdTrust and Education Resource Strategies

These partners have created a digital hub with practical resources for educators and advocates, including diagnostic and PD tools “to help communities learn more about education resource equity, understand the state of equity and excellence in their schools, and build shared plans for improving students’ experiences in school.”

Access to Quality PD is an Equity Issue, Teachers Say
EdWeek

With only a few (on average) mandated, district-provided professional learning days per year, teachers often go it alone—on their own time and/or at their own cost—searching for the best resources to hone their craft. But not all educators can shoulder this burden, and the discrepancies among teachers impact student learning, too. 

This Large District Uses 4 Questions to Teach Every Educator How the Brain Learns
EdSurge

Maryland’s Frederick County Public Schools has pursued Mind Brain Education—the meeting of education, neuroscience, and psychology—to take their focus on students’ mindsets to a new, science-based level, while simultaneously ridding their curriculum of outdated tools and practices. 
 

Chiefs for Change report: Teachers leading uptick in student performance
American Press

National coalition of state and local superintendents, Chiefs for Change, reviewed Louisiana’s recent gains in many educational success measures, credited in large part to the state’s involvement of teachers in aligning policies and initiatives. From the report, Louisiana has set a “coherent academic vision of aligned curriculum, assessments, and professional learning...focused on providing every educator with the tools and resources to meet the needs of all students.”
           
Please note that the articles and events in the NCTR E-Blast do not reflect the opinions of our organization, but rather represent information that we believe will be relevant to you and your programs.

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