The Department of Education is sharing several examples of how higher ed and K-12 are partnering to tackle the problem with COVID relief funds:

Dallas College is about to launch the first paid teacher residency apprenticeship in Texas to fill short-term vacancies in partner school districts and build a talent pipeline for underserved schools. The college’s students will be paired with mentors as they work as residents, tutors and substitutes in local schools.
In New York, Adelphi University’s teaching residents co-teach in classrooms several days per week and can also fill in as substitutes. Many of the residents have been hired as permanent substitute teachers and some are also providing academic coaching and tutoring for students.
The University of Colorado, Denver’s four-year undergraduate residency pays teacher candidates to work part-time as paraeducator interns and then as paid residents during their senior year. The program, which enrolls about 50 students per year, focuses on diverse, first-generation teacher candidates.
Teaching residents from underserved communities have been recruited after earning their undergraduate degrees at the University of Southern California. They receive full tuition from the university and a living stipend and professional development from the school district in which they work.
Virginia Commonwealth University’s teaching residents start the school year with mentor teachers after completing intensive summer coursework. Residents co-teach four days per week alongside their mentors and take coursework in the evenings and on Fridays. The Richmond Teacher Residency training model tasks residents with key tasks—such as leading classroom routines—from day one. Over time, their responsibilities grow toward planning and teaching classes for an entire week.

States are backing many of these initiatives. California’s 2021-2022 budget includes $350 million in funding for its Teacher Residency Grant Program while Iowa has launched the nation’s first Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Grant program with $9 million in ESSER funds. The program will train high school students and paraeducators to take the next step in their teaching careers.

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