Teacher residency program expands to include new partnerships with NYC DOE schools and charter schools in Washington, D.C.
Now in its fourth year, New York University’s year-long teacher residency program is adding a part-time or “half-day” residency option to support more nontraditional students. The master’s program, which traditionally includes a full-time teaching requirement in concert with online coursework, will allow graduate students to choose the kind of program that best fits into their lives.
In addition to adding the part-time residency option in New York City, the program will add three Washington, D.C. charter school systems into its pool of available full-time residency locations. By partnering with urban, high-need public school districts and charter school systems across the country for its residencies, NYU is working to create strong pipelines of highly-qualified teachers better prepared to serve their communities.
The program, based within the NYU Steinhardt School, and originally named the Embedded Master of Arts in Teaching (EMAT) Program, will also be renamed: NYU Teacher Residency.
“The NYU Teacher Residency is a game-changer for our nation's schoolchildren,” said Pamela Morris-Perez, interim dean of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. “Rather than training teachers from books, and then placing them in classrooms with students, the residency program allows teachers to put into practice, each and every day, what they learn from their professors in the evenings. This immersive experience exemplifies the cutting edge of training in higher education and is our best bet for building a pipeline of well-prepared, committed, diverse educators for one of the most important jobs in our society--the teaching of the next generation.”
The New Part-Time Residency Option
NYU Steinhardt is launching the part-time residency option with the New York City Department of Education as its first partner. As graduate students complete their academic studies, they will simultaneously spend 20 hours per week teaching in a New York City school. Graduate students will gain first-hand experience teaching, receive mentorship and support from the school in which they are embedded for the year, and offer an extra set of hands to current teachers.
While both the full-time and part-time residency experiences provide the same academic rigor, the part-time option offers a kind of flexibility that some graduate students and their families require.
The full-time residency option offers graduate students a tuition subsidy and a stipend from the partner school as payment for full-time service within the school. Students also commit to teaching in the same school district as their residency for two years after graduating from the program. Although the part-time program does not offer the same financial incentive, part-time program graduates have the freedom to work at any school district in the country directly upon graduation. More information on the differences between these two programs is available at https://teachereducation.steinhardt.nyu.edu/residency-options/.
Full-Time Residency Expansion to Washington, D.C.
The master’s program is also proud to announce its newest partnerships with Center City Public Charter Schools, District of Columbia International School (DCI), and Washington Latin Public Charter School for the 2020-21 school year. This is the program’s first expansion into the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
NYU Steinhardt originally launched the residency program in 2016 with 12 students in two charter networks. This school year (2019-20), 93 students are embedded in classrooms across the country.
With the program’s expansion into Washington, D.C., NYU Steinhardt is hoping to play a key role in contributing to enhancing teacher quality in our nation’s capital – which has been a priority in the region. NYU Steinhardt faculty are also committed to bolstering strong educational supports in diverse communities. Washington, D.C. continues to increase in diversity, and in fact, in 2018, the region was ranked the sixth most diverse out of 100 major metropolitan areas.
Online Technology and Coursework
The 12-month graduate programs blend online learning – a series of intensive academic modules designed to prepare secondary English, math, social studies, science, and special education teachers – with structured residency experiences. Using a platform developed by technology start-up HotChalk, students complete their coursework under NYU Steinhardt faculty guidance in tandem with observed classroom instruction and one-on-one student contact in order to hone their teaching skills.
Throughout the program, students are supported by both NYU Steinhardt faculty and experienced classroom teachers in their local schools. As students learn the essential skills and competencies for teaching, they gradually gain confidence and responsibilities in the classroom.
“The NYU Teacher Residency believes it is essential for all of our graduates to be prepared to reach and teach all learners in their classrooms, including those with particular language-learning needs and students with and without disabilities,” said Diana Turk, director of teacher education at NYU Steinhardt. “Our modules include instruction, modeling, and practice in how to modify and adapt curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners and how to use Universal Design for Learning approaches to ensure that teachers are able to maximize the learning opportunities for all of their students.”
In addition to teaching and gaining experience in their content areas, all NYU residency students gain experience and proficiency teaching both English-language-learners and students with disabilities. Schools across the nation are increasingly recognizing the value of serving all students in inclusive classrooms. This residency experience allows NYU Steinhardt graduates to be prepared to teach all students.
For more information about the program, visit teachereducation.steinhardt.nyu.edu.