Steinhardt’s Teacher Residency Program to Benefit from $12M Grant

NYC Public Schools has received a $12M grant to support incoming teachers in high-need schools.

NYU Steinhardt's Teacher Residency program is one of eight university partners that will receive funds from a $12 million grant to New York City Public Schools from the Empire State Teacher Residency Program. The grant money will be distributed to up to 400 incoming resident teachers throughout the eight partner universities over the next two years.

The NYU Teacher Residency Program is a one-year combined residency and online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in which aspiring educators build equity-based, student-focused pedagogical skills while developing their craft as expert teachers in their content areas. Courses are offered online and at night to allow students – or “residents” – to gain hands-on experience in classrooms in district and charter schools across the country, including New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.

“Through this grant funding, accepted candidates will receive a $30,000 stipend, which at NYU Steinhardt is also supplemented through benefits like additional scholarships and course credit reductions,” says Frank Pignatosi, vice chair and clinical associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. “Funds will be distributed to residents starting this summer.”

Joining Steinhardt in this partnership are the American Museum of Natural History Richard Gilder Graduate School, Bank Street College of Education, College of Staten Island, Lehman College, Teachers College Columbia University, Touro University, and Wagner College.

The Empire State grant funding seeks to support teachers in several areas of focus – such as science, math, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – as well as specific geographic districts in New York City. Steinhardt’s specific certification areas are for Teachers for Students with Disabilities in Childhood and Secondary grades; the program will be partnering with schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn, specifically in Districts 9, 12, and 19.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to work with school districts who have special challenges, such as staffing pipeline issues and low-income, under-represented families and communities,” says Pignatosi.