The Residency Year

The NYC Teaching Residency program affords Residents the unique opportunity to serve as an apprentice teacher in a New York City public school for one full school year before becoming a full-time teacher. During the residency year, Residents will grow and develop into effective teachers through valuable, hands-on experience in a public school classroom and immersion in their school’s community. In order to prepare Residents to be effective teachers in one of New York City’s lowest-performing schools, Residents will receive ongoing support and feedback from skilled mentor teachers and program staff.

During the Residency training year, Residents work as Teacher Apprentices in high-need NYC public school classrooms from approximately 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. under the guidance of an experienced Resident Teacher Mentor. Science Residents work in the classroom full days on Monday-Thursday and in the mornings on Fridays, while attending evening coursework twice weekly at Lehman College.  All other Residents work in the classroom Monday-Thursday and participate in all-day coursework at St. John’s University on Fridays.  

Approximately one afternoon a month, Residents receive training on key strategies for successfully working with students within a high-needs context from program staff. Residents will be informed of their progress and evaluated at integral points in the year and must demonstrate effectiveness in the classroom before teaching full time.

During the training year, Residents will grow and develop into effective teachers through valuable, hands-on experience in a public school classroom and the implementation of feedback from their Resident Teacher Mentor and program staff.

The three main components of the residency year are:

Residency Assignment: Working as an apprentice teacher in a NYC public school classroom	NYC Teaching Residents will be placed as an apprentice teacher in a New York City public school classroom under the guidance of an experienced Resident Teacher Mentor (RTM) who has demonstrated effectiveness in a high-need school in New York City.   As the school year progresses, Residents take on an increasing number of responsibilities from their RTM in the planning and delivery of instruction to students, culminating in the delivery of a full unit of instruction in the late spring.
Residency Practicum Sessions	Residents will attend Residency Practicum Sessions lead by program staff designed to supplement Residents’ work in the classroom by training Residents in signature strategies proven successful in raising student achievement in low-performing schools. Residency Practicum Sessions will begin in the summer prior to the start of the school year, concurrent with coursework at St. John’s University, and continue once a month in the evening throughout the residency year.
Master’s Degree Coursework	During the residency year, all Residents participate in coursework towards earning a Master of Science in Education with a concentration in the subject area they are assigned to teach.  Residents attending St. John’s University will start coursework the summer before the beginning of the school year and will continue on Fridays once the school year begins.  Residents attending Lehman College (all science Residents) will begin coursework in the fall of the residency year and will attend classes twice per week in the evenings. All coursework integrates theory with classroom-based experiences and focuses on the skills necessary to be effective teachers who are able to meet the diverse needs of students in high-need schools.

Opportunities for Growth

Throughout the residency year, Residents are expected to be reflective practitioners who are able to implement feedback on their teaching practice with a focus on becoming effective educators.

In their Residency Practicum Sessions, Residents will be introduced to key strategies that are critical to effective teaching practices and have been proven successful in raising student achievement in low performing schools .  Each month, the program focuses on a different set of strategies in a series of “learning cycles.” During these cycles, Residents learn select strategies in their practicum sessions, observe their Resident Teacher Mentor’s implementation of these teaching strategies, practice the strategies in front of the classroom when they teach, and reflect on their performance themselves and with their RTM. Residents will work to master these strategies and develop into highly skilled and resourceful educators. RTMs will conference with Residents before they teach and provide them with feedback following their teaching each week. Program staff will also observe Residents’ teaching and give constructive feedback and additional coaching.

Ongoing Support during the Residency Year

Residents will be supported in their schools by their RTMs, the school’s administration, and a small cohort of fellow Residents also at their training school. In addition to the school-based support, a NYC Teaching Residency program staff member will support Residents at each training school. This staff member will help to facilitate the Residency experience at the school site, working to ensure that the relationships between Residents and their RTMs are positive and productive. This staff member also serves as the point of contact for Residents with any programmatic questions or concerns.

Learn more about the master’s degree program at St. John’s University.