Interested in Becoming a Partner School?
Dear MNPS Principals,
As you begin to think about hiring for next year, we hope you will consider employing one or more Residents from the Nashville Teacher Residency (NTR).
NTR is an independent, state-approved teacher residency program that recruits, trains, and licenses diverse cohorts of effective teachers in middle and high schools in MNPS and Clarksville Montgomery County School Systems.
Our NTR Residents work full-time as paid employees of the school. They work in paraprofessional positions, learning to teach from a proven mentor teacher, while also serving students and their school through their paraprofessional capacity. In our most effective and sustainable partnerships, our Residents have taken on the existing work of paraprofessional positions so that there is no additional cost for schools in employing a Resident and developing a future teacher.
Through our first four cohorts, over 70% of our residents have been People of Color, and 90% of our Residents have transitioned to full-time teaching at our Partner Schools after their residency year.
We’d like to share with you a little bit more about the program and then, if you’re interested, the process of applying to become one of our Partner Schools!
The Model
We believe that Residents should be a value add to schools during their residency year. In our most successful partnerships, Residents work primarily in inclusion classes. They provide valuable assistance to students with disabilities, while learning how to teach under the guidance of their mentor and gradually assuming more classroom responsibilities.
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Residents pay a deferred $5,000 tuition after they have graduated the program, and MNPS pays NTR the hiring fee for each Resident hired as a teacher after their residency year. Individual schools are only responsible for the Resident’s paraprofessional salary. ​
Some of our most successful Residents have come to us from their work as paraprofessionals and, through outreach from MNPS, we’re hoping that most of our next cohort will be current classified staff. If you know of anyone who’s interested, please send them our way!
At night Residents take rigorous, practice-driven coursework from us to earn licensure and master content knowledge for the classroom and state licensure exams. At the end of the residency year, our Residents transition to full-time teaching. The Partner School at which they were placed has the option to hire them and Residents are financially incentivized through discounted tuition to accept these positions.
Partnership
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In MNPS, we’re currently partnered with nine Metro schools: Pearl Cohn, Madison, Wright, Overton, J.T. Moore, Croft, Murrell, West End, and White’s Creek. We encourage you to reach out to any of those school’s leadership to hear their experiences with our model and program!
Ideally, we’re looking for schools that:
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Can accommodate three or more Residents. Our staff conducts weekly observations and coaching meetings for each Resident, and it’s much easier to see more of them when they’re clustered together.
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Have exceptional mentor teachers in English and Math that are passionate about developing new teachers in their classroom
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Are middle or high school. At this time, we’re not focusing on elementary education.
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Can create Resident schedules where they have at least three hours with their mentor teacher, including an hour of common planning. The remaining part of their day can be used in a variety of ways: small group instruction, RTI, pull-out support, and inclusion work in other classes.
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If you’re interested in partnering, please let us know by filling out this form (If you’re one of our current partners, no need to fill it out--we’ll check in with you about next year later this month!). Then, we’ll be in touch to schedule a meeting where you can learn more about the program, and we can learn more about your school!
Thank you for your commitment to building the next generation of MNPS teachers!
Notes From Current Partners
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“We are pleased with the Residents from Nashville Teacher Residency. NTR selects Residents who are familiar with the students we serve and that encompass values aligned with our vision for achievement. The NTR Site Manager helps to coach, communicate expectations, and provide effective feedback regarding weekly goals, teaching systems, and best practices. This program is beneficial not only for the Residents but also for our current teacher leadership. NTR is the most cost-effective program for teacher embedded training and recruitment."
Miriam Harrington, Principal Pearl-Cohn High School
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"Murrell has been very fortunate to host students from the NTR program this school year. Having paraprofessionals who are actively engaged in the learning process has greatly benefited both students and teachers. The consistent guidance and support from the NTR Site Managers allow Residents to implement and perfect various elements of teaching that result in a more effective learning experience for everyone involved. We look forward to a continued partnership with NTR."
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Susan Siegel, Principal Murrell School
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