Resident Teacher (2021-2022 Cohort)
Program Description
Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR) recruits, trains, and supports effective teachers in a Christian context. Residents are college graduates invited to train with a mentor teacher, receive instructional coaching, and participate in Master of Urban Education coursework through Union University. In addition, residents receive housing and a living stipend. During the residency year, participants earn their master’s degree and teach for a full academic year in a mentor’s classroom. While some residents do have undergraduate teacher training prior to the residency, no prior training in education is required. By the end of the residency year, all residents earn a Tennessee teaching license in addition to the master's degree. Graduating the program, residents agree to teach in one of MTR's partner high-need public schools for three additional years.
MTR has a mission to provide students in partner neighborhoods with the same, or better, quality of education as is available to any student in Memphis by recruiting, training and supporting highly effective teachers within a Christian context.
MTR combines three aspects of training in order to transform Memphis under-resourced classrooms:
1) Theory | Masters in Urban Education
Through a partnership with Union University, MTR offers residents an accelerated Master of Urban Education (M.UEd.). For specific details about the program, including course offerings, please see Union University’s program description.
2) Practice | Experience
During the residency year, participants are assigned to a mentor teacher at an MTR partner school. The internship provides the opportunity to both observe an expert teacher and gain extensive classroom and teaching experience. Classroom expectations align with learning in the M.UEd. academic program.
3) Support | Coaching and Community Life
Every MTR resident is paired with an experienced instructional coach who provides on-going feedback and guidance along the curriculum of the MTR instructional maturities. The coaching relationship is an essential component of the residency program. Additionally, professional and personal relationships are fostered through intentional MTR community events, as well as more casual opportunities among residents and graduates. Most residents live in the apartments of Parcels at Concourse, which is paid for by MTR and in the same building as MTR offices.
Benefits of the MTR program include:
- Master of Urban Education through Union University (tuition provided)
- Intensive classroom teaching experience with a mentor teacher in an under-resourced school
- State of Tennessee Educator License
- Housing provided at The Parcels at Crosstown
- $12,000 stipend for the 12-month training period, employment thereafter starting at $43,000 to $50,000
- Participant / cohort fellowship and community
- Weekly evaluation and mentoring by an MTR instructional coach
- Continued coaching and support during 3 years teaching after residency
Qualifications
Applicants are not required to have a degree or any training in education. MTR offers content endorsements for Elementary Education, K-12 ESL, and Secondary Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, and English.
Minimum requirements for acceptance into MTR include:
- Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited college/university
- 3.0 GPA minimum
- Passing score on Praxis II Content Knowledge Exam (only required after extended an offer to MTR)
Additional qualities that we look for include:
- Growth mindset - belief that everyone has the ability to grow and improve
- Organized - able to manage time and multiple responsibilities effectively
- Asset-based approach - primarily view everything by what it offers, not what it lacks
- Humility & Desire to serve - joyfully willing to do work that others may scorn
→ Experience with youth in your desired age range of teaching is an advantage in the application process, but it is not a requirement.
Application Instructions:
- Online Application (Required)
- Recorded Video Interview (Required; Follows Online Application Submission)
- Selection Weekend (Required; Invitation Only)
Applications Open:
- September 1, 2020
Applications Close:
- Fall (early deadline): November 8, 2020
- Spring (final deadline): February 7, 2021
- Note: Both application deadlines are for the same program start date in late May / early June 2021. A new job will be posted on November 9 to represent the final deadline in February.
Selection Weekend:
We are waiting to announce plans for either in-person or virtual Selection Weekends this Fall and Spring. If in person, invited applicants should plan to arrive before noon:
- Fall: December 11-12, 2020
- Spring: February 26-27, 2021
Applications, Interviews, and Invitations to Selection Weekend are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Point of Contact: Floresha Smith, Recruiting Director - apply@memphistr.org