Region 15 Education Service Center and Texas Education Agency are looking for additional educator preparation programs (EPPs) to partner with in the strategic staffing initiative. If your university places student teachers in schools located in the Region 15 service area and you’d like to learn how to be a part of this exciting opportunity, email mike.carter@esc15.net or call 325-718-9515 to learn more. Let’s work together to prepare future educators for success from day one!
Each received $80,000 from the 2024-2026 Texas Strategic Staffing Grant for Sustainable, Paid Teacher Residency Program.
A HUGE THANK YOU to
FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN CHANGING THE WAY WE PREPARE TEXAS TEACHERS TO BE READY TO TEACH ON DAY ONE!
What is Texas Strategic Staffing?
TSS Makes Paid Residencies a Reality
Texas Strategic Staffing is a 2-year process in which a district and EPP commit to designing and implementing a paid, high-quality teacher residency program that is sustainably funded by reallocating and reinvesting district resources to compensate teacher residents who take on additional instructional responsibilities in the district while completing a year-long teacher residency program.
In the program, teacher candidates are paired with an experienced, highly effective mentor teacher for a full-year of clinical training/co-teaching in a K- 12 classroom (minimum of 3 days per week for full year). Residencies take place at the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate level.
Strategic Staffing Objectives
Address Texas students’ learning acceleration needs and other instructional priorities through implementation of high-quality teacher residencies
Enable equitable educational access for all Texas students through high-quality teacher residency programs as a key teacher pipeline strategy.
Enable equitable access to quality preparation to retain a Texas teacher population that reflects the needs of the district.
Prioritize long-term Texas teacher effectiveness through rigorous pre-service practice in year-long teacher residency programs.
Recruit, select, train, and continuously develop high-quality mentor teachers to support residents placed in high-need areas.
Support Texas districts to sustainably fund teacher residencies through funding reallocation in service of an enduring talent pipeline.
District Benefits from Implementation of High-Quality, Sustainable Teacher Residencies via Strategic Staffing
To help you meet the staffing demands in your district, YEAR-LONG Residents (Student Teachers) can fill roles such as:
Substitute Teacher
Paraprofessional
Long-Term Substitute
Tutorial Support
Teacher Vacancy Support
Time Release for Pullout Support
New Teacher Support
Short Term Benefits:
Residents fulfill immediate instructional needs in schools as part of their year long student teaching experience, to include:
Residents as substitutes
Residents as para-professionals
Residents as tutors and enrichment teachers
Residents and mentor teacher teams:
Reduce student to teacher ratio
Increase access to differentiated instruction
• All residents impact student learning acceleration needs while co-teaching
Long Term Benefits:
Residents are prepared for the long term to be teachers in their districts:
Incentivize/make financially possible a residency pathway in your district
Quality preparation for year 1 readiness
Understand district context and culture
Relationships with staff, students, and school community
Increased retention over time due to quality preparation and buy-in within school community
Teacher Recruitment Support
Providing supports for paraprofessionals to become certified teachers
Elevating the perception of the teaching profession through the expansion of high-quality Education and Training (E&T) courses at the high school level
Reducing/eliminating LEA teacher shortages by hiring, supporting and retaining highly-qualified teachers
Increasing long term student achievement by filling teacher vacancies and retaining HQ teachers
Teacher Residency Support
Support with paid teacher residencies and effective cooperating/mentor teachers
Addressing the diversity needs of the LEAs with solutions that mirror the student demographics
Increasing the access points to HQ teacher candidates through strong EPP partnerships
Reducing LEA hiring and onboarding costs using innovative reallocation/reinvestment strategies
Increasing long term student achievement by filling teacher vacancies and retaining HQ teachers
Other New Hires Support
Reducing/eliminating LEA teacher shortages by supporting and retaining highly-qualified teachers long term
Provide new hire/mentor teacher training & support
Strategic Staffing Provider Role
Your technical assistance provider will partner with you to:
Guide and facilitate a needs driven approach to strategic staffing model design & implementation to support sustainable residencies in your district.
Provide clear communication and project management to you and your EPP Partners regarding design objectives, key events, and deliverables.
Current Partnerships in Region 15
We are looking for more district and educator preparation programs partnerships.Contact Mike Carter for more information.
Watch Recorded WEBINAR(S) from various educator preparation programs- CLICK HERE
