Homegrown TEACHERS Nation’s First State-Run Teacher Residency Tackles Teacher Shortage Will Graves An alternate-route teaching program seeks to recruit and train individuals interested in the field of education and connects them with employment in a high-need school district — all while earning a master’s degree at no cost. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) launched the Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR) program with the help of American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding made School Focus
available by the federal government. With approval from the Mississippi Board of Education, MDE awarded over $9.8 million in grant dollars to five universities across the state, all in an effort to increase access to effective elementary and special education teachers. Now accepting applications for its fifth cohort, MTR provides a well-structured pathway for professionals with a non-education bachelor’s degree to transition into the classroom as fully licensed teachers. “Some of the key elements of MTR 4
include partnerships between geographical critical shortage area school districts and eligible institutions of higher education that do indeed share a vision of effective teaching and practice,” said Dr. Courtney Van Cleve, MDE’s state director of educator talent acquisition and effectiveness. “Within that, we recruit diverse participants such as people of color, men, veterans from the Armed Forces and teacher assistants who then participate in yearlong pre-service clinical training alongside an experienced, effective mentor teacher with Summer 2023