The Center for Teaching Quality is pleased to release Creating and Sustaining Urban Teacher Residencies: A New Way to Recruit, Prepare, and Retain Effective Teachers in High-Needs Districts. Urban Teacher Residencies (UTRs) are gaining the attention of major school districts as a high-quality alternative pathway into high-needs classrooms for diverse and committed teachers.

This report — collaboratively authored by the Center for Teaching Quality and Aspen Institute Program on Education and Society — examines the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) in Chicago and the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR). It surfaces a number of provocative issues that policymakers and leaders within universities, districts, and communities across the nation need to consider in ensuring that all new recruits are well-prepared to teach in high-needs schools.

Our work was made possible by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which is investigating ways that UTRs can advance new thinking and action in teacher preparation for 21st century schools. We are proud to partner with NCATE and the Aspen Institute.

Read about the potential impact of UTRs on traditional teacher education in CTQ's Urban Teacher Residency Models and Institutes of Higher Education: Implications for Teacher Preparation. This paper reveals a number of policy and financial issues related to university support for UTRs -- and highlights the efforts of Bank Street College to transform its teacher education program despite the hurdles of NYC school district bureaucracy. Inside, read Ariel Sacks' eloquent essay on learning to teach and the importance of teacher education. Ariel is a Teacher Leaders Network member and Bank Street College graduate.