April 8, 2022 —Two $250,000 grants from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will enable a successful CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) teacher residency partnership program to expand and explore new opportunities.
One of the grants went to the teacher residency program launched in 2019, which provides full tuition for CSUCI teaching credential candidates who are selected as residents, plus a stipend up to $10,000. The program is in partnership with the Oxnard School District (OSD), Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD); the Rio School District and the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD).
The other grant went to the Santa Paula Unified School District to enable the district to join the residency program in Fall 2022.
“A traditional student teacher program is a huge investment,” said Associate Dean and Director of Clinical Experiences and Partnerships Kathryn M. Howard, Ph.D. “It’s a year or two out of your life, you’re in the classroom full time and you’re not getting paid. At the same time, you’re also taking four to five courses. You don’t have time to support your family or yourself, so we look at this stipend as an investment in tomorrow’s teachers.”
Called a “capacity” grant, this five-year funding plan will allow for more professional development for mentor teachers who host residents in their classrooms. In addition, the grant is earmarked for a residency program for student teachers interested in Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which was pioneered in California. The program is for kids who are too advanced for preschool but not quite ready for kindergarten.
TK is expected to be fully rolled out beginning in Fall of 2022, expanding each year until it is available to all of the state’s four-year-olds by 2025-26. The plan is to gradually phase in younger students each year, so there will be a demand for TK teachers.
Assistant Professor of Education Talya Drescher, Ph.D. and Professor of Education Michelle Dean, Ph.D. developed the dual credential program in which student teachers could earn their special education credential along with a multiple subject credential. CSUCI’s School of Education is working with the Santa Paula district to add this dual credential because of the quality of the district’s Special Education program, and because, as a smaller district, it’s easier to make modifications before expanding the dual credential program into other, larger districts.
The residency program is a win-win for the students, the schools and the community because the paid tuition and stipend helps attract students who might otherwise not have the financial means to pursue a teaching credential. The program is designed to promote equity and access, especially to bilingual student teachers of color, who are in great demand, especially in Ventura County.
“One of the core values of this residency program is a commitment to social justice,” Howard said. “We are trying to create a way to make teacher education accessible to people who may not otherwise have the means to pursue a career in education.”
It’s a win for school districts as they are able to recruit and train student teachers from the area—some who may have attended the same school where they are now training to join the faculty.
“These are people who came up through the school districts in Ventura County and have lived here all of their lives,” Howard said. “They may have family in the area, or they may not have the financial resources necessary to become teachers. The residency program makes it possible for us to prepare a teaching work force that better reflects the community.”
Currently, 41 CSUCI students seeking their teaching credential were selected as residents and embedded in schools in the participating districts. Student teachers like Maria Lopez Ochoa are assigned to a specific classroom with a mentor teacher, working under the school’s calendar.
“I think it’s awesome because we get to see what it’s really like in the classroom for a whole year, and not just a semester,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa, 33, is doing her teaching residency at Rio Real Elementary School in El Rio, in the same district where she went to school. She said the tuition and stipend made all the difference for her to be able to work toward her credential.
“Having the money was a godsend because I wasn’t going to be able to work while doing my residency.” said Ochoa. “My husband would have had to take all the responsibility of caring not only for me, but for our two kids.”
The 20 teaching residents in the OUHSD are being funded by the district. The 19 in the Oxnard or Rio School district are being funded by a grant written in partnership with CSUCI and the Ventura County Office of Education.
There are two teaching residents in Santa Barbara, too, who are funded through the SBUSD and the James S. Bower Foundation, which seeks to enrich the social and cultural environment in Santa Barbara, with support for education high on the list.
Ochoa looks forward to graduating soon with her teaching credential and her Bilingual Authorization, which will allow her to teach native Spanish speakers who are learning English.
“We live in a community where most of our students are Hispanic and speak Spanish,” Ochoa said. “I wish I had the type of instruction they have now when I was in school. Because it validates the students’ identities.”