One of the key indicators that a teacher will stay for the long haul is making it beyond year five. Those who make that goal post are more likely to remain in the profession. One way to increase retention, education experts say, is to increase in-classroom training time.

A Texas Wesleyan University program on the receiving end of a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is expanding its teacher residency program, a clinical teaching program where students spend time in the classroom for a full year rather than the typical one semester. Right now, the university is working on placing teachers in Fort Worth ISD. 

“This is all about producing the best rookie that we can,” said Carlos Martinez, dean of the university’s education school.“Classrooms are not easy places to be in, so the better prepared you are to manage and confront the challenges of urban teaching, the longer you will last in the classroom.”

The percentage of teachers who left the profession in a given year rose from around 9% at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to 12% in 2024, according to the Texas Tribune. In 2023, a state teacher vacancy task force called for the creation of a teacher residency pathway. Several schools and universities are being considered this fall as official designated pathways by the Texas Education Agency, including Texas Wesleyan University.

But Texas Wesleyan has already had a full-year teacher residency program for several years. That program gives students the opportunity for a full experience inside the classroom, from start to finish.

“In the fall, they get to see all the work that goes into setting up the classroom culture. How do you get the bare-bones room with four walls and tables and chairs to be the warm, inviting classroom environment?” said Elizabeth Ward, associate professor of education.

And then in the spring?

“Teachers walk into a classroom that’s already established, but then they see what goes into preparation for the tested grades,” said Ward.

Ward says that this full-year view helps give future teachers a more realistic picture of what to expect when they’re in the classroom.

Texas Wesleyan students go into the classroom with a teacher. They initially observe, and then within the first week or so, they’re teaching small groups. Gradually, student teachers take over the classroom from the lead teacher. The program is 28 weeks, as opposed to the typical 14-week clinical residency. The program can last from August to May, or January to December.

The grant also funds education faculty development initiatives.

“We have included, also as part of the grant, the creation of a professional learning community for faculty to conduct research, share ideas and work together,” said Elsa Anderson, professor of education.

While the students will teach at Fort Worth-area schools, they will also take classes at the same time. Faculty will use grant funding to explore how to assess and improve the teacher residency program’s curriculum over time. 

Last year, a handful of students participated in Texas Wesleyan’s teacher residency program. As the program scales up, university officials have an ambitious goal: making it available to every education major who wants to enroll.

Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.

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