New Partner Steps

Identify a residency site lead

Identify an administrator or someone with knowledge of curriculum and your teaching staff to be the day-to-day point of contact for the NYU Teacher Residency in your building. This person is a strong problem-solver and collaborator. S/he/they will work most closely with the NYU residency director to support both resident development and the development of teaching mentors as teacher leaders. S/he/they is responsible for partnering with the residency director to ensure the school is a strong residency site.

See residency directors listing in the contact section, or download a contacts PDF.

• Residency site lead description
  
• Residency site lead agreement
  
• Residency site partnership agreement
  

Identifying residents

Here are the main steps your team will take to identify the group of residents working in your school(s).

Design the role

Residents spend two periods per day gradually taking on responsibility for teaching in alignment with their course work. Beyond that time, residents should be utilized to support your school community and your priorities in any student-facing role. Design the job description and create processes to share with prospective candidates. Be careful not to overload residents with responsibilities since they are also managing 15 – 20 hours of course work per week.

• Sample resident teacher JD 1 (Secondary)
  
• Sample resident teacher JD 2 (Secondary)
  
• Sample resident teacher JD (Inclusive Childhood)
  

Identify possible teaching mentors

Consider the strengths among your teaching staff. Who is ready for a leadership role and can benefit by serving as a teaching mentor? Who has the potential to work well with adult learners? Make a list that you will revise and add to as you get closer to finalizing your incoming cohort of residents.

• Teaching mentor role description
  
• Teaching mentor agreement
  

Determine hiring needs

Consider the areas where you will need to hire teachers the year after next. Match those needs with what you know about your available teaching mentor population. Communicate your anticipated needs to the NYU Teacher Residency recruitment team.

Select candidates

Work alongside the NYU Teacher Residency team and key personnel within your organization to find the best fit candidates for your school community. Consider including the residency site lead or teaching mentors as part of the interview process. In some cases, this proactive step helps invest teaching mentors by giving them voice in helping to select mentees. It can also streamline the process.

If you plan to encourage current teachers in your school(s) to apply to the NYU Teacher Residency, please talk with your Residency Director to determine how the residency could look for these teachers who are already a part of your school community.

• NYU TR key admissions and application dates (2022-2023 forthcoming)
  
• Employed teachers guidelines
  

Finalize cohort

Work with NYU Teacher Residency’s partnerships team to extend offers and begin the process of HR onboarding of residents into your school community, including sharing expectations through the memorandum of agreement.

• Selection & hiring Q & A
  
• Memorandum of agreement
  
• Partner make offer process
  

Preparing for residents

As you finalize your cohort of residents each year, your team will begin to prepare for their entry into your school community. Here are the steps to establish a strong cohort launch each year.

Match residents and teaching mentors

If your matches are not yet final, your residency site lead will finish matching residents and teaching mentors with input from appropriate site personnel. Consider your teaching mentors’ personalities, strengths, and areas for growth, and what you know about your incoming residents to make the best matches. Your residency director is available for consultation and will want to meet the prospective teaching mentors before assignments are final.

Create resident schedules

Creating resident schedules is a key component of planning for a successful program launch each year. Consider program guidelines carefully. Start these conversations in the spring as you make hiring and budget decisions globally as they may impact staffing and other considerations.

Ideally, this should be finalized by August prior to the residents’ arrival on campus. Assessing what is working in residents’ schedules and what can be optimized throughout the year is a key responsibility of the site lead in collaboration with the Residency Director.

• Guidelines for creating a resident schedule (core content area)
  
• Guidelines for creating a resident schedule (special education)
  
• Gradual release guidelines
  

Plan for teaching mentor and resident onboarding

Talk with your residency director and your school’s instructional leaders to plan for welcoming residents into your school community and how to introduce teaching mentors to their roles and responsibilities.

• Teaching mentor resource website
  

a. Teaching mentor onboarding

Plan for teaching mentors to attend NYU Teacher Residency orientation during the summer. Speak with your residency director about the schedule and to provide your input on the professional development (PD) timeline. Discuss the professional learning plan and content for the year and align with your residency director about any related PD your school community is providing.

b. Welcoming residents to your school community

Consider the best way to welcome residents into your school community. Create a plan that fits with your school’s plan for teacher professional development and summer orientation. Suggestions include a welcome event or breakfast or a teaching mentor and resident meet and greet.  Invite residents to participate in your school’s summer professional development. Seek input from your Residency Director in designing the summer schedule for residents.